Abstract
In this paper, I describe a computer program, WORDPRO, which simulates the psychological processes involved when third-grade children understand and solve simple arithmetic word problems. Both the implementation of the program and its performance on a set of sample problems are presented. WORDPRO is a useful research tool in that it demonstrates the sufficiency of the theory upon which it is based, assists in communicating that theory to other researchers, and provides a sources of empirical predictions for experimental tests of the theory.
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This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BNS-8309075 to W Kintsch and J. G. Greeno I am grateful to Walter Kintsch, Denise Deilarosa, Suzanne Mannes, Bill Fox, Alan Lesgold, Joseph Sidowski, and an anonymous reviewer for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.
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Fletcher, C.R. Understanding and solving arithmetic word problems: A computer simulation. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 17, 565–571 (1985). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207654
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03207654