Problem
in the Elementary Classroom
W
hen we encourage children to be prob-
lem posers, we are inviting them to do
what mathematicians do—that is, to look
closely, seek patterns, offer conjectures, and set out
on paths that are not clearly marked (Brown and
Walter 1990; NCTM 2000). In the process of their
investigations, mathematicians also develop atti-
tudes about learning, such as perseverance, willing-
ness to revise their thinking, and appreciation for
the value of risk taking. This article invites readers
to go along on a problem-posing venture them-
selves as a way to get a feel for these benefits. The
article concludes with some suggestions for getting
started with problem posing in the classroom.
Let’s see where this problem posing can lead us.
Take the statement 4 × 5 = 20. What do we notice
about this numerical statement? Let’s make a chart
to record our observations.
Observations about
4 × 5 = 20
1. Two multipliers are involved.
2. One multiplier is a multiple of 2.
3. The other multiplier is a multiple of 5.
By David J. Whitin
David Whitin, david.whitin@wayne.edu, is a professor of elementary education
at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He has an interest in promot-
ing inquiry-based learning in the classroom and views problem posing as an
important avenue for doing so.
14 Teaching Children Mathematics / August 2006
Copyright © 2006 The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. www.nctm.org. All rights reserved.
This material may not be copied or distributed electronically or in any other format without written permission from NCTM.
4. The multipliers are different numbers.
5. This is a multiplication problem.
6. The multipliers are consecutive counting numbers.
7. The difference between the multipliers is 1.
8. One multiplier is even, the other is odd, and the
product is even.
9. The product is 4 more than a square number (16)
and 5 less than another square number (25).
Let’s stop there for now.
The art of problem posing starts with observa-
tions. Once we have observations, we are ready for
some adventuring. The observations above seem
rather obvious and in some cases redundant, such
as that the multipliers are consecutive numbers and
have a difference of 1. However, each is a valuable
contribution, as we shall see. Next, the way we can
begin to engage in posing some problems ourselves
is to look at our observations and think about how
we can extend or modify them. The art of problem
posing is built around the idea of change: “The
more we change something, the better we under-
stand it” (Brown and Walter 1990, p. 123). So let’s
do some changing.
We can pick any of our observations to start.
What intrigues us? How about the first one, namely,
that this problem has two multipliers? We can
extend this observation by asking ourselves, Do
any other sets of two multipliers equal 20? We can
think of 1 × 20 and 2 × 10. What about 20 × 1 and
10 × 2—do these variations count too? And what
about 40 × 0.5? Or 100 × 0.20? Or 8 × 2.5? We are
in charge of the problem, so it is up to us to deter-
mine what counts and what does not. One benefit
Posing
of problem posing is that it gives learners the own-
ership of the problem and with it the responsibility
for shaping the parameters of the problem. For
example, depending on the rules you set, can you
name all sets of two multipliers for 20? I leave that
question for the reader to pursue.
Next, let’s modify this question slightly and ask,
What about using three multipliers to equal 20? We
can come up with 2 × 2 × 5; 1 × 1 × 20. What about
4 × 10 × 0.5? Do we want to include decimals? If
so, how many other ways could we find to equal
20? Again, that direction is another for the reader
to pursue.
Let’s return to our original list of observa-
tions and do some more changing. The difference
between the multipliers is 1. What if we extended
that observation by looking at other sets of con-
secutive numbers? For example, we might consider
the following:
Teaching Children Mathematics / August 2006 15
1×2=2
2×3=6
3 × 4 = 12
4 × 5 = 20
5 × 6 = 30
6 × 7 = 42
7 × 8 = 56
8 × 9 = 72
What do we notice about our findings? One obser-
vation is the existence of a pattern of even differ-
ences among the products (6 – 2 = 4, 12 – 6 = 6,
20 – 12 = 8, and so on). This pattern makes me
wonder what would happen if we used two multi-
pliers that have a difference of 2. Would this pattern
of even differences in the products still occur?
Before we explore this idea further, let’s men-
tion a few more benefits about problem posing.
First of all, it develops a spirit of inquiry. Notice

that the more we observe, the more we want to find
out. Second, it leads us into unknown territory. Do
I know what this next set of multipliers is going
to yield? No, I do not. If we want children to do
what mathematicians do, then they must have the
opportunity to set out on journeys that are not well
marked. Problem posing allows us to make those
journeys.
Let’s return to our problem and see what the dif-
ference of 2 between the multipliers shows:
1×3=3
2×4=8
3 × 5 = 15
4 × 6 = 24
5 × 7 = 35
6 × 8 = 48
7 × 9 = 63
Here the differences are odd (8 – 3 = 5, 15 – 8 =
7, and so on). We note with interest that when the
difference between the multipliers is even, such
as this difference of 2, the difference among the
products is odd. And in our previous problem of
consecutive numbers, the results were the reverse:
An odd difference between the multipliers (in this
example, 1) yields an even difference among the
products. Is this outcome always true? What if we
tried differences among the multipliers of 3, 4, and
5? If that question is intriguing, the reader might
want to pursue it.
16 Teaching Children Mathematics / August 2006
Notice some other benefits of problem posing. It
supports learners in asking the perennial question
that mathematicians pose: Is this always true? That
is, did this relationship occur fortuitously, or does
a pattern lurk behind these numbers? The other
benefit is that problem posing involves poking and
prying for patterns. This too is the daily work of
mathematicians.
