Filled with dread, some math teachers have a problem. As they give problems to students to work their students become problems. Behavior problems. Boredom problems. Sometimes the problem is that students aren't excited by the problems. However, math can be exciting. The “Open Middle” math problem format is NOT talking about middle school math, although it applies to middle, high school, elementary, and even college math just the same. Robert Kaplinsky, a math teacher and author on the “open middle math” talks about how math teachers can unlock student thinking and interest in how problems are posed to students. Busy math teachers can listen to this quick episode to get an introduction to open middle math and see if they want to dive deeper. Math can be exciting!
Listen to Robert Kaplinsky explain open middle math and unlocking student thinking in math class
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Check out these resources from Robert for math teachers. Robert says, “I created these free Depth of Knowledge matrices that teachers love: https://robertkaplinsky.com/tag/dok-matrix/
Add Robert Kaplinsky to your PLN (Bio As Submitted)
Robert Kaplinsky has worked in education since 2003 as a classroom teacher, teacher specialist for Downey Unified School District, instructor for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and presenter at conferences around the world. He created the #ObserveMe movement, wrote the book Open Middle Math is president of Grassroots Workshops and co-founder of the website https://www.openmiddle.com/.
Blog: https://robertkaplinsky.com
Twitter: @robertkaplinsky
Instagram: @robert_kaplinsky
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertkaplinsky
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/robertkaplinsky/
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