Inspiring Math Perseverance

Perseverance doesn't come easily to many people. (For example, if only I could persevere and finish my 1,000 piece puzzle…) Overcoming obstacles takes a lot of drive. And when the struggle starts to creep in, so too do the thoughts about giving up, or giving in.

Math students are, of course, are no exception. Math anxiety is real, and all too prevalent. I’m sure you’ve witnessed doubt or struggle in your students.

But it’s at those moments that you can keep encouraging productive struggle and perseverance. If you need help, try using an example. It can be about math, or another real-life situation.

Earlier this month, we covered a story about 14-year-old Millicent “Millie” Simmonds, the extraordinary young actress in the new movie, Wonderstruck. The experience was inspiring, energizing, and reminded me of how there are examples of perseverance everywhere.

In the movie Millie plays Rose, a character that is deaf. In real life, Millie is deaf too. As an advocate for the Deaf community, Millie challenges perceptions about deaf people and encourages others to treat the Deaf like everyone else. “We can do anything hearing people can do,” she says. “We just can’t hear.”

Millie and other people in the Deaf community face adversities like this everyday. Yet they choose to embrace their differences in a positive way.

The same ideas apply when we think about struggle in mathematics. Many children and adults believe that they can’t do math. It’s a stigma and it’s untrue. But every student CAN do math, especially when we provide opportunities for positive and productive struggle.

Modeling this belief begins with you. When working on a math problem (easy or difficult) explain your thinking and how to solve the problem. This helps students make sense of what they’re doing.

When I was an elementary math teacher and coach, I asked students questions like “how do you know that 2 x 4 = 8?”

Then I modeled my reasoning using number lines, arrays, skip counting, and more. This helped students understand that there is more than one way to get to any answer—right or wrong!

Whenever we face adversity, it helps to “talk it out.” This is especially true in the math classroom, as it helps students become better problem solvers.

For me, this meant giving students the opportunity to fail and then providing them with the opportunity to try again and explain how they got a new solution. My students challenged each other, investigated, and learned through exploration.

Sometimes I would do something intentionally wrong, so that they could correct me and prove their answer. They grappled with their thinking but the outcome produced is deep and meaningful understanding.

There’s a point to adversity. And that’s to make people wiser. In a math sense, this means if you get something wrong, try again. It’s the journey to understanding that’s most powerful.

In my classroom, I praised the students who were the last ones to finish their assignment or assessment, not the first. Why? Because I knew those were the students that took their time, explained their thinking, and wanted to exceed my expectations. They possessed the mindset that they would do their best, not give up, and make their teacher proud.