| Elementary school students often misinterpret the equal sign (=) as an operational symbol, not a relational symbol. Such misunderstanding is problematic because solving equations with missing numbers may be important for higher-order mathematics skills including word problems. Research indicates explicit equal-sign instruction can change how typically-developing students use the equal sign, but no study has examined effects for students with mathematics difficulties (MD) or how equal-sign instruction contributes to word-problem skill for students with or without MD. The present study assessed the efficacy of equal-sign instruction within word-problem tutoring. Third-grade students with MD ( n = 80) were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: word-problem tutoring, word-problem plus equal-sign tutoring, or no-treatment control. Students who received word-problem plus equal-sign tutoring improved significantly better on equal sign tasks and open equations compared to the other 2 conditions. On certain types of word problems, they improved better than control students. |
