CRITICAL REVIEW OF A JOURNAL ARTICLE

Powell, S. R., & Fuchs, L. S. (2018). Effective word-problem instruction: Using schemas to
facilitate mathematical reasoning. Teach Except Child, 51(1), 31-42.
doi:10.1177/0040059918777250

In the United States of America, the majority of teachers teach students to approach
mathematical word problems by defining problems as a single operation and linking keywords
to specific operations. The authors have shown the instructions in both general and special
education classrooms at the beginning of the article. It can be seen that the general and special
education students have been approached by these traditional methods in solving word
problems. The authors direct attention initially to the fact that these approaches discourage
students’ mathematical reasoning and result in incorrect answers.

The authors continue their argumentation by introducing two effective approaches that
improve mathematical reasoning and enhance word problem solving among students with
learning disabilities. These two approaches are attack strategy and schema instruction. An
attack strategy is a series of steps in guiding students into solving word problems (Montague,
2008; Xin & Zhang, 2009). A useful schema instruction, in which students categorize word
problems within problem types introduced by the teacher and solve the word problems (Jitendra
& Star, 2012). The authors highlight the attack strategy should be introduced and practiced
alongside schema instruction.

The authors claim that some attack strategies address the first or second phase of word
problem solving, that is interpreting the word problem’s meaning and finding the missing
quantity respectively. They remark attack strategies sometimes address both phases in some
cases. Several attack strategies are presented in this article and some attack strategies make use
of mnemonics. For instance, RUN, FOPS, DOTS and STAR can help students with learning
disabilities remember important information. The authors highlight the students learning of the
attack strategy must be scaffolded by the teacher by decreasing levels of support until it
becomes a natural part of a student’s word problem reasoning. They also believed that students’

1
repeated use of the attack strategy can significantly facilitate the retention of mathematical
reasoning.

The authors assert that schema instruction is a powerful tool for improving word
problem solving skills among students with learning disabilities. There are two categories of
schemas, that are additive schemas and multiplicative schemas. Additive schemas involve
addition or subtraction concepts while multiplicative schemas involve multiplication or
division concepts. The authors emphasize these schema instructions can be applied to students
from kindergarten through eighth grade in word problem solving. The process of teaching word
problem solving by using schema instruction associated with the RUN attack strategy is written
clearly in this article.

In this article, the authors have given an explicit explanation of each schema, such as
definition, equation with graphic organizer, examples and variations. Each schema usually
implements in the upper elementary and middle school grades. Additive schemas can be
categorized into three major problems, that is combine, compare and change problems.
Combine problems require students to solve for the total or to find one of the parts. In compare
problems, students are required to compare a difference between two sets, either the greater set
or the lesser set. On the other hand, change problems require students to solve for an unknown
start, change or end amount.

Another kind of schema is multiplicative schema. The three major multiplicative

schemas are equal groups, comparison and proportions or ratios. In this schema, the authors
depict that the teacher should use a graphic organizer to organize the information provided in
the word problem. It helps students to understand the word problems and encourage them to
solve the word problems algebraically. Furthermore, it also enhances mathematical reasoning
among students with learning disabilities.

This article, however, does not seem to have any significant findings to show the
effectiveness of using schema instruction in word problem solving among students with

2
learning disabilities. The authors have described the components of each schema and the
process of teaching with the attack strategy, but no results are shown in this article. Also, the
authors’ claim about the negative effects of keywords approach to word problem solving does
not support by any evidence. Despite the weaknesses of this article, the authors are suggested
to present the results of the study and evidence related to the claims in future studies.

However, this article still has its value. All attack strategies and schemas are stated
clearly in this article. Moreover, the process of teaching word problem solving employs the
attack strategy and schema instruction is described comprehensively. It can be a great reference
for all mathematics teachers in their word problem solving lessons. In summary, this article is
interesting and useful because preparing teachers in implementing a well-organized lesson in
the classroom and improve students’ mathematical reasoning.

References

Jitendra, A. K., & Star, J. R. (2012). An exploratory study contrasting high- and low-achieving
students’ percent word problem solving. Learning and Individual Differences, 22, 151-
158.

Montague, M. (2008). Self-regulation strategies to improve mathematical problem solving for

students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 31, 37-44.

Powell, S. R., & Fuchs, L. S. (2018). Effective word-problem instruction: Using schemas to
facilitate mathematical reasoning. Teach Except Child, 51(1), 31-42.
doi:10.1177/0040059918777250

Xin, Y. P., & Zhang, D. (2009). Exploring a conceptual model-based approach to teaching
situated word problems. The Journal of Educational Research, 102, 427-441.