1. Problem Solving & Reasoning
Written by Elizabeth Carlson
Updated at March 4th, 2024
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Mathletics contains over 700 Problem Solving & Reasoning challenges. These challenges can be assigned to students and are also ideal to present to the class to develop and model mathematical discussion.
The Problem Solving and Reasoning Challenges are crafted to engage and test students' abilities. We recommend that they be shared on the class screen so that the teacher can discuss with the class about the challenge and model how to answer the problem. The Challenges can also be assigned to the class, groups, or individual students and are ideal to use when students are ready to apply their learning and use their maths skills to solve a problem.
How to view and preview a Problem Solving and Reasoning Challenge:
- From the left-hand menu, select ‘Resource Hub.’
- Select the ‘Problem Solving & Reasoning’ tab. Select the appropriate year group and DOK – Depth of Knowledge.
- Select the appropriate year group and DOK – Depth of Knowledge.
Depth of Knowledge – what does it mean and what shall I choose?
Mathletics problem-solving and reasoning content uses Norman Webb’s Depth-of-Knowledge (DOK) levels to indicate the depth of knowledge of each task. There are no DOK Level 1 tasks in problem-solving and reasoning.
DOK Level 1 (Recall)
requires the recall of information such as facts, definitions, rules or recall of simple procedures such as algorithms or formulas
DOK Level 2 (Skill/Concept)
requires thinking beyond a habitual response; students will need to make decisions as to how to approach the problem or activity
DOK Level 3 (Strategic Thinking)
requires planning, using evidence, explanation and a higher level of decision-making and reasoning to approach a non-routine task
DOK Level 4 (Extended Thinking)
requires investigative skills; students make connections between related concepts and ideas as they explore, experiment and provide evidence for their solutions.
Select the appropriate mathematical strand and sub-strand to view all the Problem Solving and Reasoning challenges that meet your search criteria.
Click on the tile to see more information about the Problem Solving and Reasoning Challenge and to access the teacher notes, preview the challenge or assign it.
TIP – If you want to assign – make a note of the name of the Problem Solving and Reasoning Challenge that you have selected before clicking on the ‘Assign to’ tab.
Teacher Notes – The teacher Notes provide teachers with detailed information about the task, including the solution, common misconceptions, strategic questions, and teaching hints.
Preview – Opens the Challenge on your screen – ideal for using in class to encourage and model mathematical discussions and how to complete a Challenge.
Click on the green + or tick at the top right-hand corner of the Problem Solving and Reasoning tab to open the pop-out to add the challenge to a ‘Playlist.’
Playlists – Playlists help you to organise Problem Solving and Reasoning tasks into collections of challenges. For example, you can create a collection of challenges for a particular maths topic, or for a group of students. Using Playlists makes assigning Challenges easier.
Clicking on ‘Assign to’ takes you through to the ‘Assign and Review, Problem Solving & Reasoning area.’ In this area, you are going to need to select the challenge again.
How to Assign Problem-Solving and Reasoning Challenges
- Select Assign and Review from the left-hand menu
2. Select Problem Solving & Reasoning (Challenges)
3. Select the appropriate class, whole class or group, then select the Level. In most cases, select the Level that is equivalent to the Year Group of your students. If you want to assign or share in class a slightly easier Challenge, select a lower level.)
4. Select the Activity Filter from the top menu. From the Strand drop-down, select the mathematical strand. In the Depth of Knowledge drop down select the appropriate level. (See above for an explanation of the different DOK levels.)
5. To view the details of a Challenge, click the small triangle. From the pop-out, you can view the teacher's notes, preview the activity or assign the challenge to all the visible students. If you wish to assign to only a few students, click ‘Select’ and unhighlight the students that you do not wish to assign to.
5. To view the details of a Challenge, click the small triangle. From the pop, you can view the teacher's notes, preview the activity or assign the challenge to all the visible students. If you wish to assign to only a few students, click ‘Select’ and unhighlight the students that you do not wish to assign to.
6. When students have been selected, click ‘Assign’ at the bottom of the screen. Challenges are immediately assigned to students on their To-do list.
7. To ensure that students complete the Challenge before exploring other areas on Mathletics and completing work independently, set the Student Lock to show Students on Task.
What does it look like in the student console when a Challenge has been assigned?
In student console, you can see the student has been assigned one Challenge. The Challenge is presented in the student's To-do list. As the student lock is on, the student must complete the Challenge before getting access to the other areas of Mathletics.
If the Challenge is assigned and the student lock is not on, then the student will see the Challenge in their To-do list, but they can still access all other areas of Mathletics.
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