A comment from a recent post of mine on differentiation asked what I do with students who complete tasks early. In every course I have ever taught (usually Algebra 2, Prob/Stat, Algebra) I have used weekly problem-solving challenges, no matter what the level of student. Often, my intent in these problems was to develop written communication skills in mathematics, and have students begin to reflect upon their own writing style. Have students complete the challenge, critique their writing and provide a path for improvement, and have students turn in their best works as part of a portfolio at the end of the semester.
In this post, I focus on tasks involving counting, number theory, and algebra. The problems here are ones I have assigned, graded, revised, and enjoyed over the past 15 years. I’ll have some more tasks in a later post. Click the title to download the PDF document.
PATHS: How many ways are there from start to finish? I love this problem, because there are multiple ways to approach it. Combinations give the result, but there is also a Pascal’s Triangle approach, or as a permutation with identical items. And Polya’s strategy of starting small and working your way up is key to this one.
SOME ZEROES: I have always enjoyed giving this problem, as you you can have rich conversations about simple number facts and the commutative property. And the student explanations will range from the ridiculous to the intriguing. When I started giving this problem 15 years ago, some students would use Excel to try to simply compute the answer, which often “broke” Excel and gave a wrong answer. I have given up on trying to follow the technology, and have given a similar problem as a follow-up on a quiz.
AVERAGE SPEED: One of my favorites because of its simple premise, and a result that is counter-intuitive. Also, can be easily differentiated. For some students, choosing distances and testing serves as a good starting point, while students with advanced algebraic skills can dive right into the abstract.
LAST DIGIT: A premise simple enough for grade 6, yet complex enough to challenge older students if you ask for a general formula. It’s also easy to adapt this problem and use it as an opener for class.
INVERSES: In this challenge, students must find a matrix which is its own inverse, of which there are many, many possibilities. How will your students ensure that their matrix is unique?
Feel free to contact me for solutions, tips, or more ideas.
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