Developmental Spatial Model in One-Step Math Word Problem-Solving

Situational context can affect math word problem-solving. A child’s correct answer for a one-step addition word problem could be a + b or b + a. The “a” means the first number that occurred in the word problem, and “b” means the second number. It is puzzling that there is a systematic change with school grade from answering “a + b” to answering “b + a” for some addition word problems. A developmental spatial model was proposed to explain this change. Three studies are reported in the current chapter. The first concerns the distribution of the correct answer “a + b” and “b + a” for different types of addition word problems. The second shows that correct answers given as “b + a” increases with school grade for some word problems. The third shows that (1) undergraduates with high academic achievements had a greater proportion of correct answer in the form of “b + a” than undergraduates with low academic achievement; and (2) correct answers given as “b + a” increased when the problems occurred in the second half of a 20-problem list than in the first half. The grade, practice, and achievement level, which are directly related with students’ development, can systematically influence the surface of answer (i.e., a + b or b + a). The results could be explained by the influence of the developmental spatial model read from the situational context of the word problem during math word problem-solving.