Helping Students Learn the Art of Trying in Math

Trying is an essential part of learning and personal growth. The human instinct for survival and reward allows us to try all kinds of things that might seem impossible. Achieving the next level of a game or getting that person to notice our effort are things that most people will work hard for. However, the human instinct to resist change is also strong. New things can be scary and dangerous, so our brains might tell us to stay put and not go for it.

These opposing instincts are constantly at odds with each other in school. While some students are driven by success and high grades, others are motivated to make it to the finish line and simply pass the class. For both of these types of students, trying can feel challenging. For those seeking As, trying can result in failure, and for those who just want to be done, trying isn’t all that necessary.

And yet, as teachers we want students to experience the benefits and joys of trying—particularly in mathematics, where trying builds understanding, resilience, problem-solving skills, and flexible thinking. But how can we get kids to try? Saying “Just give it a try” is ineffective, in part because it doesn’t show kids how to start.

I have been struggling with this question for a long time and have experimented with ways to engage kids in the important art of trying. Over time, I’ve found a few classroom shifts that have really made a difference for my students.

4 STRATEGIES TO HELP STUDENTS LEARN TO TRY

1. Create opportunities for collaboration. Solving problems collaboratively can take many forms. Sometimes it is literally working together in a small group around a table to solve a problem. We have procedures for this, of course, and I endeavor to have kids solve a collaborative problem once or twice per week. Sometimes, collaboration is simply working with a partner. We work hard in our class to understand partnerships and what skills and habits enhance productivity and shared work. Sometimes I form student partnerships, and other times I allow the kids to form them.

In either arrangement, the students have an expectation for trying. I give them language like “What do you think we should do next?” or “Do you think this will work?” Questions like these make trying more natural, because we aren’t focused on the answer, but rather the process of trying.

They also give kids a way to contribute an idea as an answer to the question—which, I will always point out, is an act of trying. The few with connecting collaboration and trying, is to explicitly connect how students are engaging in the act of trying and how they can work together in the process.

2. Create space for fun. In my classroom, I endeavor to keep things playful and fun. Humans are much more likely to try to win a game or outdo an opponent, so building in playful and low-stakes competitions can motivate kids to try.

In addition, I teach in an inquiry-driven, project-based school. We need to try in order to ask questions and to make a project—and kids really do like projects. Allowing them to use math in creative ways, even as simple as writing their own word problems, allows kids to play with ideas and have fun with their work.

3. Help students understand what help is. An oversimplified understanding of help that many students hold is that help is an adult taking you through something. This is comfortable and easy but does not yield long-term growth and learning. To shift students’ thinking, I encourage them to build a deeper understanding of what help means and how trying is related to asking for help.

Through a series of class discussions and examples, we all achieve a better understanding of what help is. We talk about times when we think we need help and some of the ways—effective and not so effective—of getting help. We make lists of these stories and strategies, and eventually we come to understand that help can be listening during instruction, asking questions in a group discussion, and presenting your work to another person for review.

Once we built this understanding, I worked with my students to come up with the requirements for them to ask an adult for help so that they are always trying something before they ask for help. When students feel like they do need an adult to support, they must first present one of the following things to demonstrate that they have tried to solve the problem:

1. Show something they have already attempted.

2. Find content in their notebook that is relevant to their question.

3. Ask a peer and write down what the peer suggests.

Each of these strategies is a way of trying, and once kids become accustomed to doing them, they realize that “trying” means more than just asking for help.

4. Connect trying to confidence and needs. Students are more likely to try something when they feel that they can be successful. Likewise, they will try on things they need to know. Illuminating for kids that they have skills and strategies that will help them be successful with an attempt helps to build their confidence in trying. It also helps to remind them that when they help others to understand something, they are trying—not only to assist a peer, but also to deepen their own understanding. I always shout out moments of peer support to help kids see the connection between confidence and collaboration.

It’s equally important to highlight the need for the skills we are developing. Success in math isn’t just about a good grade—it is about developing marketable and necessary skills. We talk about entrepreneurship, the usefulness of math in daily life, and the ways that strong problem-solving skills can benefit us in the short and long term. This makes the content more necessary for kids, which makes them more willing to try.

Above all, it is important to help students understand that trying isn’t the same as having someone help you. Rather, trying is an act of personal reflection that requires us to ask questions like What am I supposed to be doing? What do I know about how to do this? Does what I did make any sense?

Trying allows kids to build resilience, self-compassion, and even hope. The more we can support trying in the classroom, the greater the likelihood that we are sending kids out into the world who can engage in trying to solve the problems of the world.