Priming Mathematics Word Problem Structures in a Rural Elementary Classroom

This study examined mathematics strategy instruction that primes the common underlying structures of word problems using explicit instruction in a rural elementary classroom with fourth- and fifth-grade students with and without disabilities (n = 27). Although intervention students did not outperform control condition students on a word problem solving (WPS) measure (p = .054), a statistically significant interaction effect was found (p = .003). Follow-up analyses revealed that the WPS pretest-posttest gain was significant for the intervention group only. Students with disabilities in both conditions did not improve performance. Implications for practice and research in rural school classrooms are presented.