The use of a cognitive tutoring system in the improvement of the abstract reasoning component of word problem solving

This study evaluated the Word Problem Solving (WPS) Tutor's ability to impr ove the abstract reasoning component of word problem solving. Six hundred a nd thirty-two ninth grade students were assigned to three groups: a control group exposed to traditional group instruction, a placebo group exposed to traditional group instruction plus a computerized word problem solving env ironment with no active tutoring, and an experimental group exposed to trad itional group instruction and a computerized word problem solving environme nt with active tutoring. A paper and pencil test was administered to studen ts at the beginning of the school year, at mid-term, and at the end of the school year and was used to compare the performance of the three groups on the concrete and abstract components of word problem solving. Results indic ated that WPS-Tutored students improved significantly more than either the control group or the placebo group on both the abstract and concrete reason ing subtests. However, performance gains on the abstract subtest were not a s large as the gains on the concrete subtest. Implications for math educati on and suggestions for future research and development efforts are discusse d. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.