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.