The Power of Productive Struggle

Students in The Hive are learning that math is not just about getting the right answers, it's about the process. 

As teachers, we know that not every math problem-solving method/strategy speaks to every learner. Introducing a variety of problem-solving strategies and tools, and allowing learners ample time to grapple with them is paramount to math success. It's this grappling or "productive struggle" that encourages learners to attack a problem in a way that makes sense to them; it allows them to build perseverance through trial and error and practice using a variety of strategies. As each learner attempts to solve a problem or learn a new strategy, they ask themselves questions like: What is the problem asking me to do? What information is provided? What part do I understand and what part is giving me trouble? It's these types of questions that engage learners and provide an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the structure of a problem because they're given the opportunity to attack it on their own. Productive struggle helps learners develop important learning habits, including but not limited to perseverance and flexible thinking. Teaching learners to embrace the process of working through a problem, thinking outside the box, and not getting discouraged when they initially fail is essential to their success as a math learner.

When learners understand the purpose behind the struggle and embrace the idea that their efforts must be focused and working toward achieving a goal, it can change feelings of hopelessness to empowerment. This week's guest bloggers reflect on the successes of their own productive struggles.

One challenge I have been able to overcome in math is understanding how to do long division. At first, I had no clue how to do it, but now I am easily pushing through division problems. I think practicing math problems at home and making flash cards to help with knowing my facts quicker made all the difference.    - @BlueBear

This year, I really struggled with long division. Something about it just didn't make sense to me. I struggled with it until one night, I checked my work over and over and it finally made sense to me. It's now one of my favorite things to do in math. My advice to someone, if they are struggling with anything in math, is to keep trying and just "sit with the struggle". It will finally make sense.    - @Coconut5

One challenge I faced in math this year is when I didn't know how to add improper fractions. I overcame the challenge by asking questions - to the teachers, my classmates, and my family. The more questions I asked, the more I understood it. My advice to people that are having trouble with math is to ask for help and never give up.    - @SoccerDog14 and @Milly

One thing I've struggled with this year in math is long division. It took lots of perseverance and leaning into the struggle. I worked through it by taking the time to think about my morning math and what I've learned and what I still don't know. One time I got a test back and got all the answers wrong and I thought to myself, THIS IS IT. I was determined to learn how to do it right. When I got home that day, I worked at it and figured it out. If you're ever struggling with math, never give up. It's OK to go to your teacher and say, "I don't get this." Teachers will always help you. Also, never say you know something when you really don't know it.    -@YesSir

One challenge that I have faced in math that I've had to overcome is understanding fractions. I always got stumped on converting mixed numbers to improper fractions or vice versa. I decided to ask for a packet of practice sheets and I worked on it until I figured it out. My advice to someone who is struggling with a new math concept would be to ask for help and don't stop trying.     - @Ribbet

One challenge I have faced in math is understanding fractions. For example, when I started, I thought it was hard to find equivalent fractions. I overcame it when we started working in groups. I got to hear everyone's thinking and learned new strategies for understanding it (like cross-checking).    - @Oreo17

A challenge I have faced in math this year when I was learning how to add unlike fractions. I didn't know how to make like denominators. I overcame that challenge by repeating the same question until I saw how to do it. My advice to someone with the same struggle is to sit and keep trying. In math, you only grow when you crawl out of your shell and challenge yourself (like lobsters do when they outgrow their shells - they shed their old one and grow a new one). "Be a lobster".     -@bealobster

One math challenge that I have faced this year is understanding how to add fractions. I didn't entirely know what to do. I failed a lot, but then with lots of practice, I finally figured out what to do and succeeded. Don't be afraid of failure because it's a necessary step to success.    -@PotatoHead

One challenge I faced in math this year is long division. I overcame this challenge by working at the white board tables with my classmates and talking about strategies as well as starting with easy problems. Getting the easy problems right helped me be able to make them harder and harder. I did this for a few weeks and would sometimes get stuck, but I kept doing it until I finally mastered it. My advice to someone who is struggling in math is to stick with a tactic that helps you and keep practicing until you get it right.     - @imadog697

I have faced many challenges in math, but long division was the biggest challenge. I started off doing it a weird way and it made all of my answers wrong. I finally decided to get some help from a teacher and then it made sense. My advice to anyone struggling with math is to ask for help - even adults need help with things sometimes. If you don't ask for help, you will never, ever, and I mean, ever, be successful in life.    - @JuniorBean

It's Getting a Little Sketchy In Here

Let's talk about the power of visible thinking. 

