995
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

What’s the Difference? Contributions of Lexical Ambiguity, Reading Comprehension, and Executive Functions to Math Word Problem Solving in Linguistically Diverse 3rd to 5th Graders

ORCID Icon, &

References

  • Appel, R. (1998). Linguistic minority children’s knowledge of multiple word meanings; Polysemy and the testing of lexical skills. ITL-International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 119(1), 79–89. doi:10.1075/itl.119-120.06app.
  • Barac, R., Moreno, S., & Bialystok, E. (2016). Behavioral and electrophysiological differences in executive control between monolingual and bilingual children. Child Development, 87(4), 1277–1290. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12538
  • Bassok, M., Chase, V. M., & Martin, S. A. (1998). Adding apples and oranges: Alignment of semantic and formal knowledge. Cognitive Psychology, 35(2), 99–134. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1998.0675
  • Bialystok, E., Luk, G., Peets, K. F., & Sujin, Y. A. N. G. (2010). Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13(4), 525–531. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728909990423
  • Board of Education, Commonwealth of Virginia. (2016). Mathematics standards of learning for Virginia public schools. https://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/mathematics/2016/stds/k-12-math-sol.pdf
  • Booton, S. A., Hodgkiss, A., Mathers, S., & Murphy, V. A. (2022). Measuring knowledge of multiple word meanings in children with English as a first and an additional language and the relationship to reading comprehension. Journal of Child Language, 49(1), 164–196. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000921000052
  • Cartwright, K. B. (2002). Cognitive development and reading: The relation of reading-specific multiple classification skill to reading comprehension in elementary school children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.94.1.56
  • Cartwright, K. B., Marshall, T. R., Dandy, K. L., & Isaac, M. C. (2010). The development of graphophonological-semantic cognitive flexibility and its contribution to reading comprehension in beginning readers. Journal of Cognition and Development, 11(1), 61–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248370903453584
  • Cartwright, K. B., Coppage, E. A., Lane, A. B., Singleton, T., Marshall, T. R., & Bentivegna, C. (2017). Cognitive flexibility deficits in children with specific reading comprehension difficulties. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 50(July), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2016.01.003
  • Cartwright, K. B., Bock, A. M., Clause, J. H., August, E. A. C., Saunders, H. G., & Schmidt, K. J. (2020). Near-and far-transfer effects of an executive function intervention for 2nd to 5th-grade struggling readers. Cognitive Development, 56, 100932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2020.100932
  • Cervetti, G. N., Hiebert, E. H., Pearson, P. D., & McClung, N. A. (2015). Factors that influence the difficulty of science words. Journal of Literacy Research, 47(2), 153–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X15615363
  • Colé, P., Duncan, L. G., & Blaye, A. (2014). Cognitive flexibility predicts early reading skills. Frontiers in Psychology: Cognitive Science, Article ID 565. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00565/full
  • Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2018). Common Core State Standards Initiative: Standards for mathematical practice. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
  • Cortina, J. M. (1993). What is coefficient alpha? An examination of theory and applications. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(1), 98–104. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.1.98
  • Cragg, L., Keeble, S., Richardson, S., Roome, H. E., & Gilmore, C. (2017). Direct and indirect influences of executive functions on mathematics achievement. Cognition, 162(May), 12–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.01.014
  • Crosson, A. C., Hughes, E. M., Blanchette, F., & Thomas, C. (2020). What’s the Point? Emergent bilinguals’ understanding of multiple-meaning words that carry everyday and discipline-specific mathematical meanings. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 36(2), 84–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2020.1715312
  • Deák, G. O., & Wiseheart, M. (2015). Cognitive flexibility in young children: General or task-specific capacity? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 138(July), 31–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2015.04.003
  • Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64(1), 135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
  • Durkin, K., & Shire, B. (1991). Primary school children’s interpretations of lexical ambiguity in mathematical descriptions. Journal of Research in Reading, 14(1), 46–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9817.1991.tb00005.x
  • Eslinger, P. J., & Grattan, L. M. (1993). Frontal lobe and frontal-striatal substrates for different forms of human cognitive flexibility. Neuropsychologia, 31(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-3932(93)90077-D
  • Filippetti, V. A., & Krumm, G. (2020). A hierarchical model of cognitive flexibility in children: Extending the relationship between flexibility, creativity and academic achievement. Child Neuropsychology, 26(6), 770–800. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2019.1711034
  • Fogelberg, E., Skalinder, C., Satz, P., Hiller, B., Bernstein, L., & Vitantonio, S. (2008). Integrating literacy and math: Strategies for K-6 teachers. Guilford Press.
