Syntactic Awareness and Arithmetic Word Problem Solving in Children With and Without Learning Disabilities

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Arithmetic word problem (AWP) solving requires integrating verbal and mathematical information, posing challenges for children with learning disabilities (LD).
• Syntactic awareness (SA), the ability to process language structure, is crucial for understanding complex problems.
• The specific role of SA in AWP solving for different LD profiles remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the mediating role of syntactic awareness (SA) in arithmetic word problem (AWP) solving among children with specific learning disabilities.
• To compare the impact of SA on AWP solving across groups with arithmetic learning disabilities (ALD), reading learning disabilities (RLD), and comorbid arithmetic and reading learning disabilities (ARLD).

Main Methods:

• Participants were divided into three groups: ALD, RLD, and ARLD, alongside a control group.
• Mediation analysis was employed to assess the relationship between SA and AWP solving performance.
• Problem-solving tasks were administered to evaluate performance across groups.

Main Results:

• Syntactic awareness (SA) significantly mediated AWP solving for children with reading learning disabilities (RLD) and comorbid arithmetic and reading learning disabilities (ARLD), but not for children with arithmetic learning disabilities (ALD).
• All LD groups performed below the control group in AWP solving.
• When SA was controlled, semantic structure and the position of the unknown variable influenced AWP solving for children with ALD, with the position of the unknown being particularly impactful for the ALD-only group.

Conclusions:

• Syntactic awareness is a critical factor for successful arithmetic word problem solving in children with reading-related learning disabilities.
• Interventions aimed at improving SA may benefit children with RLD and ARLD in mathematical contexts.
• For children with ALD, focusing on semantic understanding and problem structure, particularly the placement of unknown quantities, is essential for enhancing AWP solving skills.