Learning is the consequence of thinking. Expecting students to think deeply can be a challenge. How exactly should we expect our students to do this? What does it mean to think? How do we know what or how they're thinking about something if we can't see their thoughts? When we give our students specific tools to help them better structure and deploy their own thinking, learning outcomes improve. When we help them build, connect, and refine their thinking in more overt (ie. visible) ways, we are essentially helping them to develop their metacognitive skills, which leads to better thinking. Visible thinking routines provide a window into what students understand and how they understand it. As teachers, this offers us an opportunity to be intentional about how we plan and adjust our learning experiences to help our learners dig deeper into content, and hear and see each other's questions, insights, and perspectives so that we can support the development their thinking habits and refine their thinking as needed.

There are many ways to make thinking visible and we will explore many of them in The Hive this year. One of the ways we recently asked students to process information visually, was through a sketchnoting exercise related to the the earliest civilizations of North America and how geography shaped how these earliest people lived. Sketchnoting is a form of visual note-taking where students (or really anyone) synthesize and visualize ideas about what they are learning through a combination of picture drawings, diagrams, and text. This exercise trains us to summarize ideas and establish connections between them. Creating these visual notes during our exploration of weathering, erosion, and deposition and then having students participate in a gallery walk of their classmates' sketchnotes, was an engaging way for students to share and build upon one another's knowledge, ultimately gaining a deeper understanding of this scientific information.

This week's guest bloggers reflect on this experience. Enjoy.

Sketchnoting is helpful to me because I can make better sense of what I am reading if I have a visual. It also helps when I am confused and don't understand what I am reading. I can sketch what I'm thinking as I'm reading. It's also really fun.   - @SODA

Sketchnoting helps me further understand what I'm being taught. It's a really fun way to learn. Drawing what I learn helps me remember it better.   - @DollyParton101

Sketchnoting helps me make sense of my learning. It's just like writing about your learning, but it's so much more effective and organized. They help create a more descriptive visual for my mind.    - @HockeyGirl24

Sketchnoting is helpful because you can make more sense of what you read. For example, sketchnoting about the different Native American cultural regions helps me visualize and understand what we are reading about. You can draw what your brain is thinking, which for me, is much more helpful than using a graphic organizer. It's an amazing tool.   - @PotatoPie

Sketchnoting helps me make sense of my learning because if I have a visual of what I am learning about, it helps me understand it differently. I like how I am not judged by it and can draw interesting and sometimes funny things.   - @JuniorBean

Sketchnoting is helpful because it helps me interact with the different regions we're reading about. You can draw funny pictures, but in a helpful way. I love learning about the different Native American cultural regions and then sketchnoting about them - it just makes it more fun. Sketchnoting allows me to learn while doing something I love - drawing.     - @Coconut5

Sketchnotning gives me a chance to show off my art skills and learn new things - and keep them there, stored in my mind.    - @Rosita

Sketchnoting is helpful to me because it opens my mind to what I am learning about in class. It is also really fun to see what your classmates' sketchnotes look like to understand things even better. I think sketchnoting is the best.    - @Avocado234

Sketchnoting is helpful because it can help you remember things - like history or math, or really anything. Other reasons are it's helpful and anyone can do it, and it's fun. Sketchnotning is really just finding fun and creative ways to remember what you've learned.    - @PotatoHead

Sketchnotning has helped me understand everything we have learned about the different Native American cultural regions. You don't have to be good at drawing. You just have to draw it in a way that makes sense to you.     - @TheGK15

Breaking News!

Students in The Hive recently concluded an in-depth exploration into the types of forces that shape Earth. As part of their investigation, they explored the theory of plate tectonics and how this type of Earth movement can produce dramatic changes in the earth's crust. Students took a deep dive into the volcano and earthquake epicenter of the world, The Ring of Fire. They analyzed and interpreted maps of the deep ocean trenches and volcanoes and identified patterns of these features and their locations relative to boundaries between continents and oceans. The driving question: How does geography affect how and where people live? 

Each student produced a breaking news story about the human impact of living in these volatile regions of the world, some of which can be viewed below. Enjoy!