Page 212 - Pedagoška vizija / A Pedagogical Vision

Eleonora Doz, Mara Cotič, and Maria Chiara Passolunghi

Figurative illustration Organizational illustration
In a basketball game, In a basketball game, the red team scored 56 points
the red team scored 56 and the blue team scored 75 points.
points and the blue How many points did the red team score less
team scored 75 points. than the blue team?
How many points did 56 ?
the red team score less
Red team
than the blue team?
Blue team
Image by brgfx on Freepik 75
Figure 3 An Example of Figurative and Organizational Illustrations in Textbooks

torially or schematically depicted information accompanying a word prob-
lem (e.g. drawings, photographs, diagrams). In this respect, Vicente et al.
(2022) found that Singaporean textbooks prioritize organizational illustra-
tions, which elucidate the mathematical relations between the quantities,
guiding the solver in constructing a coherent mental model of the problem.
On the other hand, Spanish textbooks contain a higher percentage of figu-
rative illustrations depicting the problem in a decorative manner (figure 3).
Overall, textbooks that prioritize diverse problem types and meaningful
problem-solving approaches, supplemented by organizational illustrations,
seem to offer valuable support in fostering students’ problem-solving abil-
ity. Therefore, educators must critically evaluate and select textbooks that
align with pedagogical principles aimed at promoting deep understanding
of word problems.

Technology
Technology is an essential tool in teaching mathematics as ‘it influences the
mathematics that is taught and enhances student learning’ (National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics 2000, 24). Several studies highlighted that tech-
nology can be used to promote critical, analytic, and higher order thinking
skills, provide drill and practice, and engage students in real-world problem
solving (e.g. Wiske, Franz, and Breit 2005). Moreover, incorporating technol-
ogy into mathematics instruction provides variation in modes of delivery for-
mats, which may promote engagement and improve learning experiences,
student motivation and attitudes toward maths (Higgins, Huscroft-D’Angelo,
andCrawford2019).
To date, different technology-based approaches have been proposed for
word problem-solving: (1) drill-and-practice programmes, where students
engage in repetitive exercises on specific types of word problems with basic
computer-generated feedback (e.g. correct/incorrect) and assistance (e.g.

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