Everyone, teachers and parents, have been confronted with students who find it difficult or “stuck” when solving a math problem. Mathematician Champagne Zachary in his article “Walking Away from a Mathematics Problem Is OK” (2021) points out that this very point can be very creative. “I want my students to understand that solving a math problem, even if the road is difficult and challenging, is worth it.”
Other articles and studies describe how students’ difficulty can be productive if we see these difficulties as opportunities to dive deeper into understanding the mathematical structure of problems rather than simply looking for the right solution. It is also stated that if a student’s difficulty with a mathematical problem is not addressed in a productive way, then the student is not given the opportunity to explain, rationalize and therefore progress.
Many teachers and parents, reading the above, may feel anxious as they imagine a picture of chaos in their classroom or recall their own difficult journey into the world of mathematics and the difficulties, anxieties and phobias they themselves once experienced. To many of us someone once said: “The journey will be difficult, but you have to do it… You have to get over it.” Math isn’t just about “working hard and getting over it.” That is why we must allow students to move away from a math problem and take their time.
This means that we trust them, that they are the most important drivers of their own learning, and that they can tell us that something is difficult or that they need some distance from the problem. We show them that we understand that their lives are more complicated than mathematics, that sometimes they simply don’t have the energy needed to solve that particular math problem, or that they are lost in the many pieces of information in the problem.
Many teachers push our students away from a task that is outside of Mathematics. We tell them, for example, that they can start a book and stop it because it’s too hard or out of their interests. Or we tell them that they can start writing a text and if at some point they get stuck, they can leave it for a while and “pick it up” when they think of a better idea. So why not let students do the same in Math?
Frustration can lead to mathematical anxiety (Hackworth 1992, Stuart 2000). Research says that math phobia exists and affects learning (Boaler 2016). Certainly, all teachers throughout our careers have seen many students come to tears when solving a math problem. But no math problem is worth children’s tears.
We need to convince our students that it’s good to give themselves permission to walk away from a math problem when they can’t make it forward. This attitude greatly helps students develop a positive relationship with Mathematics and furthermore encourages them to take control of their own learning and helps them learn their limits and expectations.
So, while it’s a simple move, it can be difficult at times. It requires teachers to trust their students, and they, in turn, will surprise them with their positive attitude towards the problem. Because the autonomy to make their own choices makes them take the mathematical process seriously by re-approaching the problem in their own time.