Math is Figure-Out-Able!
Math teacher educator Pam Harris and her cohost Kim Montague answer the question: If not algorithms, then what? Join them for ~15-30 minutes every Tuesday as they cast their vision for mathematics education and give actionable items to help teachers teach math that is Figure-Out-Able. See www.MathisFigureOutAble.com for more great resources!
Math is Figure-Out-Able!
#MathStratChat - January 15, 2025
In today’s MathStratChat, Pam and Kim discuss the MathStratChat problem shared on social media on January 15, 2025.
Note: It’s more fun if you try to solve the problem, share it on social media, comment on others strategies, before you listen to Pam and Kim’s strategies.
Check out #MathStratChat on your favorite social media site and join in the conversation.
Twitter: @PWHarris
Instagram: Pam Harris_math
Facebook: Pam Harris, author, mathematics education
Want more? Check out the archive of all of our #MathStratChat posts!
Pam 00:01
Hey, fellow mathers, welcome to the podcast where Math is Figure-Out-Able. I'm Pam Harris.
Kim 00:06
And I'm Kim Montague.
Pam 00:08
And this episode is a MathStratChat one where we chat about our math strategies. Every Wednesday evening, I throw out a math problem on social media, and people from around the world chat about the strategies they use, and comment on each other's thinking.
Kim 00:19
Okay, so this week, our problem was 77 minus 49. How would you like to solve this problem? Pause the podcast. I'll solve it however you'd like. And the problem is 77 minus 49.
Pam 00:32
Dun, dun, dun!
Kim 00:33
Yeah.
Pam 00:33
Alright, Kimberly, how are you thinking about this one?
Kim 00:36
Well, you know, it's very close to an Over for me, 49, so I'm going to say 77 minus 50 is 27 plus 1 more is 28.
Pam 00:48
Very nice. I like it.
Kim 00:49
Thank you.
Pam 00:50
I'm thinking 77 is screaming at me that it's eleven 7s.
Kim 00:54
Yep.
Pam 00:54
49 is seven 7s.
Kim 00:56
Mmhm.
Pam 00:57
So, eleven 7s minus seven 7s is four 7s. And four 7s is also 28.
Kim 01:02
You know that one already?
Pam 01:03
Dun, dun, dun!
Kim 01:05
That's one that some kids maybe don't know as well, but this is something that could help if they see and hear about 7s a lot.
Pam 01:14
Yeah.
Kim 01:14
Like, noticing seven 7s.
Pam 01:16
And, teachers, you can use problems like this to get kids to practice their subtraction, while at the same time encouraging kids to see factors in numbers. That when you see a number, they consider the multiplicative nature of the number.
Kim 01:30
And it's really nice when you have different kids thinking at different levels in your classroom, like different stages in the development of mathematical reasoning.
Pam 01:37
Yeah, because that never happens. (unclear).
Kim 01:39
Yeah. Alright.
Pam 01:41
That always happens.
Kim 01:42
It always happens. We can't wait to see what you do every single week when you join us on MathStratChat. Let us know how you think about the problems and comment on each other's strategies.
Pam 01:51
We post the problems on Wednesdays around 7:00 pm Central. When you answer, tag me and use the hashtag MathStratChat. Then, join us to hear how we're thinking about the problem. Thanks for being part of the Math is Figure-Out-Able movement! Math is Figure-Out-Able!