If your Geometry students are working on the midpoint formula, try out this Open Middle problem from Dane Ehlert with them. www.openmiddle.com/midpoint...

People don't prepare for what that they can't imagine happening. Find out how to account for this in math education. robertkaplinsky.com/behavio...

This engaging STEM lesson about sunspots requires middle school students to incorporate a variety of skills to precisely describe their attributes. robertkaplinsky.com/work/su...

The info we receive first impacts our thinking. For example, maybe you wanted to tip 10%, but when you see options for 20%, 25%, and 30%, it affects you. The same thing happens when working with students. Read how we can use this to help us. robertkaplinsky.com/behavio...

If you're a support/intervention/resource teacher, you absolutely have to read Sara VanDerWerf's blog post called "The #1 thing I did in my support Math Classes". It's the honest reality check that we all need. saravanderwerf.com/2016/05/...

If the idea of using CUBES to solve math problems has left you frustrated and wanting something better, check out the recording of my Why We Should Reconsider Using Word Problems (And What We Should Be Doing Instead) webinar. robertkaplinsky.com/webinar

Are your students working on parallel and perpendicular lines? Try out these two Open Middle problems from Bryan Anderson: www.openmiddle.com/equation... www.openmiddle.com/equation...

While there aren't as many Toys 'R Us stores as there used to be, the context remains. How does a computer know how far away something is from you? The method is very similar to finding the distance between two points on a coordinate plane. Check out how it works: robertkaplinsky.com/work/to...

Looking for actionable steps to increase your math problems' rigor? Check out this blog post and cheat sheet. robertkaplinsky.com/3steps

Can your high school students create a parallelogram, triangle, or rectangle by listing their points when given one? Find out using these three Open Middle problem from Bryan Anderson. www.openmiddle.com/creating... www.openmiddle.com/creating... www.openmiddle.com/creating...

Looking for a lesson to help students develop strategies for solving problems involving coins? Check out this lesson that provides many opportunities for strategic thinking. robertkaplinsky.com/work/en...

Registration for grassrootsworkshops.com/workshops/bu... opens up this Friday, September 19th! We are super excited to share this video-based, self paced workshop with you! #btcthinks @peterliljedahl.bsky.social @robertkaplinsky.com @mikeflynn55.bsky.social @btcthinks.bsky.social

Are your high school students working with complex numbers? Try these two Open Middle problems out to see what misconceptions they have: www.openmiddle.com/complex-... www.openmiddle.com/complex-...

Here are three reasons I think all math educators should use social media to improve professionally. robertkaplinsky.com/3-reaso...

Slow Reveal is not just for graphs… have you tried it for test prep yet? Here’s any example. From my Top 10 Number Sense Routines video (part 2) - watch all the videos at info.berkeleyeverett.com/top10nsr #slowrevealgraph #iteachmath

What is this?! A center for ants?!! Use scale and proportions to find how many times bigger Zoolander's school should really be. I've included a clip from the movie and three potential methods for how students might approach this problem. robertkaplinsky.com/work/ho...

Want more clarity about the differences between math Depth of Knowledge levels? Download and share this free resource. robertkaplinsky.com/tool-to...

Looking to get kids arguing about math? Check out www.wouldyourathermath.com/ from John Stevens. There are so many great "Would you rather..." scenarios! Want more support using them with your students? Check out his online workshop here: grassrootsworkshops.com/wor...

Check out the professional development options on Grassroots Workshops (@grassrootsworkshops.com‬). There are flexible online workshops on topics including mathematics, social justice, teaching online, coding, English, wellness, and science. grassrootsworkshops.com/

Help your students think deeply about radicals with this Open Middle problem from Phillip Haislip-Hansberry. www.openmiddle.com/comparin...

Want to help students develop conceptual understanding of parabolas? This lesson uses the game Angry Birds as a context for understanding what information you need to graph a quadratic. robertkaplinsky.com/work/an...

Making time for professional development is never easy, but some days of the week are better than others. Here's what 150+ teachers prefer. robertkaplinsky.com/two-bes...

If your students are learning about perpendicular lines, try out this Open Middle problem from Andy Schwen with them: www.openmiddle.com/perpendi...

The NHTSA created infographics to tell people that some children are not in the right car seats. The problem is that they don't actually show the correct fraction that they should! Have students suggest fixes for the images in this lesson. robertkaplinsky.com/work/ca...

