Page 214 - Pedagoška vizija / A Pedagogical Vision

Eleonora Doz, Mara Cotič, and Maria Chiara Passolunghi

mote reflection and reasoning, as well as encourage the application of dif-
ferent solution strategies (Daroczy et al. 2020).

Educational Implications
In light of the literature discussed in the previous sections, several impli-
cations can be drawn to enhance students’ proficiency in word problem-
solving. In this section, two educational implications will be presented.
Firstly, we highlight the importance of teaching a problem-solving strat-
egy based on mental representation of the problem. As observed, difficul-
ties arise when the solver constructs a poorer mental model of the prob-
lem (e.g. excluding relevant information or keeping irrelevant information)
or does not engage in this process at all (e.g. using a superficial solution
strategy based on keywords). In this regard, teachers should avoid propos-
ing strategies solely based on identifying keywords and linking those words
to operations (Doz, Cotič, and Passolunghi 2023; Powell and Fuchs 2018). This
instructional strategy is superficial in nature since it bypasses the deeper
understanding of the problem and the construction of the mental model
(Mayer et al. 1995). In a similar vein, teachers should refrain from explaining
the meaning of a keyword by connecting it to an arithmetic operation, like,
‘The word more tells us to add.’ Telling students to add whenever they see the
word ‘more’ is a teaching error (see the case of inconsistent problems). Prac-
titioners should rather focus on teaching children to integrate a problem’s
textual information into an adequate mental representation. To support stu-
dentsin buildingeffectiveproblemrepresentations,educatorsareadvisedto
utilize graphical representations, such as diagrams (Jitendra 2002). Diagrams
also provide children with strategies that reduce the cognitive demands in-
volved in problem-solving (Fuchs et al. 2021), thus making them effective for
students with difficulties in working memory.
Another consideration pertains to the textbooks utilized and the diversity
of word problems proposed to children. Practitioners must be aware that an
educational approach that chooses to ‘train’ students to tackle only standard
problems generates interpretative stereotypes that reinforce over time, such
as ‘The problem text contains all and only the data necessary for the solution,’
‘Every problem always has a solution,’ or ‘There are keywords in the problem
suggesting the operations to be performed.’ These beliefs will lead students
to develop a superficial problem-solving strategy that does not aim at a deep
understanding of the problem.
If the aim is to develop meaningful word problem-solving skills, then it is
imperative to alternate routine and non-routine problems. Routine problems

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