Instructional Design in All (K-3) Students' Mathematical Achievement in Solving Word Problems

This paper investigates instructional strategies with potential for improving students' achievement in word problem solving. This review compares and analyzes the direct instruction (DI) and cognitively guided instruction (CGI) research on K-3 word problem solving mathematics students in a demonstration of my position that teachers need to understand student mathematical thinking to enhance students' achievement in word problem solving. CGI provides a more appropriate instructional model than DI for teaching word problem solving. For example, student-centered, conceptual understanding, and children's informal or invented problem solving strategies communicating with each other mathematically, etc. Korean teachers and teacher educators need to consider implementing CGI teaching strategies.