The role of literacy skills in adolescents' mathematics word problem performance: Controlling for visuo-spatial ability and mathematics anxiety

Learning and Individual Differences

Volumn 29, Issue , 2014, Pages 59-66

  Kyttälä, Minna ^a   Björn, Piia M ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TURKU   (Finland)

^b UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ   (Finland)

Author keywords

Adolescents; Literacy skills; Mathematics anxiety; Mathematics word problems; Visuo spatial ability

Indexed keywords

EID: 84891490729     PISSN: 10416080     EISSN: 18733425     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2013.10.010     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Andersson U., Lyxell B. Working memory deficit in children with mathematical difficulties: A general or specific deficit?. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 2007, 96:197-228.
2. Ashcraft M.H. Math anxiety: Personal, educational, and cognitive consequences. Current Directions in Psychological Science 2002, 11:181-185.
3. Beilock S.L. Math performance in stressful situations. Current Directions in Psychological Science 2008, 17:339-343.
4. Björn P.M., Kyttälä M. Family Structure and Academic Skills among Finnish Adolescents. European Journal of Psychology of Education 2011, 26:465-477.
5. Boets B., De Smedt B. Single-digit arithmetic in children with dyslexia. Dyslexia 2010, 16:183-191.
6. Carpenter T., Ansell E., Fennema E. Models of problem solving: A study of kindergarten children's problem-solving processes. Journal of Mathematics Education 1993, 24:428-441.
7. Casey M.B., Nuttall R.L., Pezaris E. Mediators of gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores: A comparison of spatial skills with internalized beliefs and anxieties. Developmental Psychology 1997, 33:669-680.
8. Casey M.B., Nuttall R.L., Pezaris E., Benbow C.P. The influence of spatial ability on gender differences in mathematics college entrance test scores across diverse samples. Developmental Psychology 1995, 31:697-705.
9. Cummins D.D., Kintsch W., Reusser K. The role of understanding in solving word problems. Cognitive Psychology 1988, 20:405-438.
10. De Beni R., Pazzaglia F., Gyselinck V., Meneghetti C. Visuo-spatial working memory and mental representation of spatial descriptions. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology 2005, 17:77-95.
11. De Smedt B., Taylor J., Archibald L., Ansari D. How is phonological processing related to individual differences in children's arithmetic skills?. Developmental Science 2010, 13:508-520.
12. Delgado A.R., Priedo G. Cognitive mediators and sex-related differences in mathematics. Intelligence 2004, 32:25-32.
13. Eysenck M.W., Derakshan N., Santos R., Calvo M.G. Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion 2007, 7:336-353.
14. Faust M.W., Aschcraft M.H., Fleck D.E. Mathematics anxiety effects in simple and complex addition. Mathematical Cognition 1996, 2:25-62.
15. Frenzel A.C., Pekrun R., Goetz T. Girls and mathematics - A 'hopeless' issue? A control-value approach to gender differences in emotions towards mathematics. European Journal of Psychology of Education 2007, 22:497-514.
16. Fuchs L.S., Compton D.L., Fuchs D., Powell S.R., Schumacher R.F., Hamlett C.L., et al. Contributions of domain-general cognitive resources and different forms of arithmetic development to pre-algebraic knowledge. Developmental Psychology 2012, 48:1315-1326.
17. Fuchs L.S., Fuchs D., Compton D.L., Powell S.R., Seethaler P.M., Capizzi A.M., et al. The cognitive correlates of third-grade skill in arithmetic, algorithmic computation, and arithmetic word problems. Journal of Educational Psychology 2006, 98:29-43.
18. Fuson K.C., Willis G.B. Second graders' use of schematic drawings in solving addition and subtraction word problems. Journal of Educational Psychology 1989, 81:514-520.
19. Geary D.C., Saults S.J., Liu F., Hoard Mary K. Sex differences in spatial cognition, computational fluency, and arithmetical reasoning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 2000, 77:337-353.
