Enhancing Students' Comprehension of the Conceptual Structure of Algebra Word Problems

Three experiments investigated students' ability to classify and solve similar algebra word problems. Four groups of problems were used, varying along 2 dimensions: problem equation type (2 types) and problem structure type (2 types). Students were presented problem pairs and asked to rate the potential usefulness of Problem 1 in solving Problem 2. With no instruction, students rated problems sharing conceptual structure as being more helpful, regardless of equation type. Pairs with similar equations did not show this effect (Experiment 1). This effect was enhanced by brief instruction, which illustrated structural similarities (Experiment 2). Finally, a brief tutorial improved problem-solving performance (Experiment 3). The improvement was particularly evident when target problems shared structural components but had different equations. The results are interpreted within Reed's (1987) structure-mapping model.