COURSE 3: Problem Solving Developing Disposition, Competence, and Confidence

The Common Core calls for students to “make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.” Teachers’ instructional practices directly affect students’ confidence in their mathematical skills and their willingness to persevere in solving difficult problems. This full-day course provides teachers with a deeper look at building perseverance in problem solving and applying mathematics to everyday situations. Participants will learn strategies for engaging students in appropriate levels of constructive struggle, thus allowing all students to approach mathematics with confidence and competence. Teachers learn how to maintain the integrity of high-level tasks by structuring lessons to allow students to make connections and develop new mathematical knowledge.

Outcomes

• Broaden participants’ understanding of how students learn and the features of a classroom environment that promotes confidence and perseverance in students
• Develop a working knowledge of constructive struggle as offering opportunities to involve students in problems that require critical thinking and connections across multiple mathematical concepts, skills, and ideas rather than those that entail superficial application of a rote procedure
• Examine three core features of the role of the teacher who teaches for understanding
• Consider how two cognitive processes that are key in students’ efforts to understand mathematics—reflection and communication—are also tools teachers use to assess student understanding
• Understand the role of problem solving in Next Generation Assessments

Target Audience: Teachers and Math Coaches
Grades: K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12, K–5, K–8. 6–12
Format: Full-Day
Product: #544727