Teaching Through Problem-Solving (TTP)
In Teaching Through Problem Solving (TTP), students grapple with a mathematical task they have not previously learned to solve that embodies the new mathematical ideas or procedures to be learned. Teaching Through Problem-solving is similar to the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Mathematical Discussions by Margaret Smith and Mary Kay Stein that is widely used in the U.S. Many of the SFUSD Core Curriculum Lessons are based on this pedagogy.
Many SFUSD Schools use TTP, usually in conjunction with Lesson Study. This work is supported by the Office of Professional Learning and Leadership, as well as the Mills College Lesson Study Group.
In a typical Teaching Through Problem-Solving lesson, the teacher starts the class by presenting a mathematics problem and making sure students understand what is being asked. Students write or glue a copy of the problem into their journals and begin solving it. As students work on the problem, the teacher walks around to see their work (often using a clipboard with a seating chart to note down each student’s strategy). Having thought through in advance the “line-up” of work at the board that will build the major mathematical ideas of the lesson, the teacher selects several students to present their work and share their thinking at the board, in a sequence designed to build the key mathematical ideas. As each student shares their work and the class discusses it, the teacher makes sure each student strategy and important discussion points are recorded on the board in a way that is easy to read and follow. From comparing and synthesizing the various strategies, the lesson’s new mathematical ideas emerge, and they are summarized on the board. So by the end of the lesson, the board provides a coherent story of the mathematics developed during the lesson.
This page describes the work that SFUSD teachers are doing to use TTP with the SFUSD Core Curriculum.
More information about Teaching Through Problem-Solving is available from the Mills College Lesson Study Group.
Many SFUSD Schools use TTP, usually in conjunction with Lesson Study. This work is supported by the Office of Professional Learning and Leadership, as well as the Mills College Lesson Study Group.
In a typical Teaching Through Problem-Solving lesson, the teacher starts the class by presenting a mathematics problem and making sure students understand what is being asked. Students write or glue a copy of the problem into their journals and begin solving it. As students work on the problem, the teacher walks around to see their work (often using a clipboard with a seating chart to note down each student’s strategy). Having thought through in advance the “line-up” of work at the board that will build the major mathematical ideas of the lesson, the teacher selects several students to present their work and share their thinking at the board, in a sequence designed to build the key mathematical ideas. As each student shares their work and the class discusses it, the teacher makes sure each student strategy and important discussion points are recorded on the board in a way that is easy to read and follow. From comparing and synthesizing the various strategies, the lesson’s new mathematical ideas emerge, and they are summarized on the board. So by the end of the lesson, the board provides a coherent story of the mathematics developed during the lesson.
This page describes the work that SFUSD teachers are doing to use TTP with the SFUSD Core Curriculum.
More information about Teaching Through Problem-Solving is available from the Mills College Lesson Study Group.
