Course Overview
This bloc empowers educators with tools to foster critical mathematical reasoning, helping students develop a key skill that often goes under-emphasized: assessing the reasonableness of their answers within the context of a problem.
Learners will gain insights and strategies to guide students beyond the pursuit of the “right answer” and toward interpreting, analyzing, and verifying their solutions, ensuring these align with real-world contexts and mathematical logic.
Through a mix of instructional techniques and practical activities, educators will learn to support students in recognizing when solutions seem implausible—whether they’re too large, too small, or mismatched to the scenario.
By embedding these strategies into lessons, educators can build students’ confidence, encouraging them to self-correct and think critically about their work.
Key Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
Evaluate the reasonableness of answers and justify conclusions based on evidence.
- Educators will learn why it’s essential for students to assess whether their answers make sense based on the problem’s context and how this skill supports critical thinking and problem-solving in mathematics.
Guide students to apply contextual clues from word problems to determine appropriate solutions.
- Educators will learn techniques to guide students in using the language of the problem to assess whether their solutions align with the real-world scenario being described.
Guide students to evaluate and apply appropriate units and operations in mathematical problem-solving.
- Educators will develop strategies to help students determine if their answers are expressed in the correct units and whether the operations used are appropriate for the problem.
Develop a learning activity that strengthens students’ reasoning and critical thinking skills, enabling them to self-correct and verify their work.
- Educators will design an activity that engages students in regularly practicing the skill of analyzing the reasonableness of their answers. This activity will help them explore ways to help students independently identify when their solutions don’t make sense and encourage them to adjust their thinking or approach as needed.
How do I take Approach STEAM?
We’re here to get results and we know you are too. Here’s the best way for each of us to get there:
- Engage Fully – Jump into each section, starting with the overview and moving through the activities, quizzes, and deeper thinking exercises. Press “NEXT” at the bottom when you are done with the section!
- Stay Curious – Approach each activity with an open mind, and look for new ideas you can bring back to others!
As you explore this Knowledge Bloc, remember that learning is a journey. This is just the beginning, and we’re excited to see where it takes you!
Stay tuned for more Knowledge Blocs and additional resources designed to enhance your creativity and critical thinking journey in the classroom— press NEXT to continue!
Knowledge Blocs (KB) are designed for adult learners to obtain professional development, with learning objectives based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and actionable outcomes supported by Bloom’s Taxonomy. Knowledge Blocs in general, and where possible, follow the Torrance Incubation Model of Teaching and Learning.
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