20. Harlaar N., Kovas J., Dale P.L., Petrill S., Plomin R. Mathematics is differentially related to reading comprehension and word decoding: Evidence from genetically sensitive design. Journal of Educational Psychology 2012, 104:622-635.
21. Hegarty M., Mayer R.E., Monk C.A. Comprehension of arithmetic word problems: A comparison of successful and unsuccessful problem solvers. Journal of Educational Psychology 1995, 87:18-32.
22. Hembree R. The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 1990, 21:33-46.
23. Holopainen L., Kairaluoma L., Nevala J., Ahonen T., Aro M. Lukivaikeuksien seulontamenetelmä nuorille ja aikuisille 2004, Niilo Mäki Instituutti, Jyväskylä.
24. Jitendra A.K., Griffin C.C., McGoey K., Gardill M., Bhat P., Riley T. Effects of mathematical word problem solving by students at risk or with mild disabilities. Journal of Educational Research 1998, 91:345.
25. Jonassen D.H. Designing research-based instruction for story problems. Educational Psychology Review 2003, 15:267-296.
26. Kintsch W., Greeno J.G. Understanding and solving word arithmetic problems. Psychological Review 1985, 92:109-129.
27. Kintsch W., van Dijk T.A. Toward a model of text comprehension and production. Psychological Review 1978, 85:363-394.
28. Kyttälä M., Björn P.M. Prior mathematics achievement, cognitive appraisals and anxiety as predictors of finnish students' later mathematics performance and career orientation. Educational Psychology 2010, 30:431-448.
29. Kyttälä M., Lehto J. Some factors underlying mathematical performance: The role of visuospatial working memory and non-verbal intelligence. European Journal of Psychology of Education 2008, 22:77-94.
30. Laski E.V, Casey B.M, Yu Q, Dulaney A, Heyman M, Dearing E, et al. Spatial skills as a predictor of first grade girls' use of higher level arithmetic strategies. Learning and Individual Differences 2013, 23:123-130.
31. Lee K., Ng S.-F., Ng E.-L., Lim Z.-Y. Working memory and literacy as predictors of performance on algebraic word problems. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 2004, 89:140-158.
32. Ma X., Cartwright F. A longitudinal analysis of gender differences in affective outcomes in mathematics during middle and high school. School Effectiveness & School Improvement 2003, 14:413-439.
33. Ma X., Xu J. The causal ordering of mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement: A longitudinal panel analysis. Journal of Adolescence 2004, 27:165-179.
34. McKenzie B., Bull R., Gray C. The effects of phonological and visuospatial interference on children's arithmetical performance. Educational and Child Psychology 2003, 20:93-108.
35. Meneghetti C., De Beni R., Pazzaglia F., Gyselinck V. The role of visuo-spatial abilities in recall of spatial descriptions: A mediation model. Learning and Individual Differences 2011, 21:719-723.
36. Moreau S., Coquin-Viennot D. Comprehension of arithmetic word problems by fifth-grade pupils: Representations and selection of information. British Journal Of Educational Psychology 2003, 73:109.
37. Neuburger S., Jansen P., Heil M., Quaiser-Pohl C. Gender differences in pre-adolescents' mental rotation performance: Do they depend on grade and stimulus type?. Personality and Individual Differences 2011, 50:1238-1242.
38. Newman S.D., Willoughby G., Pruce B. The effect of problem structure on problem-solving: An fMRI study of word versus number problems. Brain Research 2011, 1410:77-88.
39. Osborne J.W. Testing stereotype threat: Does anxiety explain race and sex differences in achievement?. Contemporary Educational Psychology 2001, 26:291-310.
40. Pape S.J. Middle school children's problem-solving behavior: A cognitive analysis from a reading comprehension perspective. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 2004, 35:187-219.
41. Passolunghi M.C., Mammarella I.C. Spatial and visual working memory ability in children with difficulties in arithmetic word problem solving. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology 2010, 22:944-963.
