Substituting one mystery for another: The role of self-explanations in solving algebra word-problems

Explanations students provide themselves (self-explanations) in the course of learning or problem-solving have been shown to be positively associated with performance. However, the role self-explanation plays in problem solving has not been fully elaborated. This study aims to analyze the role of self-explanation in solving algebra word problems. We argue that self-explanation may function as verbal mediation that supports the transformation between different external representations of the problem. Our analysis of the problem solving protocols aims to illustrate this point through a multiple case studies design. Specifically we illustrate the way a particular kind of self-explanation (categorical explanation) mediates students' transformation from the sentential representation of the problem to the tabular one.