Number Sense Kickstart Day #8 - Empowering Students Through the Use of Story Problems

The Build Math Minds Podcast

Day 8 of the Number Sense Kickstart emphasizes a simple, yet sometimes difficult, teaching strategy: Let students solve story problems, don’t give them the steps.

The concept of Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) plays a pivotal role here. It acknowledges that students bring their innate mathematical knowledge shaped by everyday experiences with numbers to the table when solving problems. Students often solve problems in different ways than we think they should mathematically…however their strategies are often rooted in the context of the problem so it’s helpful for educators to know the different problem types.

Your task for Day 8 is to select a problem from your textbook, ensure it meets the math content you need for the day, display it, and have your students solve it without offering explicit solution steps. Details on this are in today’s training.

This shift is often difficult for the kids (and you) so, if needed, you can experiment with Numberless Word Problems, an approach developed by Brian Bushart, which gradually introduces numerical information into word problems while promoting critical thinking and mathematical discourse.

As you implement the use of story problems, continue to focus on understanding, identify underlying number concepts, record student insights, actively listen, encourage visual representations, and embrace a variety of models to help kids build connections.

Get access to all the resources mentioned when you register for the Kickstart here: BuildMathMinds.com/10Day-kickstart

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If you are looking for a comprehensive online course for elementary educators that will help you better understand and implement the ideas in this Number Sense Kickstart, join The Flexibility Formula Course.

During the 10-Day Kickstart you can get a special gift when you enroll by October 19, 2023. Go to BuildMathMinds.com/enroll to pick the grade level of the course (K-2 or 3-5) and get enrolled.