Constructing Misconception-Focused Mathematics Writing Intervention to Develop Decimal Knowledge for Students With Mathematics Difficulty

This study examined the efficacy of a structured misconception-focused mathematics writing (MW) intervention designed to improve decimal knowledge for fifth-grade students with mathematics difficulties (MD). Forty-eight students with MD were randomly assigned to either a MW intervention ( n = 24) or a business-as-usual (BaU) condition ( n = 24). Across 10 sessions, students engaged in structured MW activities to identify, reason about, and correct decimal misconceptions. Results indicated significantly greater gains in overall MW performance for the intervention group compared with the BaU group. Although students demonstrated larger improvements on procedural MW tasks than on conceptual MW tasks, this pattern diverged at the level of decimal knowledge. The intervention significantly improved conceptual knowledge and decimal vocabulary but did not yield significant gains in procedural knowledge. These findings suggest that misconception-focused MW primarily enhances conceptual understanding by engaging students in structured written reasoning that supports the clarification and revision of misconceptions.