The Effect Of The Consistency Of Situational Model And Problem Model On Primary School Student’s Scores In Mathematical Problem Solving

The students will construct two levels of a situation model and a problem modelrepresentation in understanding and solving the math word problems. The situationmodel which is based on the experience of everyday life makes problem situationsunderstood and represented. The situation model which does not involve the subjectnumerical that contains rich information. The problem model which emphasizesquantitative representation for problem variable relations from mathematical schemacontains the precise numerical and necessary information in problem solving.On the basis of the previous researches, the author in this study self-makes a setmathematic word problem material according to the foreign research paradigm andthe primary school mathematics textbook. It investigates the influence of theconsistency of situational model and problem model in four dimensions and thelocation of the problem on different grades and difficulty primary school mathematicsword problem solving. This research consists of four experiments, it involvescausation dimension protagonist dimension spatial dimension and intentionalitydimension respectively. This study uses2(consistency: consistent, inconsistent) x2(Difficulty: difficult, easy) x2(problem position: before text, after text) three-factormixed design for the third grade and the fifth grade with each dimension. Consistencyand the location of the problem are between-subject variables, the difficulty iswithin-subject variables.For the third-grade and fifth-grade students, we test thestudents’ reading time under consistent and inconsistent conditions in each experiment.The conclusions are as follows:1The importance of situation information of each dimension is different forthe primary school student s math word problem-understanding. The causalinformation and spatial information are very important for the third-grade and fifth-grade student s math word problem-understanding, but not protagonistinformation. The third-grade and fifth-grade students s achievement are not effectedby protagonist information under the inconsistent conditions of situation model andproblem model.2The consistency of situational model and problem model in four dimensionsand the location of the problem have a different impact on understanding and solvingmath word problems for the primary school student. When problem is after text, underconsistent conditions the third-grade students get scores significantly better than thatof inconsistent conditions on causation dimension spatial dimension andintentionality dimension. Under consistent conditions the fifth-grade students getscores significantly better than that of inconsistent conditions on causation dimensionand spatial dimension. Regardless of the third grade or fifth grade, there is nosignificant difference between consistent conditions and inconsistent conditions forthe primary school student’s scores on protagonist dimension.3The fifth grade student’s achievement is effected weaker than that ofthird grade student by the consistency of situation model and problem model onintentionality dimension. The results show that when problem is after text, underconsistent conditions the third-grade students get scores significantly better than thatof inconsistent conditions on intentionality dimension, moreover the main effect issignificant for consistency. The interaction of the location of the problem andconsistency is not significant for the fifth grade, additionally the main effect is notsignificant for consistency.4Either difficult or easy problem, both the third-grade students andfifth-grade students’achievement are affected under inconsistent conditions.5Under inconsistent conditions,both the third-grade students and fifth-gradestudents’reading time is significantly longer than that of consistent conditions on fourdimensions. It suggests that the primary school students have constructed a situationmodel in understanding math word problem, the continuity of the overall context isdestroyed under inconsistent conditions, resulting in the longer reading time.The meaning of this study is to provide a valid reference for educators and researchers in the preparation of primary school math word problems, it help toeducators consider the impact of factors in the preparation of primary school mathword problems comprehensively,so that make the math word problems moreconducive to the educational pruposes. This study may provides a deep levelreference for training the children’sability to solve math problem in real life.