article review: Encouraging Persistence in Math

I enjoyed this article from Edutopia; "Encouraging Persistence in Math"

The author shared the value of open-ended questions and their opportunity to enrich student persistence in mathematics.

The challenge we face is ensuring that we provide rich and complex problems for our students to dig into, the quality of the problem allows for the student struggle and stretch.

This article recommends that in looking for problems and opening this learning to your students, consider the following;

• Low floor, high ceiling (basic skills required to complete, but allowing for layers of complexity)
• Room for multiple interpretations 
• Teacher coaching to remove barriers to access
• Keeping the time open - don't require a solution and focus on the process
• Structures for communication with peers
• Variety (challenge, problem type, and content)

I encourage you to consider other aspects of your problem-solving routines;

• Providing access to a range of manipulatives so students can explore multiple ways to dig into their thinking
• Build it as a routine - is this a "do now" students can do when they enter the class in the morning?  Do students go back to this problem when they complete other work?
• Coach number talk stems as ways for students to effectively discuss, share, and disagree
• Reflection time - ask students to reflect on their process - either through discussions or a written journal

Find a good resource for open-ended problems?  Share it below!

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Heather Leonard
STEM Curriculum Coordinator

Reading Public Schools

The aim of science is to discover and illuminate truth. ~Rachel Carson
Every time a student makes a mistake in math, they grow a synapse. ~ Jo Boaler
There's nothing I believe in more strongly than getting young people interested in science and engineering, for a better tomorrow, for all humankind. ~ Bill Nye