Did you know that solving Math problems can help you develop grit? 🤯
Grit is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as courage and determination despite difficulty. That’s right! Math doesn’t only help you develop your brain but it can help build your character too! That’s what Dr. Lester Hao showed our STEM Summit Participants last June 8 when he taught them Collaborative Problem Solving.
This innovative approach encourages students to work together, share ideas, and develop their critical thinking skills. He allowed students to experience learning new strategies and practice communication skills through collaboration. This sharing activity helps students reflect on their problem-solving approaches and strengthens their language skills by having them explain their reasoning.
💡Want to try out how you and your friends can develop grit through Math? Try this.
Number Game: How Many Steps?*
This game encourages students to examine multiple steps they can use to get from one number to another. It also enables the use of inverse operations and checking of calculations to verify correctness—a valuable math skill.
How to play:
1. Each player is given the same starting number and answer to use (e.g., a starting number of 6 and an answer of 17).
2. Each player has 1 minute to write down the steps they would take to get from 6 to 17.
3. Players can use any numbers they wish.
4. Players are allowed to repeat an operation to get to an answer, but will only score 1 point for each different operation.
5. The number of different steps used is the score.
6. Each player scores the number of different steps taken for each round.
7. The player with the most points after the number of rounds played is the winner.
8. Players are encouraged to check each other’s answers and the steps taken.
If any stage is incorrect, the player scores 0 points for that round.
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