Titan Hill: Math

Mathematically gifted students are often capable of high levels of problem solving and inductive thinking. They display high levels of logical reasoning, high self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation for the subject (Pajares and Graham, 1999; Sriraman, 2003; Koshy et al., 2009; Leikin, 2014; Leikin et al., 2017).

Differentiation for Illustrative Math

  • There are some Exploration Problems in each section (found at the end of the Practice Problems). Here is a link explaining how they could be used (scroll down to Exploration Problems in the Practice problems section). Practice problems are found under the Practice tab in each unit.

  • You could also differentiate in centers, using a higher stage for a game or activity. See the "centers" tab on the Illustrative Math Website.

  • According to our Math AEA rep, there isn't a lot opportunity for differentiation in elementary because the goal is to go deeper instead of faster for students who need more. Here is a blog post from the IM Hub that explains IM's approach to "curious students." (how they describe students who desire challenge)

  • Guidance for Accelerating students in math

Open Middle Math: The name “Open Middle” might sound like a strange name for a website about math problems. However, it references a very specific type of problem we try to encourage here. Most of the problems on this site have:

  • a “closed beginning” meaning that they all start with the same initial problem.

  • a “closed end” meaning that they all end with the same answer.

  • an “open middle” meaning that there are multiple ways to approach and ultimately solve the problem.

Open middle problems generally require a higher Depth of Knowledge than most problems that assess procedural and conceptual understanding. They support the Common Core State Standards and provide students with opportunities for discussing their thinking.