Math is Figure-Out-Able!

You've chosen a Problem String to teach, but does it need any preparation? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how they prepare to facilitate a Problem String.

Talking Points:

• Is it ok to adjust a pre-written Problem String?
• What should you include in your 'Kim's Notes'?
• What will your final board layout look like?
• Naming specific teacher moves 
• Practice using models ahead of time
• Are pre-created models o...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on April 23, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, a...

Which Problem Strings are appropriate for your students? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss what they consider when choosing a Problem String for a classroom.

Talking Points:

• A fraction addition example string
• Things to consider when choosing a Problem String:
  • Prewritten vs write your own
  • Time of year
  • Strategies students already own
  • Building a model vs building a strategy
  • Order of sophistication of strategies
  • Building a m...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on April 16, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, a...

What kinds of tasks help students build multi-digit multiplication and division strategies? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how to sequence tasks to develop the foundational strategies and relationships for multi-digit multiplication and division: Scaling, Over and Adjust, Partial Products, Factoring

Talking Points:

• Benefits of using diverse task types
• Sample of three "messy" tasks to develop:
• Ratio tables
• Ar...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on April 9, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, au...

What kinds of tasks help students build multi-digit addition and subtraction strategies? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how to sequence tasks to develop the foundational strategies and relationships for multi-digit addition and subtraction: Friendly numbers, place value, adjusting, the commutative property, decomposing

Talking Points:

• Sequencing tasks is more than just moving from one page to the next in the teache...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on April 2, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, au...

Math class is richer and more fun when the goal is more than answer-getting!

In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how to sequence tasks to develop the foundational strategies and relationships for single digit multiplication and division: doubling, making use of ten, and partial products/quotients.

Talking Points:
Three sample sequence of tasks that use:

• A product approach
• Student exploration of patterns
• Just in time vo...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 26, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, a...

What should the bulk of math class look like? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss sequencing tasks to build foundational relationships that develop into major strategies.

Talking Points

• Major relationships that build the major strategies
• Problem Strings are one kind of task
• Foundational Relationships for young learners
• Rich tasks that get kids messing with relationships
• What does practice look like? (See Episode 38 for more...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 19, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, a...

Why do students give up on learning math? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss how using algorithms as teaching tools is distorting students' perception of what the definition of math is, which results in a poor mathematical identity. 

Talking Points:

• A mysterious five pound bag
• A proportional reasoning Problem String
• Trap #1 and #2 (see Ep 246 and 247 for more details)
• Trap #3 a false definition of math that leads to ...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 12, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, a...

Why do students not realize their incorrect answers are completely unreasonable? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss another trap students fall into when taught to mimic algorithms as 'the way' to solve problems.

Talking Points:

• The patterns in Remove a Friendly Number Over strategy
• Important place value conversations
• How students can be stuck dealing with only digits rather than magnitude
• Reasonableness, or "Ish...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on March 5, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris, au...

If a student can perform an algorithm, have they developed the mathematical reasoning that operation calls for? Or are they answer-getting? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss a major trap students fall into when we teach mathematics as a series of steps to rotely memorize. 

Talking Points:

• A closer look at the multiplication algorithm and a major trap.
• Problem String that helps give students a high does of patterns for ...

In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on February 26, 2025. 

Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.

Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.

Twitter: @PWHarris

Instagram: Pam Harris_math

Facebook: Pam Harris...

If math is figure-out-able why does the world not always teach it that way? In this episode Pam and Kim discuss the three major distortions holding back math education today.

• Autostereograms as a metaphor
• How the distortions are learned
• How the distortions create frustration
• How classrooms transform without distortions
• We want all kids to "see the shark"!

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