Why is it so difficult to teach students to solve math problems?
Students who are poor mathematical problem solvers, as most students with LD are, do not process problem information effectively or efficiently. They lack or do not apply the resources needed to complete this complex cognitive activity. Generally, these students also lack metacognitive or self-regulation strategies that help successful students understand, analyze, solve, and evaluate problems. To help these students become good problem solvers, teachers must understand and teach the cognitive processes and metacognitive strategies that good problem solvers use. This is the CONTENT of math problem solving instruction. Teachers must also use instructional PROCEDURES that are research-based and that have been proven effective. These procedures are the basis of COGNITIVE STRATEGY INSTRUCTION, which has been demonstrated to be one of the most powerful interventions for students with LD (Swanson, 1999).
