Middle School students in Jenni Stout’s Math class start each class with a thinking task. After reading the book “Building Thinking Classrooms” last year, Mrs. Stout changed her approach to teaching math to better engage the girls in her classes. This new method of teaching, which emphasizes critical thinking, problem-solving, and active engagement, is a different approach than the traditional lecture-style classroom approach that focuses on information transfer, memorization, and passive learning.

“The girls are put in random groups and must solve a problem I give them. I’m looking for them to figure out how to approach a problem when they haven’t been given the steps – this helps them build stamina when they encounter a math problem that doesn’t look like something they have seen before.”

 

Random groups are important, she says, because working within regular peer groups can often lead to pre-established roles. The girls also work on vertical surfaces, because getting up and moving around can change the way they think. The person who writes cannot participate or the problem-solving discussion and can only write what the group tells them. This approach helps to improve the communication and listening skills within each group.

 

“Thinking is hard,” said Mrs. Stout. “It’s so much easier to be fed information. I want them to see math as something where, if they encounter a problem that doesn’t look exactly like the other problems they’ve seen, they don’t stop. They think about what they could do – how can they make it look like something they do know how to do? They are much more willing to do that with me now. They still ask for help – but now it’s after they have tried a few things.”