  • Fry, E. B., & Kress, J. E. (2012). The reading teacher’s book of lists (Vol. 55). John Wiley & Sons.
  • Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Compton, D. L., Hamlett, C. L., & Wang, A. Y. (2015). Is word-problem solving a form of text comprehension? Scientific Studies of Reading, 19(3), 204–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2015.1005745
  • Fuchs, L. S., Gilbert, J. K., Powell, S. R., Cirino, P. T., Fuchs, D., Hamlett, C. L., … Tolar, T. D. (2016). The role of cognitive processes, foundational math skill, and calculation accuracy and fluency in word-problem solving versus prealgebraic knowledge. Developmental Psychology, 52(12), 2085–2098. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000227
  • Fuchs, L. S., Gilbert, J. K., Fuchs, D., Seethaler, P. M., & Martin, B. N. (2018). Text comprehension and oral language as predictors of word-problem solving: Insights into word-problem solving as a form of text comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 22(2), 152–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2017.1398259
  • Fuchs, L. S., Seethaler, P. M., Sterba, S. K., Craddock, C., Fuchs, D., Compton, D. L., … Changas, P. (2021). Closing the word-problem achievement gap in first grade: Schema-based word-problem intervention with embedded language comprehension instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(1), 86–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000467
  • Gallagher, M. A., Taboada Barber, A., Beck, J. S., & Buehl, M. M. (2019). Academic vocabulary: Explicit and incidental instruction for students of diverse language backgrounds. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 35(2), 84–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2018.1510796
  • Goodrich, J. M., & Namkung, J. M. (2019). Correlates of reading comprehension and word-problem solving skills of Spanish-speaking dual language learners. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 48(3rd Quarter), 256–266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.04.006
  • Grimm, K. J. (2008). Longitudinal associations between reading and mathematics achievement. Developmental Neuropsychology, 33(3), 410–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565640801982486
  • Gros, H., Thibaut, J. P., & Sander, E. (2020). Semantic congruence in arithmetic: A new conceptual model for word problem solving. Educational Psychologist, 55(2), 69–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2019.1691004
  • Hattie, J., Fisher, D., Frey, N., Gojak, L. M., Moore, S. D., & Mellman, W. (2016). Visible learning for mathematics, grades K-12: What works best to optimize student learning. Corwin Press.
  • Henderson, L., Snowling, M., & Clarke, P. (2013). Accessing, integrating, and inhibiting word meaning in poor comprehenders. Scientific Studies of Reading, 17(3), 177–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2011.652721
  • Hughes, E. M., Powell, S. R., & Lee, J. Y. (2020). Development and psychometric report of a middle-school mathematics vocabulary measure. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 45(3), 226–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508418820116
  • Joseph Picot, C. (2017). Using academic word lists to support disciplinary literacy development. The Reading Teacher, 71(2), 215–220. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1593
  • Khanna, M. M., & Boland, J. E. (2010). Children’s use of language context in lexical ambiguity resolution. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(1), 160–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210902866664
  • Kieffer, M. J., Vukovic, R. K., & Berry, D. (2013). Roles of attention shifting and inhibitory control in fourth‐grade reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 48(4), 333–348. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.54
  • Kieffer, M. J., Mancilla-Martinez, J., & Logan, J. K. (2021). Executive functions and English reading comprehension growth in Spanish-English bilingual adolescents. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 73(March–April), 101238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101238
  • Kim, Y. S. G. (2020). Toward integrative reading science: The direct and indirect effects model of reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(6), 469–491. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420908239
  • Klein, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford Press.
