WORDMATH: A computer-based environment for learning word problem solving

Abstract

WORDMATH is a computer-based learning environment designed to teach word problem solving to 9–12 year old students in Singapore primary schools. The students are taught to solve word problem solving using a locally developed approach called model building. Students will draw blocks to represent part-whole relationships depicted in the problem statement, and by drawing such blocks, they can visualize the problem more clearly and are able to make tacit knowledge explicit. The design of WORDMATH is based on some of the teaching methods of the cognitive apprenticeship approach. In this paper, we describe how these teaching methods have been implemented in the current version of the tutor.