Investigating the Unique Predictors of Word-Problem Solving Using Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling
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Investigating the Unique Predictors of Word-Problem Solving Using Meta-Analytic Structural Equation Modeling Xin Lin 1 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract
The purpose of the present study is to clarify the contributions of cognitive skills (nonverbal reasoning, language comprehension, working memory, attention, processing speed) and academic skills (mathematics facts retrieval, mathematics computation, mathematics vocabulary, reading comprehension) in performing mathematics word problems among elementary school students. With the two-stage meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach, I synthesized 112 correlation matrices from 98 empirical studies (N = 111,346) and fitted the hypothesized partial mediation model. Overall, path analysis indicated that language comprehension, working memory, attention, mathematics vocabulary, and mathematics computation were unique predictors of word-problem solving. Subgroup analysis demonstrated different unique predictors for younger and older students to perform word problems (K-2nd grades versus 3rd–5th grades). Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. Keywords Academic skills . Cognitiveskills . Meta-analyticstructural equationmodeling . Wordproblem solving Developing mathematics proficiency is necessary because it has a strong association with a student’s academic performance, college enrollment, and adulthood outcomes (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2006). Recently, there has been an increase in research exploring important factors associated with students’ mathematics performance (e.g., Fuchs et al. 2015; Fung and Swanson 2017; Namkung et al. 2019; Peng and Lin 2019). Two major categories of factors are identified essential for mathematics performance, including cognitive skills (i.e., working memory, nonverbal reasoning, processing speed; e.g., Fuchs et al. 2006; Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-02009554-w) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
* Xin Lin [email protected]
1
Department of Special Education, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Educational Psychology Review
Fung and Swanson 2017) and academic skills (i.e., mathematics facts retrieval, mathematics vocabulary, reading comprehension; e.g., Fuchs et al. 2018; Peng and Lin 2019). Incorporating such factors in mathematics instruction and intervention could help facilitate students’ mathematics performances and remediate their mathematics difficulties. The present study focus on word-problem solving (WPS) because student’s WPS performance is a strong school-age predictor of their employment and wages in adulthood (e.g., Every Child a Chance Trust 2009; Murnane et al. 2001), and WPS is often emphasized in key educational initiatives (e.g., Common Core State Standards Initiative 2010; National Mathematics Advisory Panel 2008). Word problems (e.g., John has $35. He spent $17 at the bookstore and $6 at t
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