What You Need to Know About Teaching Math Problem Solving with Brittany Hege

Welcome back to the Not So Wimpy Teacher podcast!

Is teaching math kind of a struggle sometimes? 

I have just the girl for you. 

Today we are joined by Brittany Hege from Mix and Math. Brittany has a Master’s in Elementary Mathematics Education and she is incredibly passionate about teaching students math, as well as inspiring other math teachers to be more confident in the classroom. 

In this episode she is sharing her best tips for helping students with their word problems. 

She knows how difficult it can be to get your students to slow down, read the problem, and make a good plan to work through the process. It’s a struggle in classrooms everywhere.

That's why on today's show, we are going to figure it out together. 

Episode 79 Takeaways: 

+ There are ways that you can help students to love math. 

+ Add meaning to your numbers as early as possible.

+ You can use problem frames to add meaning to numbers. 

+ Use numberless word problems to ask what action is happening. 

+ Problem solving isn’t a linear process.

+ Isolate the problem solving process into steps. 

+ Give students time to understand the problem. 

+ Praise students for the process, even when the answer is wrong.

Brittany believes that anyone can be a math person if they just find the part of math that lights them up. 

I learned so much chatting with Brittany today and I feel super inspired, so I hope you do too. 

I’d love to know what other ideas you come up with, so head over to our Instagram @notsowimpyteacher to share those with me! 

Resources Mentioned: 

Follow @mixandmath on Instagram 

Brittany 's Problem Solving Freebie

Want more Not So Wimpy Teacher tips and tricks? Find tons of resources on our website at www.notsowimpyteacher.com and follow me on Instagram @notsowimpyteacher where I share daily!