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What Makes Word Problem-Solving Difficult? Factors Influencing Word Problem-Solving Ability

hints or scaffolding provided in the case of mistakes), (2) adaptive tutor-
ing systems that offer tailored support, (3) environments aimed at person-
alizing or enhancing the realism of the word problem-solving experience,
and (4) software designed to foster students’ systematic use of metacogni-
tive strategies (see Verschaffel et al. 2020). Although most studies that used
technology-based approaches demonstrated an improvement in the learn-
ing outcomes (see the meta-analysis by Higgins, Huscroft-D’Angelo, and
Crawford 2019), suggesting the potential of technology interventions to pos-
itively impact problem-solving abilities, more research is necessary to draw
definitive conclusions about the unique contribution of technology. Further-
more, research is warranted to ascertain the applicability and effectiveness
of such interventions in real-world educational settings.

TheRoleof Teachers
A final consideration should be made in respect to teachers, as their profi-
ciency in word problems and the quality of their teaching significantly im-
pact students’ problem-solving skills (Verschaffel et al. 2020). Studies that
examined the content knowledge of future teachers revealed that many en-
counter difficulties when solving word problems themselves (Verschaffel,
Corte, and Borghart 1997). For instance, in a study by Cramer, Post, and Currier
(1993), pre-service elementary education teachers in the United States were
presented with the problem: ‘Sue and Julie were running equally fast around
a track. Sue started first. When she had run 9 laps, Julie had run 3 laps. When
Julie completed 15 laps, how many laps had Sue run?’ Despite the problem’s
simplicity, most participants attempted to solve it proportionally: 9/3 = x/15;
3x =135; x = 45, rather than using additive reasoning. Hence, it is imperative
for teachers to acknowledge and confront their own limitations to improve
the quality of instructional practices.
A work by Daroczy et al. (2020) has investigated teaching styles and high-
lighted two teaching styles that promote better problem-solving skills, es-
pecially in the case of particularly complex problems: (1) developing a sup-
portive climate characterized by a good teacher-student relationship, con-
structive feedback exchange, and a positive approach towards errors, and (2)
a teaching method based on cognitive activation, where the teacher aims to
cognitively stimulate students by proposing challenging exercises (not too
easy to avoid boring students, not too difficult to avoid demotivating them).
A supportive climate and the presence of constructive feedback would en-
hance word problem performance by increasing motivation and reducing
student anxiety, while teaching based on cognitive activation would pro-

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