Problem Experts Activity

Activity Supports:

• Cooperative Learning
• Interleaving Practice
• Retrieval Practice (if used after unit) 

One thing I try to combat in my classroom is the idea that there are the smart kids and dumb kids.  I hate that.  I remember that from my days of high school and it varied from class to class.  In math I was the smart kid, the kid that everyone wanted to have as a partner.  But in History class, they avoided my like the plague.  I really never had anything to offer the group.  Reading comprehension was difficult for me, and put me in a group with a time constraint and I have no idea what I read.  I suppose at the time, it didn't bother me too much but now that I'm an educator I can see how that shaped me.  "I'm just not good at history."  

I want to change that as much as I can in my own classroom.  I want everyone to have those moments where they feel like they have something to contribute, even if they're not ready to admit that yet or not.  I created an activity called PROBLEM EXPERTS.  In a problem experts activity, each student receives and gives one-on-one assistance to their classmates.  It's a great way to clone myself and get all the students the help they need.

This is similar to Quiz, Quiz, Trade (Check that out here), but this doesn't have the trade component.  Why?  I wanted my students to really get to know their particular problem.  In a problem experts activity, a student keeps his one (or two) problem through the duration of class.  They begin by individually solving the problem, then they help their classmates solve the problem.  They get to see where other students are getting stuck and help them.  They have the opportunity to have deep knowledge of that one problem.  

Let's Dig In:

To create a set of group expert problems, write a problem on one side of an index card and write the answer on the back.  Create enough index cards so that each student will have a unique problem.  If you want to get all fancy, type up each problem and laminate them.  This way you'll have them from year to year.  Remember to number the problems.  

I also create a numbered worksheet that will have space for the students to complete their work.  This makes it easy for the students to see which problems they have completed.

To start, give each student an index card and ask them to complete the work individually to make sure they get the answer that is provided on the back of their card.  

Once all the students are experts on their particular problem, now it's time to mingle.  

Students work in partners to complete each other's problems.  If there is an odd number of problems, you can allow groups of three, or I usually like to grab an index card and join the fun.  Yes, I do solve the students' problems and I will often make a mistake to see how they help me.

Rules

I post these rules on the board and enforce them.

• You may only have one partner at a time.  If he is stuck, it is your duty to help.

• You may not abandon your partner.  If he is stuck, it is your duty to help.
• (Every once in a while I will have a student abandon his partner in order to get a new partner, in order finish the problems as fast as possible.  I assure them that the point of the activity isn't to finish all the problems.  The point is to learn the material.)

• You must keep the problem with you. 
• (I have gone as far as putting string on the problems and asking them to wear them as necklaces.  There are ALWAYS kids who refuse to do this.  The one reason I did this was because students would pass their card to another student while sitting with a different student.  They would break rule number 1 this way).

That Time this was a Disaster:

When I first tried this activity it was a disaster.  A disaster in that I wanted EVERY student to receive one-on-one help if needed and that is not what happened.

This was an upper level Precalculus course and I honestly don't remember the topic.  I went over the rules verbally with the class, gave each student an index card, and checked their individual work.  

Then I asked students to find a partner and begin.  For the first 10 minutes everything went smoothly.  But then I noticed that no one was moving but everyone was writing.  I noticed a pile of index cards next to one of the students.  I went over to the cards and read the number, "Who is the owner of problem number 5?"  That student was on the other side of the classroom.  "How about problem #12?"  She was a few rows over.  

Here's what happened: Once a student was done with a problem, he would pass it to his neighbor.  And on and on that went for each student; the students were working individually.  The kid with all the cards next to him?  Well, he was struggling with this topic and there was no expert to help.  So, the cards kept piling up on him.  I'm sure he felt like a pile of doo-doo.  

They took my one-on-one activity and turned them into a task card activity.  Nothing wrong with task cards, just not what I was going for in this activity.