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Creating Effective Problem Solvers (Reflection on Webinars)

As discussed in Building Thinking Classrooms, many students in math classrooms are afraid of and unable to effectively answer problem-solving questions. When provided with a problem to solve, students wait for the teacher's instruction and guidance rather than working out the solution on their own. Many students today have math anxiety and are afraid to fail. Even when a grade is not being assigned to a problem, they aren't willing to take risks and make mistakes when it comes to solving a problem that they haven't seen before. This webinar raises the question: how can we as teachers create students who aren't afraid to problem solve? How do we build thinking classrooms? One of the ways to do this is by moving away from typical lecture-style lessons where the teacher writes down formulas and solutions on the board and the students simply copy them down. This allows students to "learn" material without actually understanding it or retaining knowledge of it. In turn, we develop students who can state definitions of terms and recall formulas, but who have no idea how to implement the formulas correctly and effectively when needed. As teachers, we need to utilize hands-on, interactive activities that allow students to explore mathematical concepts at their own pace in order for them to come to an understanding of the material that they will actually be able to recall and use when faced with a new problem.

As Peg Smith discusses in Implementing Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices, there are 8 Principles to Actions that create an environment in which students can thrive. These 8 principles are:

  • Establish mathematics goals to focus learning
  • Implement tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving
  • Use and connect mathematical representations
  • Facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse
  • Pose purposeful questions
  • Build procedural fluency from conceptual understanding
  • Support productive struggle in learning mathematics
  • Elicit and use evidence of student thinking

One can make connections between building a thinking classroom and these principles as several of these principles are techniques that will foster the development of a thinking classroom full of students who are capable of problem solving.

As I venture into my career as a math teacher, I will ensure that my lessons follow these 8 principles and I will challenge myself to create and teach lessons that give room for exploration and problem-solving as often as I can. Many of today's students do not like math because of their difficulty understanding it, and I want to help these students move away from this mindset to adopt a love and a passion for math like I have.

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