42. Passolunghi M.C., Mammarella I.C. Selective spatial working memory impairment in a group of children with mathematics learning disabilities and poor problem-solving skills. Journal of Learning Disabilities 2012, 45:341.
43. Pellegrino J.W., Goldman S.R. Information processing and elementary mathematics. Journal of Learning Disabilities 1987, 20:23-32.
44. Pimperton H., Nation K. Understanding words, understanding numbers: An exploration of the mathematical profiles of poor comprehenders. British Journal of Educational Psychology 2010, 80:255-268.
45. Räsänen P., Leino L. KTLT - Counting skills test for grades 7-9 2005, Niilo Mäki Instituutti [Niilo Mäki Institute], Jyväskylä, Finland.
46. Rasmussen C., Bisanz J. Representation and working memory in early arithmetic. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 2005, 91:137-157.
47. Riley M.S., Greeno J.G. Developmental analysis of understanding language about quantities and of solving problems. Cognition and Instruction 1988, 5:49-101.
48. Roe A., Taube K. How can reading abilities explain differences in math performance?. Northern lights on PISA 2003: A reflection from the Nordic countries 2006, 129-142. Nordic Council of Ministers, Oslo. J. Mejding, A. Roe (Eds.).
49. Rosales J., Vicente S., Chamoso J.M., Muñez D., Orrantia J. Teacher-student interaction in joint word problem solving. The role of situational and mathematical knowledge in mainstream classrooms. Teaching and Teacher Education 2012, 28:1185-1195.
50. Rosenthal R. Evaluating explanations of sex differences in mathematical reasoning scores. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 1988, 11:207-208.
51. Shepard R.N., Metzler J. Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects. Science 1971, 171:701-703.
52. Suinn R.M. Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS-A) 1988, Rocky Mountain Behavioral Science Institute, Fort Collins, CO.
53. Titze C., Jansen P., Heil M. Mental rotation performance and the effect of gender in 4th graders and adults. European Journal of Developmental Psychology 2010, 7:432-444.
54. Vandenberg S.G., Kuse A.R. Mental rotations, a group test of three-dimensional spatial visualization. Perceptual and Motor Skills 1978, 47:599-604.
55. Van Keer H., Verhaege J.P. Effects of explicit reading strategies instruction and peer tutoring on second and fifth graders' reading comprehension and self-efficacy perceptions. The Journal of Experimental Education 2005, 73:291-329.
56. Verschaffel L., De Corte E. A decade of research on word problem solving in Leuven: Theoretical, methodological, and practical outcomes. Educational Psychology Review 1993, 5:239.
57. Verschaffel L., De Corte E., Lasure S. Realistic considerations in mathematical modeling of school arithmetic word problems. Learning and Instruction 1994, 4:273-294.
58. Verschaffel L., De Corte E., Vierstrate H. Upper elementary school pupils' difficulties in modeling and solving nonstandard additive word problems involving ordinal numbers. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 1999, 30:265-285.
59. Verschaffel L., Greer B., De Corte E. Making sense of word problems 2000, Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse.
60. Vilenius-Tuohimaa P., Aunola K., Nurmi J.-E. The association between mathematical word problems and reading comprehension. Educational Psychology 2008, 28:409-426.
61. Vukovic R.K., Kieffer M.J., Bailey S.P., Harari R.R. Mathematics anxiety in young children: Concurrent and longitudinal associations with mathematical performance. Contemporary educational psychology 2012, 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2012.09.001.
62. Xin Y.P., Jitendra A.K., Deatline-Buchman A. Effects of mathematical word problem-solving instruction on middle school students with learning problems. Journal of Special Education 2005, 39:181-192.
63. Zheng X., Swanson H.L., Marcoulides G.A. Working memory components as predictors of children's mathematical word problem solving. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 2011, 110:481-498.