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Productive Struggle
Productive Struggle
Four words, The Power of Yet, stand out at the front of Mrs. Foster's classroom. These words guide Mrs. Foster's philosophy in math instruction. Math can be a difficult subject, especially at the high school level when many concepts begin to feel a bit..abstract? Mrs. Foster is constantly reminding students that it is OK to struggle with new math concepts at first. They may not get it YET, but they will. She encourages mistakes and tells them that "the brain develops better through mistakes than it does when you get things right."
Mrs. Foster strives to create a learning environment for her students where they can engage in productive struggle. Blackburn (2018) refers to productive struggle as "a learner's sweet spot". When students have the opportunity to engage in productive struggle, they are learning to persevere in the face of a challenge (Blackburn, 2018). I was able to witness how productive struggle can work well when I visited Mrs. Foster's classroom mid-October.
Students in Mrs. Foster's math class work in small groups or partnerships often, and they are used to working with new people. Although it is out of most high schoolers' comfort zones, new partnerships provide new perspectives. The problem that Mrs. Foster posted on the board was an open-ended question. She asked that students, first, think about the question on their own for 60 seconds. Then, they were able to engage in discussion with their partner. Students weren't required to solve an equation, but instead discuss what they knew about the equation. There was no right or wrong answer and students were required to engage in deeper thinking, rather than a short "yes" or "no" response. After this discussion, they were given a problem to discuss and solve together.
Each student grabbed a sucker. Their partner was the one who had the corresponding flavor.
IMG_2856.MOVStudents were given multiple resources and methods to solve this equation. Some used pencil and paper. Many grabbed white boards and markers to problem solve. Some even began writing right on the desks with dry erase markers. Some were using a traditional algorithm and some were using a non-traditional method - lattice - to solve the problem. One thing was for sure, students were engaged in great conversation over the problem, sharing their results, questioning and reasoning out loud with one another.
Some partnerships became frustrated, and that's when Mrs. Foster stepped in. She was careful not to "rescue" them. She provided them reminders about previous learning done in the classroom and used careful questioning to guide them to their understanding "Instead of over-scaffolding or giving hints, many teachers try to provide alternate points of entry when they spot an unproductive struggle," (Cowen, 2016).
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The curriculum Mrs. Foster borrows many of her ideas from for her Algebra 2 class is Illustrative Mathematics. The tasks are aligned to the power standards the math department has identified. Sometimes the tasks take longer than she expects, but if they are aligned to the power standards, she has no problem spending time on them. "When engaging in productive struggle, students may make multiple attempts, take more time than usual, ask for help from other students or the teacher, or seek out other resources," (Blackburn, 2018).
This year, she has found that she has spent most of her time focusing on in class activities. The majority of class time is dedicated to group or partner discussion. She is found at the front of the classroom giving direct instruction for no more than 5-10 minutes. Most of her instruction is feedback to small groups as they work through the problems. She said, "I wanted to spend less time talking and have them talk more."
Class often ends with some type of an exit ticket. The formative assessment provides some quick and important information about her students' progress. Mrs. Foster uses her exit tickets to check on student understanding, to identify student misconceptions, to plan her next lesson, and to organize groups for reteaching during green time.
The concept of "productive struggle" is certainly not limited to the math classroom. Any subject area can engage students in productive struggle. Learning to persevere and overcome challenges is a skill that is important for all aspects of life, including life outside of the classroom. Check out the articles below for more information about productive struggle. If you'd like to visit Mrs. Foster's classroom to observe productive struggle in action, let us know!
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