  • Korkman, M., Kirk, U., & Kemp, S. (2007). NEPSY II. Clinical and interpretative manual. Psychological Corp.
  • Lev-Ari, S., & Keysar, B. (2014). Executive control influences linguistic representations. Memory & Cognition, 42(2), 247–263. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-013-0352-3
  • Lin, X. (2021). Investigating the unique predictors of word-problem solving using meta-analytic structural equation modeling. Educational Psychology Review, 33(3), 1097–1124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09554-w
  • Lin, X., Peng, P., & Zeng, J. (2021). Understanding the relation between mathematics vocabulary and mathematics performance: A meta-analysis. The Elementary School Journal, 121(3), 504–540.
  • Logan, J. K., & Kieffer, M. J. (2017). Evaluating the role of polysemous word knowledge in reading comprehension among bilingual adolescents. Reading and Writing, 30(8), 1687–1704. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-017-9745-1
  • Logan, J. K., & Kieffer, M. J. (2021). Investigating the longitudinal and concurrent relationships between polysemous word knowledge and reading comprehension among Spanish-English bilingual middle school students. Reading and Writing, 34(2), 301–335. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10071-z
  • Lu, Y., Wu, J., Dunlap, S., & Chen, B. (2017). The inhibitory mechanism in learning ambiguous words in a second language. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(636), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00636
  • Mamedova, S., Stephens, M., Liao, Y., Sennett, J., & Sirma, P. (2021). 2012–2016 Program for International Student Assessment Young Adult Follow-up Study (PISA YAFS): How reading and mathematics performance at age 15 relate to literacy and numeracy skills and education, workforce, and life outcomes at age 19 (NCES 2021-029). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 25, 2022 from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2021029.
  • Mancilla-Martinez, J., Hwang, J. K., Oh, M. H., & McClain, J. B. (2020). Early elementary grade dual language learners from Spanish-speaking homes struggling with English reading comprehension: The dormant role of language skills. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(5), 880–894. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000402
  • Mann Koepke, K., & Miller, B. (2013). At the intersection of math and reading disabilities: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 46(6), 483–489. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219413498200
  • Mason, J. M., Kniseley, E., & Kendall, J. (1979). Effects of polysemous words on sentence comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 15(1), 49–65. https://doi.org/10.2307/747431
  • Mazzocco, M. M., Myers, G. F., Thompson, L. A., & Desai, S. S. (2003). Possible explanations for children’s literal interpretations of homonyms. Journal of Child Language, 30(4), 879–904. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000903005786
  • McKenna, R., Rushe, T., & Woodcock, K. A. (2017). Informing the structure of executive function in children: A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging data. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11(April), 154. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00154
  • Melby-Lervåg, M., & Hulme, C. (2013). Is working memory training effective? A meta-analytic review. Developmental Psychology, 49(2), 270–291. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028228
  • Mercier, J., Pivneva, I., & Titone, D. (2014). Individual differences in inhibitory control relate to bilingual spoken word processing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 17(1), 89–117. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728913000084
  • Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41(1), 49–100. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1999.0734
  • Nagy, W., & Townsend, D. (2012). Words as tools: Learning academic vocabulary as language acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 47(1), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1002/RRQ.011
  • National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). National assessment of educational progress: The nation’s report card. U.S. Department of Education. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/
  • New Meridian. (2019). New Meridian Resource Center: Released items. Accessed April 22, 2022 at https://resources.newmeridiancorp.org/released-items/
  • Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. (2011). PARCC model content frameworks: Mathematics grades 3-11.
