Norm Mattox

Teachers set the stage by leading an introductory discussion that orients students to the context of the problem.

Teachers introduce a mathematical way of thinking about the context and engage students in a preliminary approach that opens the door to the workshop phase.

he workshop starts with a more challenging and more open-ended extension of the problem. In teams, students plan and produce mathematical posters to communicate their work.

Teams display their posters in the classroom, get to know other teams’ posters, and attach questions/comments by way of small adhesive notes (or similar).

Teachers then compare, contrast and connect several posters. In the process they highlight a progression from a more basic approach to a more generalizable one.

Serving as a check for understanding, this more focused problem gives teachers evidence of student understanding.