New Study: Math Is More Than Just Calculations—Language and Interest in the Problem Context Are Important

A mathematics class in which students are expected to understand and solve real-world problems requires reference to everyday contexts. Against this backdrop, a research team investigated the extent to which language skills and interest in the task context—in addition to mathematical abilities—influence the successful completion of tasks.

“The effects of both aspects on problem-solving success are not enormous in individual cases, but they add up over the course of several school years,” said Prof. Dr. Timo Ehmke of Leuphana University Lüneburg, who led the study together with Prof. Dr. Dominik Leiss, also of Leuphana University Lüneburg, and Prof. Dr. Lena Heine of Ruhr University Bochum.

Nevertheless, the researchers believe that simplifying math problems to the point where these effects no longer play a role at all is the wrong approach: “If students are to cope with the complex demands of society, it is not enough to merely impart mathematical knowledge in math class. Everyday problems require an equal measure of subject knowledge, language skills, and the will to solve problems. The world knows no disciplinary boundaries,” said Prof. Dr. Dominik Leiss.

Linguistically simple does not necessarily mean understandable

Furthermore, problems formulated in simpler language are not automatically easier for students to understand. Instead, linguistic connections that establish relationships between the sentences in a text are crucial for successfully solving problems. According to the researchers’ assessment, however, the prevailing practice in mathematics instruction is often to formulate sentences as simply as possible.

Problems with interesting real-life contexts are solved more effectively

In the future, math problems—whether in textbooks or achievement tests—should also address real-life topics that are interesting and relevant to students: These would include, for example, problems that address current topics—such as the debate over the gas tax rebate—or practical everyday situations, such as a cost-benefit analysis of a rail pass. One of the problems in the study referred to the series “Money Heist.” Of all the problems, this was the one that interested the students the most—with a positive effect on their success in solving it.

No Direct Influence: Migration Background

The study also shows that migration background—a demographic characteristic often cited to explain differences in performance—has no direct influence. Rather, it is the varying levels of language proficiency—even among students without a migration background—that influence the problem-solving rate. For classroom practice, it is therefore recommended to provide targeted language support to all students—including in math class—and to teach appropriate reading strategies.

Background

For the study, the team developed customized math problems. In total, three different language versions and three varying levels of mathematical complexity were developed for 15 real-world texts and used in written tests with a rotation design. In the future, the researchers plan to examine more closely which types of problems appear in math classes, which topics interest girls and boys, and which other characteristics of heterogeneity might influence interest and, consequently, problem-solving success.

The full study can be found in Learning and Instruction.