Reframing avoidance and building a culture of thinking
🎧 How to Get Students to Think in Math Class—Even When They Resist
Have you ever poured your heart into a thoughtful math lesson, only to hear a student say, “Can’t you just tell us how to do it?” Or watch them take their third bathroom break in 20 minutes to avoid solving a problem?
Yeah—me too.
Today’s episode of the Math Chat Podcast is for every educator who’s felt that frustration and wondered: How do I get kids to actually want to think in math class?
🎧 Tune in to learn how to build a classroom culture where thinking is safe, normal, and even fun.
🔍 What’s Really Behind Student Resistance?
Let’s name the real issue: some students avoid thinking in math class. But that doesn’t mean they’re lazy. It usually means they’re protecting themselves.
In this part of the episode, I explore the powerful idea that avoidance is self-protection, not defiance. Kids who shut down are often doing so because thinking feels risky—and our job is to make it feel safe.
💡 Why This Matters for Every Thoughtful Math Lesson
When we see resistance as a message, not a behavior issue, everything changes. In this section, I unpack how math baggage—like believing fast equals smart or mistakes equal failure—keeps students from engaging.
That’s where intentional routines come in. Through Word Problem Workshop, I’ve helped classrooms shift from surface-level answer-getting to real problem solving where students actually think. And when students feel safe to try, they start participating in ways that transform your math class.
✏️ 3 Powerful Routines to Get Students to Think in Math Class
Ready for actionable takeaways? Here are three simple but transformative routines that encourage your students to think more deeply—without overhauling your entire lesson plan:
1. Start with the Grapple
Give students one rich word problem and let them wrestle with it. No hints, no scaffolding—just space to try.
Message to students? I believe you can do hard things.
2. Make Space for Process, Not Just Answers
Use a “Show Your Thinking” routine. Whether through visuals, whiteboards, or group talk, focus on how they’re thinking, not just what they got.
Message to students? How you think matters here.
3. Celebrate Multiple Strategies in the Share
Instead of moving straight to “the right answer,” use the Share step to highlight and compare multiple student strategies.
Message to students? There’s more than one way—and your ideas matter.
These small shifts can turn a reluctant math class into a community of engaged thinkers.
📢 Want More? Let’s Build This Culture Together
You don’t need more curriculum to create a culture of thinking in math class—you just need the right routines. That’s exactly what I teach in my online course, Word Problem Workshop Teacher Training.
👉 If this episode got you thinking, send me a DM on Instagram @hellomonamath—I’d love to hear what your students are saying and help you respond in ways that spark curiosity and confidence.
And hey—if this podcast has been helpful, would you take a minute to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Apple or Spotify? It helps more teachers find Math Chat and builds our community of thoughtful, student-centered math educators.
🎁 Bonus Freebie: Grab my list of 35+ powerful math talk questions at monamath.com/35questions to keep those rich discussions going.
Subscribe. Share. Stay curious.
