Webinar “Making Sense of Multiplication and Division Word Problems: Solving the Problem of Problem Solving”
Problem solving is an overarching goal of mathematics instruction and a perpetual challenge for teachers. Children are incredible problem solvers, especially when solving practical problems with personal relevance. Why then do these skills almost seem to vanish when students face word problems in math class? Through deliberate work with mathematical language and thoughtful exploration of the written problem prior to computing, teachers can support students towards greater success with word problems and problem solving in general.
A key element of developing mathematical language is connecting everyday language and experiences. In this third edWebinar of our four-part series, Sara Delano Moore, Ph.D. discusses the variety of everyday experiences that can be described mathematically using multiplication and division and explores strategies for helping students use language to identify these situations when facing new problems. You’ll leave the session with practical strategies for supporting students to recognize multiplication and division in these contexts:
- Equal groups situations, where there are multiple copies of a group
- Area or array situations, where a new unit of measure is created
- Multiplicative comparison situations, where one quantity is compared to another as scaling
Join Sara to build your toolbox for student success with word problems.
This edWebinar will be of interest to teachers and school and district leaders of the elementary grades. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.
Part 4: Word Problems Beyond Whole Numbers: Solving the Problem of Problem Solving
About the Presenter
Sara Delano Moore, Ph.D. helps teachers and students understand mathematics as a coherent and connected discipline. She currently serves ORIGO Education as Vice President of Research and Content and Chair of ORIGO’s Mathematics Advisory Board. An experienced teacher and nationally recognized speaker, her work emphasizes the power of deep understanding and multiple representations for learning. Sara’s interests include building a conceptual understanding of mathematics to support procedural fluency and applications, incorporating engaging literature into mathematics and science instruction, and connecting mathematics to engineering design in meaningful ways. She is a fourth-generation educator with experience teaching mathematics and science to K-8 students as well as experience teaching pre-service and in-service teachers at the university level.
Sara is an author of the Visible Learning for Mathematics series, the Mathematize It series, and the Mastering Math Manipulatives series of books for Corwin Mathematics. She earned her B.A. in natural sciences from Johns Hopkins University, her M.S. in general linguistics and comparative philology from the University of Oxford (UK), and her Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining ORIGO, Sara served as faculty at the University of Kentucky, as Director of the Kentucky Center for Middle School Academic Achievement, and as Director of Mathematics and Science at hand2mind. She lives in Kent, Ohio with her husband, two cats, and a large stash of yarn and fabric.
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
Join the Mathematics for Young Learners community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.
Time: 4:00 pm — 5:00 pm EDT
Free!
