Presentation
Effects on Arithmetic Problem Solving
M.C.W. Yip |
Two
arithmetic verification experiments with 60 adults were conducted
to examine the effects of equation presentation format on arithmetic
problem solving. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to verify
the truth of the addition trials [3 + 5 = 7] while participants were
asked to verify the truth of multiplication trials [4 x 3 = 12] in
Experiment 2. Important variables manipulated are the equation presentation
format and the level of difficulty. Convergent evidence indicated
that the equation presentation format is crucial for the participants
to process mathematical addition and multiplication questions as
well as the selection of appropriate strategy to solve arithmetic
problems. In addition, the author found that effects of this factor
even exceed the difficulty level of the arithmetic problem itself
in the course of cognitive processing. Key words: arithmetic problem solving, equation presentation format, strategy selection |