Flip It

How familiar is the format of this textbook page to you?

This certainly matches what I remember during my time in K-12 math as a student: a page full of "naked" number computation problems, followed by a few problem solving questions. Since I had just finished practicing a page full of multiplying fractions, it was pretty obvious that I would need to do the same in all four practical problems. Locate the numbers, multiply them, and I'm good to go!

This is called learning for problem solving. Now we know that this strategy isn't really developing student's problem solving muscles. Instead, we want to flip it to learning through problem solving. This looks like beginning a lesson or a group of lessons with an engaging context. Start with the story first, and build the need for the math.

In the case of SOL 5.4, students are learning to multiply 3x2 digit numbers for the first time, for example. What context could you create that would make them need this new skill? Dan Meyer calls this creating the headache. Let them wrestle with it for a while, with the support of manipulatives and models. From this exploring often comes student invented algorithms that demonstrate early sense-making. After the exploring and productive struggle, the math can be the Aspirin. Context first, efficient algorithms second.

When students learn through problem solving they develop a deeper understanding of the operations, and this is a key to mastering practical problems.