Problem-Solving Skills: Teaching Young Students to Think Like Mathematicians

Description

Do you want your K to 2 students to explain their thinking with confidence and see mistakes as opportunities to learn? Are you looking for practical ways to build math talk and perseverance without adding more prep? Research shows students achieve more when classrooms emphasize reasoning over speed, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics highlights problem solving as foundational to conceptual understanding and long-term success. In this course, Chrissy Romano shows you how to create a problem-solving culture aligned to the Standards for Mathematical Practice, using daily routines, open-ended tasks, and simple discussion moves that help young learners model, reason, and persist through challenges.

Objectives

1. Define key terms such as reasoning, modeling, perseverance, and mathematical discourse for early elementary learners.
2. Describe how problem-solving aligned to the Standards for Mathematical Practice supports conceptual understanding and engagement.
3. Facilitate a short number talk that prompts students to share strategies and justify their thinking.
4. Examine a sample K to 2 math task to identify multiple entry points and opportunities for discourse.
5. Use student talk and work samples to judge the effectiveness of prompts and routines in promoting reasoning over speed.
6. Design a K to 2 problem-solving routine that includes an open-ended task, question stems, and an anchor chart plan.

Key Take Aways

• Build a problem-solving culture that values reasoning, modeling, and perseverance in K to 2 math.
• Use daily math talk and open-ended tasks to promote multiple strategies and rich student discourse.
• Ask purposeful questions and use simple prompts to deepen thinking while learning is happening.
• Capture student ideas with anchor charts and routines that make strategies visible and transferable.