Supporting Children's Problem Solving

“Help! I’m stuck!” How many times have you heard a student make a similar plea? What do you consider when deciding how to respond? What reasoning is most productive? As part of a large research proj¬ect, we explored these questions with 131 prospective and practicing teach¬ers and found patterns in their reasoning. Consider how teachers and professional developers can use these patterns to better sup¬port children during problem solving.