  • Peng, P., & Lin, X. (2019). The relation between mathematics vocabulary and mathematics performance among fourth graders. Learning and Individual Differences, 69(January), 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2018.11.006
  • Peng, P., Lin, X., Ünal, Z. E., Lee, K., Namkung, J., Chow, J., & Sales, A. (2020). Examining the mutual relations between language and mathematics: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(7), 595–634. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000231
  • Pierce, M. E., & Fontaine, L. M. (2009). Designing vocabulary instruction in mathematics. The Reading Teacher, 63(3), 239–243. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.63.3.7
  • Powell, S. R., Driver, M. K., Roberts, G., & Fall, A. M. (2017). An analysis of the mathematics vocabulary knowledge of third-and fifth-grade students: Connections to general vocabulary and mathematics computation. Learning and Individual Differences, 57, 22–32.
  • Powell, S. R., Berry, K. A., & Tran, L. M. (2020). Performance differences on a measure of mathematics vocabulary for English learners and non-English learners with and without mathematics difficulty. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 36(2), 124–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2019.1677538
  • Reynolds, C. R., & Voress, J. (2007). Tests of Memory and Learning (2nd ed., pp. TOMAL–2). Pro-Ed.
  • Sanford, A. K., Pinkney, C. J., Brown, J. E., Elliott, C. G., Rotert, E. N., & Sennott, S. C. (2020). Culturally and linguistically responsive mathematics instruction for English learners in multitiered support systems: PLUSS enhancements. Learning Disability Quarterly, 43(2), 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731948719836173
  • Schrank, F. A., Mather, N., & McGrew, K. S. (2014). Woodcock-Johnson IV tests of achievement. Riverside.
  • Søndergaard Knudsen, H. B., Jensen de López, K., & Archibald, L. M. (2018). The contribution of cognitive flexibility to children’s reading comprehension–the case for danish. Journal of Research in Reading, 41(S1), S130–S148. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12251
  • Spencer, M., & Wagner, R. K. (2017). The comprehension problems for second-language learners with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding: A meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Reading, 40(2), 199–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12080
  • Spencer, M., & Wagner, R. K. (2018). The comprehension problems of children with poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 88(3), 366–400. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654317749187
  • Spiegel, J. A., Goodrich, J. M., Morris, B. M., Osborne, C. M., & Lonigan, C. J. (2021). Relations between executive functions and academic outcomes in elementary school children: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 147(4), 329–351. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000322
  • Swanson, H. L., Kong, J. E., & Petcu, S. D. (2019). Individual differences in math problem solving and executive processing among emerging bilingual children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 187(November), 104653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.06.006
  • Taboada Barber, A., Cartwright, K. B., Stapleton, L. M., Klauda, S. L., Archer, C. J., & Smith, P. (2020). Direct and indirect effects of executive functions, reading engagement, and higher order strategic processes in the reading comprehension of dual language learners and English monolinguals. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61(April), 101848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101848
  • Verschaffel, L., Schukajlow, S., Star, J., & Van Dooren, W. (2020). Word problems in mathematics education. ZDM, 52(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-020-01130-4
  • Vilenius‐Tuohimaa, P. M., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J. E. (2008). The association between mathematical word problems and reading comprehension. Educational Psychology, 28(4), 409–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410701708228
  • Vukovic, R. K., Lesaux, N. K., & Siegel, L. S. (2010). The mathematics skills of children with reading difficulties. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(6), 639–643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2010.08.004
  • Vukovic, R. K., & Lesaux, N. K. (2013). The language of mathematics: Investigating the ways language counts for children’s mathematical development. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 115(2), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2013.02.002
  • Wiebe, S. A., Sheffield, T., Nelson, J. M., Clark, C. A., Chevalier, N., & Espy, K. A. (2011). The structure of executive function in 3-year-olds. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108(3), 436–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2010.08.008
  • Woodard, K., Pozzan, L., & Trueswell, J. C. (2016). Taking your own path: Individual differences in executive function and language processing skills in child learners. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 141(January), 187–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2015.08.005
  • Zipke, M., Ehri, L. C., & Cairns, H. S. (2009). Using semantic ambiguity instruction to improve third graders’ metalinguistic awareness and reading comprehension: An experimental study. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(3), 300–321. https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.44.3.4

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.