{"id":1086,"date":"2017-02-16T14:26:52","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T19:26:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adultnumeracyatterc.wordpress.com\/?p=393"},"modified":"2025-04-09T17:38:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T17:38:23","slug":"changing-how-problems-are-presented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.terc.edu\/adultnumeracycenter\/changing-how-problems-are-presented\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing How Problems Are Presented"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Connie Rivera<\/p>\n

I am an avid numeracy blog reader. As I read about the experiences and ideas of others, I find I\u2019m challenged to think deeply about decisions I am making while teaching in my own classroom. The blogs I read inspire me with new ideas on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

Lately, I\u2019ve noticed ideas from different sources that are all ways to change how problems are presented.\u00a0 All of these teaching strategies produce a slightly different way of investigating a problem, even if it\u2019s a basic word problem. Because each strategy comes at the problem from a different angle, students learn something more profound than if they had all the information laid out at once (which doesn\u2019t happen in real life!). Instead, students are forced to look deeper into the problem or to develop new problem solving skills. These skills are useful for solving problems that appear in other academic disciplines as well as in real life, when learners need to research possible options and choose the best course of action.<\/p>\n

The ideas I\u2019ve come across have me connecting to so many other things that I know about teaching adult numeracy. When I read about them, I think about Standard for Mathematical Practice 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them<\/em>. All of these ideas increase opportunities for my students to make sense of problems before solving them. I am also reminded of Universal Design for Learning and how considering multiple means of representing the problems make the learning more accessible for my multi-level classes, which include English Language Learners.<\/p>\n

All improvements start with making just one change to our instruction. Try some of the example problems in the linked resources below to get a feel for what\u2019s possible. Can you think of a problem you already use in class that you can adapt using one or more of these strategies?<\/p>\n

Strategy 1: Makeovers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Text book questions provide so much information that they are no longer a \u201cproblem\u201d (in the sense of Mathematical Practice 1) for students. Makeovers consist of blocking out most of the information, usually given in a textbook, until students make sense of what\u2019s there and ask for the information they need.<\/p>\n