Acceso usuarios
The objective of this research was to study the relationships between reading and the resolution of mathematical word problems in ten-year-old children at different levels of ability in reading and arithmetic. Using the technique of auto-presentation on a computer screen, sixty-four fourth-graders were asked to read consecutive, measured segments of a given word problem at their own pace. This procedure enabled us to detect potential reading strategies in relation to the time needed to process each segment, and to observe the impact of these strategies on comprehension, which was assessed through performance in problem solving. We made the following observations : (1) regardless of their level in mathematics, participants read strategically, i.e., they modified their reading pace as a function of problem formulation. More precisely, when the question appeared at the beginning of the text rather than at the end, participants read the question more slowly and the non-numerical segments more quickly. (2) There was a relationship between reading speed and performance in problem solving.