If your high school students are working on adding vectors, try out this Open Middle problem from Bryan Anderson. www.openmiddle.com/adding-v...

Watch videos of students finding the distances between freeway exits to make you question what it means to "understand" mathematics. robertkaplinsky.com/what-do...

Looking for a real world context for writing out numbers in expanded form? This problem uses check writing to help kids make sense of the process. Share it with an elementary teacher you know. robertkaplinsky.com/work/wr...

Check out my 5-minute Ignite talk where I share stories about the differences between productive and unproductive struggle. robertkaplinsky.com/my-igni...

I love Graham Fletcher's ability to break down topics like the progression of how students learn about fractions in such an intuitive way. Watch and share his video with your teacher friends. gfletchy.com/progression-of...

If you provide online professional development, you should check out my webinar called "Six Counterintuitive Lessons Learned About Online Workshops". For example, should they be more like Netflix or traditional TV? Watch here: https://info.robertkaplinsky.com/counterintuitive/

Here's a matrix multiplication problem from Bryan Anderson that will help you bring out their conceptual understanding. See hints and answers on Open Middle. www.openmiddle.com/matrix-m...

This lesson uses a BuzzFeed video to help students better visualize calories. It's also a great context for combining like terms and solving one- and two-step equations: robertkaplinsky.com/work/wh...

This search engine saves time by checking many math websites for 3-act tasks or problem-based lessons. robertkaplinsky.com/prbl-se...

Algebra teachers, check out these three rational exponent problems from Bryan Anderson. See the hints and answers on Open Middle: www.openmiddle.com/rational... www.openmiddle.com/rational... www.openmiddle.com/rational...

Did you know that Hyundai offers a 100,000 mile in countries that use miles and 100,000 km warranty in countries that use the metric system? Are they the same? If not, which is better for the consumer and which is better for Hyundai? robertkaplinsky.com/work/ca...

Are your students working on radical equations? This Open Middle problem from Jonathan Newman will challenge their understandings! www.openmiddle.com/radical-...

How can being a spotter when someone is bench pressing help us learn about being the best possible teacher for our students? robertkaplinsky.com/want-le...

Have you ever noticed that pipes can be stacked in staggered or non-staggered stacks? Staggered stacks are shorter, but calculating exactly how much shorter is not easy. This problem can be solved using the Pythagorean Theorem or trig ratios. robertkaplinsky.com/work/st...

Here's my favorite tool for scaffolding student thinking as they become better problem solvers. Download a PDF copy here: robertkaplinsky.com/problem...

If you're a current or aspiring educational consultant that trains other educators and you're looking for a community that gets what you're going through, you should join the over one thousand consultants in our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/edconsultantslab

How deeply do your students understand parallel and perpendicular lines if they can't create sets of points to define the lines? Try out these two Open Middle problems from Nanette Johnson: www.openmiddle.com/perpendi... www.openmiddle.com/parallel...

Help students appreciate the magnitude of the problem that littered cigarette butts cause on a daily basis by applying what they know about volume. robertkaplinsky.com/work/ci...

What if instead of measuring DEPTH of knowledge, we measured a problem by how it avoided SHALLOW thinking? Here's another way to look at #DOK. robertkaplinsky.com/shallow...

Are your students learning about parallel lines and transversals? Try out these two Open Middle problems from Shelli Foust: www.openmiddle.com/parallel... www.openmiddle.com/parallel...

A man in Finland received a speeding ticket and had to pay $103,000! The penalty was so harsh because fines in Finland are based not just on the severity of the offense, but on the offender’s income. Can students figure out Vanjoki’s annual income? robertkaplinsky.com/work/fi...

Today is my son's last first day of school. Can't even fathom how quickly time can move.

Want to challenge your Geometry students to find the area of triangles? Try out this Open Middle problem from Dan Wulf. www.openmiddle.com/area-of-...

If you've tried #ObserveMe but have had challenges, then you'll value this blog post with tips for working on them. robertkaplinsky.com/trouble...

Looking for a context to teach elementary patterns or high school arithmetic series? We ask elementary students how many Hanukkah candles will we need. We ask high school students how many we would need for n nights. robertkaplinsky.com/work/ho...

Students describing their steps is not the same as constructing a viable argument. This story will help your students to do a better job convincing others. robertkaplinsky.com/levels-...