Comparing Digital and Textbook Interventions for Equation Solving: the Effectiveness of Combining Modeling and Transformational Approaches in Grade 6

Chimoni, Maria; Christou, Constantinos; Pitta-Pantazi, Demetra

Abstract

This study compares four classroom-based interventions designed to support Grade 6 students’ understanding of equation solving. The first intervention employed a digital environment that emphasized working with non-letter-symbolic and letter-symbolic equations via a balance-scale model. The second intervention employed a digital environment focused exclusively on transformational activities with numerical equalities and letter-symbolic-equations. The third intervention combined these two approaches, while the fourth relied solely on the mathematics textbook. Using a pre-test–post-test design, learning outcomes were analyzed. Results indicated that the combined intervention was the most effective, indicating that coordinating modeling and transformational activities can support algebraic thinking.

Keywords

equation solvingmodelingtransformationanalytic thinking

Recommended citation

Chimoni, M., Christou, C., & Pitta-Pantazi, D. (2026). Comparing Digital and Textbook Interventions for Equation Solving: the Effectiveness of Combining Modeling and Transformational Approaches in Grade 6. In Krzywacki H., Hähkiöniemi M., Haataja E., Hannula M.S., Hästö P. (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Volume 1 (pp. 275–282). Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME). ISSN 2790-3648.

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