Maria Montessori challenged us to engage children with real work. While we often think about what this means in terms of practical life exercises, it is just as applicable to our work with mathematics.
How do we get children to go beyond solving equations or even word problems but actually get them to engage in authentic, meaningful tasks?
Dan Meyer, a high school math teacher, proposes an answer to this question for traditional educators that we can definitely apply to the Montessori classroom. If you haven’t yet seen Dan Meyer’s revolutionary TED Talk, “Math Class Needs a Makeover,” you are in for a treat! Take a look!
Applications for Elementary Classrooms
While Meyers is a high school teacher, many elementary educators have built off of his work and created tasks aimed for elementary students.
One of my favorites is Graham Fletcher. You should check out his work at www.GFletchy.com. His 3-Act Task page also includes links to some of his other favorites if you really want to go deep into the world of 3-Act Tasks.
Applications for Montessori Schools
The question remains, how do we get children to do this kind of work in a Montessori setting? If you have access to a projector, you could certainly show a 3-Act Task problem to the whole group and work through it together, seminar-style… and certainly there are some benefits to that. Children benefit from discussing math with their peers and engaging in dialogue with one another.
However, I have found a way to get children to engage in these tasks more authentically, through choice, during the work period.
…………..QR codes!
Children are taught to use an iPad to scan the QR code on the recording sheet. Then, they can choose a task that sounds interesting to them by looking for skills they have most recently been working on.
Next year, I would like to set a goal to make this even more present in my classroom environment by creating individual QR codes for specific tasks and placing them on the math shelves near particular materials so that children are drawn to trying to solve a particular task.
The Willow Room 