Realistic word problems in mathematics lessons

In order to be able to apply school knowledge to problems outside of school, it is necessary to be able to integrate knowledge acquired in school and outside of school. In the area of mathematics, however, students sometimes show difficulties in doing so: When working on tasks closely related to reality, knowledge about the real world is often disregarded, leading to mathematically correct but unrealistic solutions (see e.g. Verschaffel, 2020).

In my research, I address the question of why students have difficulties integrating mathematical knowledge and knowledge about the real world when working on word problems with a strong connection to reality. In particular, I am investigating the role of mathematical norms, beliefs and expectations acquired in school and their effect on how realistic word problems are solved.

Learning losses due to corona

The coronavirus pandemic led to wide-spread school closures in spring 2020. How did these school closures affect pupils' learning? Studies on learning loss paint a mixed picture. While some studies report learning losses, others did not find any learning losses or even found learning gains (for an overview, see Helm, Huber & Postlbauer, 2021).

In my research, I am looking at the question of how the coronavirus pandemic has affected students' learning outcomes overall and which factors have influenced learning outcomes.