Working Memory, Problem Representation Primary School Students To Problem Solve

Problem representation is the core and key factor of mathematical problem sloving,while working memory span for cognitive assessment may act as a predictor.Working memory span may be an important influence factor of problem representation.However,few researches on the relationship between working memory span and problem representation type have been conduct. Therefore,this study aimed to explore the influence of working memory span and problem representation type on mathematical problem sloving,and tried to establish a clear image between working memory and mathematical problem representation.This study investigated the mathematical problem sloving performance of 104 grade six students in primary school by experimental methods with 2×2×3 mixed design.The first between-subject factor included two level,high verbal working memory span group and low span group.The second between-subject factor included high visuospatial working memory span group and low span group.The within-subject factor included direct translation representation, problem-model representation and orther representations.The results showed that:1.Verbal working memory span existed main effect on difficult mathematical problem sloving.The significant difference explained that the higher verbal working memory span,the better mathematical problem solving performance;the lower span,the worse performance.There were no significant differences both in simple and mid-difficult mathematical problem solving.2.Visuospatial working memory span existed main effect on three kinds of mathematical problem solving.The significant difference explained that the higher visuospatial working memory span,the better mathematical problem solving performance;the lower span,the worse performance.3.Problem representation type influenced mathematical problem solving.Mathematical problem solving performance was relevant to problem representation type.The significant difference explained that the better mathematical problem solving performance,the more problem-model representation was used.4.The effect of verbal working memory span on problem representation was not significant on three kinds of mathematical problem solving.The problem representation type used by two groups didn't exist significant difference.5.The effect of visuospatial working memory span on problem representation was significant on three kinds of mathematical problem solving.The significant difference explained that the higher visuospatial working memory span,the more problem-model representation was used.The teaching significance of this study was that provided theory basis and guidance method for educators to effectively organize teaching content and conduct individual instruction according to students' working memory characteristic,while provided reference and basis for decision-making for educators to pay attention to training students' visuospatial ability and imparting them learning strategy.