The REAL Reset: Math Moves That Matter – Tuesday Edition

Productive Struggle System Series: When struggle isn’t a setback, it’s the strategy.

Part 4: What the Teacher Does During the Struggle

The REAL Story

During productive struggle, I’m not wandering the room aimlessly or trying to look busy while students work. My movement is planned.

On Productive Struggle Wednesdays, my job gets harder, not easier. Once students start working, I’m already sorting what I see in real time.

Who can enter the work and keep going.
Who can enter but gets stuck.
And who doesn’t enter at all or doesn’t really try.

I’m actively watching how students enter the work and what they do the moment it gets uncomfortable. I’m listening to how students talk about the math. I’m paying attention to what they reach for first, how long they sit before trying something else, and who immediately looks up for help instead of staying with the thinking.

And when they get stuck, I DO NOT rescue them.

use scripted questions because each of those three groups needs something different if the goal is to eventually move everyone into the first group: students who can enter the work and keep going on their own.

A student who can already enter the work doesn’t need help. They need to be left alone long enough to build stamina and confidence. Interrupting them too early trains them to wait for validation instead of trusting their own thinking.

A student who can enter but gets stuck doesn’t need the answer either. They need a question that points them back to something familiar. Something they’ve already used before. That’s where questions like, “What did you do on the last problem?” or “Which strategy here looks closest to what you’ve already tried?” actually matter.

And a student who doesn’t enter at all needs something different again. Not pressure. Not a lecture. An entry point. A question that lowers the barrier just enough to get them started without doing the thinking for them.

Those questions are intentional. They are designed to push students back to strategies, techniques, and resources they have already used before, not introduce something new and not replace their thinking with mine.

The goal is to get 100% of students to a place where they can enter the work independently and work through the math using resources, peers, strategies, and techniques instead of waiting to be carried.

💕3 Moves I Make During Productive Struggle

1️⃣ When students can enter the work and keep going, I check for intention, not correctness.
​If a student is working, I’m not interrupting them with help or praise. I’m asking questions like, “What did you use on the last problem?” or “Why did you start there?” or “Could that same strategy work here too?”
​I’m listening to see if their thinking is intentional or accidental. If they can explain it, I move on. Over time, these students stop looking for confirmation and keep going without needing me.

2️⃣ When students enter but get stuck, I redirect them back to what they already have.
​This is the group that usually triggers the fixer instinct. They start, hit resistance, and then wait for me. Instead of fixing it, I ask, “What have you already tried?” “Where in your notes might this connect?” or “Did you check with a peer, and what did they do?”
​I’m not giving them something new. I’m teaching them what to do when they’re stuck so they don’t freeze the next time it happens.

3️⃣ When students don’t enter at all, I intervene early so effort can actually happen.
​This group doesn’t need more struggle. They need a way in. I don’t let them sit quietly and disappear. I’ll ask, “What part feels unclear right now?” “Which example could you start with?” or “What’s one step you can try before the next minute is up?”
​The goal here is entry. Independence can’t grow if students never start.

The Close

During productive struggle, the teacher isn’t passive. You’re diagnosing in real time.

Your movement isn’t random. Your questions are planned. And your decisions about when to step in or stay back are deliberate, because the work isn’t about getting through today’s task.

Over time, fewer students need you to say the questions out loud. They start asking them on their own. They enter the work without waiting. They try something before looking up.

Those behaviors don’t stay confined to Productive Struggle Wednesday.

They show up during warm-ups.
They show up when directions are given once.
They show up when the work gets uncomfortable and no one is hovering.

That’s the transfer. Students enter work independently, use strategies without prompting, and persist longer before asking for help across all lessons.

Tiffany Smith, Ed. D., Your Culturally Responsive Math Specialist

Founder, Education Evolution, LLC | Creator, The REAL Framework™ | Creator of Mind the Gap Curriculum™

"Here’s to classrooms filled with real growth, real talk, and REAL results."

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