October 2017 What is Productive Struggle? And, why is it an important part of mathematics? Think of something you have learned to do well. When you first began, you were uncertain, unstable or just couldn't do it very well. Productive struggle is necessary to learn anything. It is the space in between not knowing and knowing. The space where we are curious, ask questions, try different ways and doubt our abilities to ever truly learn something. In order to improve, you needed to practise, reflect on what was going well and what was not working and try different things out. This perseverance was critical to your success. You might have sought out a friend or coach to give you feedback about what how you might improve your performance. Talking about your struggles and your progress helped you make sense of which steps might be next to attain mastery. You didn't give up because you believed you would eventually get better, so you kept trying. This is how we learn, especially if we want to learn something at a deeper level. Unfortunately, many do not apply these principles to the study of mathematics. We seem to live in a culture where it is acceptable to think of ourselves as lacking when it comes to math. "Oh, I'm not good at math", is often the response to a mathematical situation. Or, "I was lousy at math, so I get why my kid is too". This is a culture we need to change, if we expect our children to excel in mathematics, which they all can do with a healthy dose of productive struggle. Here are some ideas you can try: 1. ALWAYS ANSWER A QUESTION WITH ANOTHER QUESTION. Our children have trained us well. They ask, and we answer. By answering their questions immediately, we remove the cognitive load. That is to say, we are doing all the thinking for them. So, the next time a child asks you, "How do you...", try answering this way: "How do you think...?" or "Can you think of a way...?" or "Where might you start to find the information you need to...?" The kids need to do the "heavy lifting" when it comes to thinking. 2. ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERIENCE. Within every new learning situation we find ourselves, we rely on our past experiences to help us make sense of what is new or different. Our prior experiences or knowledge creates a frame upon which we hang new knowledge. As we think about how the new experience or idea changes what we already know about something we are learning. When children are struggling to make sense, try to relate what they are doing to something they might have experience with. This will allow them to make connections between what is known and what is new. 3. TAKE TIME. Deep learning takes time and repetition. Being able to stick with a task is a hallmark of productive problem solvers. New learning does not happen instantaneously, it takes time. We need to try things, think about them for a while, come back to the task and try different things. Brain research tells us that even when we are away from a challenging task our brains continue to work on the problem. 4. ENCOURAGE AND ACKNOWLEDGE. It is important to acknowledge that the new learning is difficult or challenging. At the same time, we need to be sending the message that we believe the child can do it. Just like the Little Engine, we have to believe we can in order to do things that are scary or challenging.
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