If you love Open Middle problems, then you’ll love these matrices that compare problems across the grade levels at different Depth of Knowledge levels. Use the button below to download high quality, printable PDFs of them all or preview what you’ll get by scrolling below. Click on a link below to jump to the…
If you love Open Middle problems, then you’ll love these matrices that compare problems across the grade levels at different Depth of Knowledge levels. Use the button below to download high quality, printable PDFs of them all or preview what you’ll get by scrolling below. Click on a link below to jump to the…
I’m so excited to share that after years in the making, my book Open Middle Math: Problems That Unlock Student Thinking, Grades 6 – 12 is finally done! I wrote Open Middle Math to help teachers facilitate powerful conversations around engaging problems that help students understand and love mathematics. I wanted to tell you…
Hi. Thanks again for reading my book and wanting to get the resources I mentioned. I truly appreciate you making time for this. Here’s everything you’ll need to get started. First, you’ll want to download a version of the Open Middle worksheet. It currently comes in three languages and two versions. The student version…
PDF Open Middle Worksheet 3 Steps To Increase A Math Problem’s DOK Level Depth of Knowledge Matrix – Elementary Math Depth of Knowledge Matrix – Secondary Math Depth of Knowledge Matrix – Elementary and Secondary Math Open Middle Mathematical Modeling: Do You Need Better Spies Or Analysts? Mathematical Modeling Can…
If you’re reading this blog post, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re also a big fan of the kinds of problems on Open Middle, a site I co-founded with Nanette Johnson and run with help from Bryan Anderson, Zack Miller, and Dan Luevanos. In case you aren’t familiar with Open Middle, it’s a website…
If you are frustrated that your students will try a math problem once or twice and then give up, this blog post is for you. Let me (re)introduce you to one of my favorite tools for helping students persevere when problem solving: the Open Middle Worksheet.
To explain why many educators find it invaluable, I’ll need to tangent and briefly explain a central theme of one of my favorite books, Freakonomics. Life is all about incentives. There are positive incentives (I go to the gym because I want to stay healthy) and negative incentives (I don’t steal because I don’t want to go to jail). Without these incentives (or if the incentives changed) what you do would change.
The term open-ended is frequently applied to problems that don’t actually have an open end, but rather an open middle. Here are two problem-based lessons I’ll discuss to make the difference clearer: Do Hybrid Cars Pay For Themselves? How Much Does A 100×100 In-N-Out Cheeseburger Cost? First, let’s consider how each problem ends. With the hybrid car…
Every once in a while I’ll work with a teacher who dismisses higher depth of knowledge problems such as those on Open Middle as common brainteasers with limited value. While I understand that Open Middle problems have similarities to brainteasers, I believe that there are significant differences that cannot be overlooked.
Consider the two second grade math problems below:
Free Resources By Topic Higher Depth Of Knowledge Open Middle Math Problem Matrices All grade levels Real World Math Problems How Did They Make Ms. Pac-Man? How Many Chip Bags Will There Be? How Many Ducklings Are There? How Many Hot Dogs And Buns Should He Buy? How Many Hot Dogs Did They Eat?!…
PDF Empowered Problem Solving – How to teach math using real world and Open Middle problem solving How To Use An Open Middle Problem – A mini workshop just on using Open Middle problems Ed Consultants Lab – How to become and thrive as an educational consultant Bucky The Badger by Dan Meyer…
PDF How Much Is One Third Of A Cup Of Butter? lesson 360 Degree Student Videos Table comparing Building Thinking Classrooms and The 5 Practices 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics Dan Meyer TED talk Sorites paradox Empowered Problem Solving – How to teach math using real…
I have been a math educator for about twenty years and Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics by Peter Liljedahl has more potential to improve the way we teach mathematics than any other book I have ever read. These are not words I say lightly. This book is an absolute game changer for all math educators…
A group of math educators came together to experience what teaching math in the virtual reality metaverse might look like. We tried out two Open Middle math problems and reflected on the experience. We recorded the whole thing and I wanted to share some of the highlights so you could get a feel for what…
I must begin by giving a huge thank you to everyone at the Extended Reality Initiative at Kent State and especially to Karl Kosko who has patiently answered my countless questions. While I had dreamed of a future with 360 degree classroom video being used in professional development, I thought it was still years away.…
I’ve recently started exploring what education and professional development could look like in the virtual reality Metaverse after my friend Mike Flynn suggested that we try it out. I made a series of eight videos to demonstrate this as a proof of concept. Consider that while this might seem crazy or unnecessary right now, if…
PDF Open Middle closest to 1000 problem More Open Middle problems Steve Martin LCM problem More real world problem-based lessons David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins (egg hatching metaphor) History of School Mathematics by George Stanic Managing Transitions…
Empowered Problem Solving – A six-week online workshop for math educators who want to teach math through problem solving. How To Use An Open Middle Problem – A three-hour online mini workshop for math educators who love Open Middle problems. Ed Consultants Lab – A six-week online workshop for current and aspiring educational consultants.…
PDF Open Middle Open Middle Depth of Knowledge Matrices How Many Chip Bags Will There Be? How Much Money IS That?! Mathematical Modeling: Do You Need Better Spies Or Analysts? Mathematical Modeling Can… Beware of Fake Math Modeling Problems Problem Solving Framework Paper book Amazon Kindle Empowered Problem Solving …
I’ve created a three-video series for math teachers with ideas for teaching math remotely. You can watch them now by clicking on the images below. In the first video I’ll unpack how Open Middle problems and real world problems work well when teaching remotely including what they are, why you’d want to use them,…