Introduction
“Mathematics excitement looks exactly the same for struggling 11-year-olds
as it does for high-��ying students in top universities — it combines curiosity,
connection making, challenge, and creativity, and usually involves collaboration.”
-Jo Boaler, Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University
Hi Teachers, I am proud to introduce this book of math performance tasks to
help you facilitate productive struggle that pushes students to solve complex
problems that actually matter. The themes that I have settled on excite students by
validating their interests and engaging them in socially relevant content. All of the
math performance tasks currently available prioritize these markers of complexity:
�� They have several possible paths to a solution.
�� They are multidimensional, thus requiring students to connect multiple
mathematical processes to be successful.
�� They require students to engage in domain��speci��c discourse to solve
problems and justify their reasoning.
�� They engage students in a high-interest topic worth struggling for.
Hi Students, one of the best aspects of these tasks is the fact that there is no one way
to solve the problem—there are myriad possibilities for tackling it. This means that
the tasks are truly evaluating the thinking that you are engaging in when you review
math and come up with justi��cations. The math that you will engage in mimics
applied mathematics in real life professional contexts everyday occurrences at
home, at school or at play.
MATHEMATICS PERFORMANCE TASKS 2 Christie Wainwright