Teacher–student interaction in joint word problem solving. The role of situational and mathematical knowledge in mainstream classrooms

Word problem solving involves the construction of two different mental representations, namely, mathematical and situational. Although educational research in word problem solving has documented different kinds of instruction at these levels, less is known about how both representational levels are evoked during word problem solving in day-to-day learning environments. The aim of this descriptive work is to analyze how mainstream teachers promote mathematical and situational knowledge while solving mathematically and situationally reworded word problems. The results suggest that word problem solving is faced by teachers as a mechanical and non-reflexive task which involves limited situational knowledge.

► 11 mainstream primary teachers were analyzed during word problem solving.
► Problems included additional relevant mathematical and situational information.
► Teachers did not use additional information to solve the problems in a meaningful way.
► Teachers could be preventing students from solving the problems in a meaningful way.