Working Together to Problem Solve

Sometimes three heads are better than one!  1st grade boys used problem based learning and a hands on experience as a way to learn how communication, creativity, and collaboration are key to being effective and efficient mathematicians.  They worked together to find patterns and then proved that logical reasoning can lead to 

POWER LEARNING!

The task - count the blocks

*everyone started counting by 1's

Then...the challenge - work together to find the most efficient and accurate approach

*Many strategies were shared and then the group decided on the best one.  

Can you guess the strategy and how many blocks there are in all?

611 blocks in all!

Students Report on 21 Century Skills in Action

Sometimes digging into a challenge problem can be a daunting task but these 4th grade girls know what it takes to persevere and they want to tell you about it!  21st Century Skills are the essential skills that students need to succeed.  These 4th grade girls reflect on how these skills helped them work together to find the answer!

The Challenge - from Match Wits with Mensa - the following 9 matchsticks make one triangle.  Rearrange five of them to make 5 triangles.

Kate ~ We used communication to talk about what we could do and shared our ideas.

Travis ~ We used flexibility because when a strategy didn't work out, we tried to use a different one.  We had to use creativity to change our design.

Kate ~ We also used interpretation and analysis by sharing our ideas and determining whether or not they worked.

Travis ~ Collaboration and flexibility worked very well together to solve a problem!

Think Fast!

Name both types of marsupials whose names begin with the letter "k."

ANSWER

Interested in receiving similar questions of the day covering subjects such as math, science, social studies, geography, literature and more?  Go to Knowledge Master Question of the Day to subscribe.