Distributions of Textbook Problems Predict Student Learning: Data from Decimal Arithmetic

Autor/inn/en	Tian, Jing; Braithwaite, David W.; Siegler, Robert S.
Titel	Distributions of Textbook Problems Predict Student Learning: Data from Decimal Arithmetic
Quelle	In: Journal of Educational Psychology, 113 (2021) 3, S.516-529 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Tian, Jing) ORCID (Braithwaite, David W.) ORCID (Siegler, Robert S.) Weitere Informationen
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-0663
DOI	10.1037/edu0000618
Schlagwörter	Textbooks; Mathematics Instruction; Arithmetic; Problem Solving; Textbook Content; Difficulty Level; Mathematical Concepts; Concept Formation; Fractions; Incidence; Middle School Students; Elementary School Students; Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Textbook; Text book; Schulbuch; Lehrbuch; Mathematics lessons; Mathematikunterricht; Addition; Arithmetik; Arithmetikunterricht; Rechnen; Problemlösen; Lehrbuchtext; Schwierigkeitsgrad; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Bruchrechnung; Vorkommen; Middle school; Middle schools; Student; Students; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Schüler; Schülerin
Abstract	This study investigated relations between the distribution of practice problems in textbooks and students' learning of decimal arithmetic. In Study 1, we analyzed the distributions of decimal arithmetic practice problems that appeared in 3 leading math textbook series in the United States. Similar imbalances in the relative frequencies of decimal arithmetic problems were present across the 3 series: Addition and subtraction more often involved 2 decimals than a whole number and a decimal, but the opposite was true for multiplication and division. We expected children's learning of decimal arithmetic to reflect these distributional biases. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, we tested the prediction that children would have more difficulty solving types of problems that appeared less frequently in textbooks, regardless of the intrinsic complexity of solving the problems. We analyzed students' performance on decimal arithmetic from an experiment conducted in a different lab 35 years ago (Study 2), from a contemporary large-scale web-based learning platform (Study 3), and from a recent controlled experiment conducted in our own lab (Study 4). Despite many differences among the 3 studies, performance in all 3 was in accord with the predictions. These findings suggest that the distributions of practice problems in math textbooks may influence what children do and do not learn. Usefulness of analyzing textbook problem distributions as well as educational implications of the current findings are discussed. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01