Reading-enhanced word problem solving: a theoretical model

There is a reciprocal relationship between mathematics and reading cognition. Metacognitive training within reading-enhanced problem solving should facilitate students developing an awareness of what good readers do when reading for meaning in solving mathematical problems enabling them to apply these strategies. The constructs for each cognitive component articulated in the manuscript are supported by research demonstrating benefits in reading and mathematics achievement and how they operate together to help students’ conceptualize mathematical problems. Teachers need to think less about students deriving an answer and more in terms of facilitating students’ application of the cognitive components of reading and mathematics. Thus, teachers can implement reading-enhanced problem solving in mathematics when students struggle, rather than having to manipulate their local curriculum.

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