Educational Methods Commons^™

Does Our Complex Writing Lower Test Scores On Mathematics Word Problems?, William (Bill) H. Williams, Sandra P. Clarkson

Publications and Research

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we describe one of a series of studies at Hunter College to determine whether students' reading proficiency affects their performance on mathematics "word" problems. Based on this study, we reached some specific conclusions:

1. Reading ability is a separate, quantifiable factor which impacts the performance of all students on mathematics word problems.

2. Less complex writing leads to better results on word problems for all students.

3. Less complex writing leads to even more improvement in test results for “weaker” readers [those needing reading remediation] than for “average” readers [those exempting reading remediation].

Teaching French With The Fairy Tale: Folk Tales Written By Students Of French, Francesca Sautman

Publications and Research

A small number of language departments throughout the country have begun to incorporate courses based on the fairy tale into their curriculum. In a French composition course (third-year level) which I taught at Hunter College of CUNY in the Fall of 1989, folk, fairy and marvelous tales were used as a basis for written and oral instruction. They generated fascinating examples of how folk tale structures remain quite alive with students studying and living in a contemporary, Western, highly urban environment, and how, specifically, their own cultural backgrounds and interests found a privileged mode of expression in this genre.