Three Steps Toward Igniting Curiousity in the Math Classroom

Math classrooms often fall into a routine of passive learning, where students are more spectators than active participants. This method, while widely observed, often stifles curiosity and critical thinking. Inspired by math instruction in Julie Burnside's classroom, I am reading and learning from the book Building Thinking Classrooms in Math by Peter Lijedhal. Drawing insights from Liljedahl's research, I want to explore how we can shift towards an engaging and thought-provoking math learning environment.

In many math classes, the prevalent norm is a one-way flow of information from teacher to student, where students mimic processes rather than engage in deep thinking. (I do, we do, you do.) This can lead to a passive learning environment where students’ roles are limited to absorbing information rather than actively exploring and understanding mathematical concepts. Liljedahl points out that such norms are built on the assumption that students either can't or won't think for themselves, which is a  mindset that classrooms like Julie Burnside's is disrupting. 

Three Starter Steps to Activate Thinking in Math

1. Implement Thinking Tasks: Shift from tasks that promote mere memorization or repetition of demonstrated procedures to those that truly engage students in thinking. Problem-solving should be about exploring unknown paths and finding solutions, not just applying taught methods to new numbers​​. (I wrote a post about Thinking Routines too.)
2. Foster an Active Learning Environment: Encourage activities that require more than passive note-taking. For instance, presenting students with real-world problems that they have to collaboratively solve can stimulate more active engagement and critical thinking​​.
3. Promote a Culture of Inquiry and Exploration: Create a classroom atmosphere where questions are valued as much as answers. Encourage students to ask why and how, to explore multiple solutions, and to learn from their attempts, whether successful or not.

By adopting these strategies, math teachers can transform their classrooms into engaged, active learning environments, where students are not just learning mathematics but are also developing essential life skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration.  

Let's move beyond traditional teaching norms and create math classrooms that inspire and challenge our students.

Additional Resources:
@LearnBitesized created a great resource that walks you through all 14 teaching practices. There is a video to summarize each practice and they do a nice job connecting the practices throughout content areas. 

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