Which One Doesn't Belong? and Other Ambiguous Math Questions
For many students and teachers, math class is a place of great certainty. One plus one equals two; six is greater than negative four, and the area of a triangle is half the area of a related parallelogram. Math is the place where there are right answers, wrong answers, and no mistaking which is which.
But ambiguity–a messy place–can be where important mathematics begins. What should you pay attention to in a collection of shapes? If you count the number of sides, you’re doing geometry. If you pay attention to shading, you may be thinking about area (the shaded part) and perimeter (the length of the boundary). If you pay attention to orientation, you may be working on your spatial visualization skills.
In this workshop, we will explore several versions of ambiguous math prompts, explore the resulting mathematical ideas, connect to our teaching practice, and practice designing and implementing our own prompts for use in a wide range of classrooms.
Target Audience: EY3 – Grade 4 teachers, but appropriate for a wider range of grade levels including middle and high school.
Continuum Level: 3
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