Abstract
The important part of school mathematics are word problems which represent the connection between school knowledge and life reality. Goal of our study is to identify whether the familiar or unfamiliar context of math word problem influences solving success rate and if so, whether the reasons are motivational or cognitive.
Our study was designed as three-steps study in group of fifty pupils 9-10 years old. Students were asked pupils to create "the best" word problems for entered numerical formula.
The set of 19 word problems were selected to be evaluated by students. The word problems with low/high preference and estimated success rate were solved following the questions about context and attractivity.
The analysis showed that pupils attitudes and solving toward word problems varied by the context. The success gap between word problems with and without preferred contexts were stronger than the gap between problems with and without real experience with the context.