This year, I had the incredible opportunity to serve as an Exemplars Ambassador, which added a deeper level of thinking and meaningful problem solving to my classroom. As part of the program, I was able to use many of the problem-solving tasks with my 6th grade math students.
From the very first task, I noticed a difference in student engagement. The problems were rich, meaningful, and accessible, inviting students to jump in and wrestle with the mathematics. What I appreciated most was that there wasn’t just one “right way” to solve each problem. Students explored multiple strategies, compared approaches, and learned to value different ways of thinking. This flexibility empowered them to take risks and build confidence in their own mathematical reasoning...
As the year progressed, I saw tremendous growth. My students’ problem-solving skills strengthened, but even more exciting was the growth in how they communicated their thinking. They learned that a solution is more than just an answer, but rather it’s a clear explanation of the steps taken, the reasoning behind decisions, and the justification of conclusions. Students began taking pride in showing their work and articulating their thought processes. Their written solutions became more detailed, organized, and mathematically precise.
NH
United States