Let’s look at our original chart of observations
and pursue one more idea. What about the fact that
each product lies between two square numbers?
2 × 3 = 6 (the product is 2 more than the square
of 2 and 3 less than the square of 3)
3 × 4 = 12 (the product is 3 more than the square
of 3 and 4 less than the square of 4)
4 × 5 = 20 (the product is 4 more than the square
of 4 and 5 less than the square of 5)
5 × 6 = 30 (the product is 5 more than the square
of 5 and 6 less than the square of 6)
6 × 7 = 42 (the product is 6 more than the square
of 6 and 7 less than the square of 7)
Another benefit of problem posing is that it
prompts us to ask, Why does this outcome occur?
This question also recurs constantly in a mathe-
matician’s life. Uncovering patterns is certainly
joyful, but even more rewarding is discovering
why those patterns are occurring. Let’s see what
we notice about our original problem: 4 × 5 = 20.
We see that 20 is 4 away from the nearest smaller
square, 16, and is 5 away from the nearest larger
square, 25. Why? We notice that 4 × 5 is like 4 × 4,
or 16, but includes one more 4, or 5 × 4. Further,
4 × 5 is like 5 × 5, or 25, but lacks one 5.
Of course, we could pursue many other ques-
tions about our problem 4 × 5 = 20:
1. Do we always get an even product when multi-
plying an odd number by an even number?
2. What do we find if we multiply an odd number
by an odd number? An even number by an even
number? What if we multiplied three odd num-
bers or three even numbers?
3. What if we continued to multiply by multiples
of 2 and multiples of 5? What patterns might we
see?
4. What if we tried using multipliers that are the
same to make 20? Is this result possible? What
products are possible using multipliers that are
the same?
5. What if we tried adding two numbers to equal
20? How many ways could we do so? What do
 we notice about odd and even numbers when
adding to make 20?
6. Why, when we add an odd and an even number,
do we get an odd number, but when we multiply
an odd number by an even number we get an
even number?
We could go on and on. The more we keep notic-
ing, the more we keep wondering. That cycle is the
life of problem posers.
Some Specific Suggestions
As the previous example illustrates, problem pos-
ing encourages learners to look closely at the
features of problems and mathematical situations.
The strategy can involve children in becoming
more in charge of creating problem variations.
This sense of ownership engenders a deeper
commitment to the task. It also stirs a spirit of
inquisitiveness because new questions are being
raised all the time. Given these benefits, how can
today’s busy teachers incorporate problem posing
in their classrooms? Some of these recommenda-
tions include the following.
1. Demonstrate problem posing to students by
modeling thinking-aloud behaviors. In this way
children can hear you ruminating about different
possibilities to pursue. For instance, you might say,
“I noticed that when we circled multiples of 4 and
5 on the hundreds chart, we found five numbers
that had double circles: 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100. I
wonder why only five numbers were circled. And I
wonder why it was those five. I wonder what other
pairs of numbers might give us five numbers with
double circles. I wonder what we would find if we
tried two other numbers that were consecutive?”
Teachers play a vital role in fostering this prob-
lem-posing environment by suggesting options,
pointing to new directions, and always asking,
“What next?” Such demonstrations by teachers
may encourage children to pose these kinds of
questions on their own.
2. Pose problems that invite children to exam-
ine the implicit parameters of the problem. For
instance, consider the following problem: “How
many squares are in a 4 × 4 square grid?” The
teacher’s role is to draw out the assumptions in
such a problem. In this way students can become
more proficient at analyzing these assumptions, or
features, as part of the “given” of a problem. In the
present example, some children may think that 16
Teaching Children Mathematics / August 2006 17
squares is the only solution. Teachers can encour-
age further analysis by asking, “Does someone
see other squares?” One child may suggest 2 × 2
squares; another may include 3 × 3 squares. These
additional solutions suggest a what-if question:
“What if we counted same-sized squares?” Explor-
ing together what the problem is asking makes chil-
dren better problem solvers and problem posers.
3. Make the familiar strange. Look for familiar
situations to demonstrate what problem posing
is. For instance, once children have analyzed the
familiar game of tic-tac-toe, change the rules.
Rules are nothing more than the attributes of a
particular game. What if the object of the game is
to avoid getting three in a row? That is, what if the
first person to get three in a row loses? What might
be effective strategies for playing this game under
the revised rules? In this way children are encour-
aged to use what they know about a familiar game
and to change it in a new situation. Problem posing
fosters this kind of flexible thinking.
4. Reverse the known and the unknown in story
problems (Moses, Bjork, and Goldenberg 1990).
Both the known and the unknown are two attributes
of a given problem that children can deliberately
change to create a slightly different problem. For
example, consider this story problem:
 ary buys 15 marbles at the store. When she
M
gets home, she discovers that she has a hole in
her pocket. She has only 8 marbles left. How
many marbles did she lose?
The known is the total number of marbles (as
well as the number of marbles she had left); the
unknown is the number lost. The teacher can then
demonstrate how to modify this problem: “What if
we reverse the known and the unknown? What new
problems could we create?” The students might try
the following:
 ary put some marbles in her pocket. Unfortu-
M
nately, she had a hole in her pocket and discov-
ered that she had lost 7 marbles. If she started
with 15 marbles, how many does she have left?
Teachers often give children a “problem of the
day” to solve each morning. These problems can
become a rich demonstration of problem posing by
reversing the known and the unknown. An impor-
tant component of this approach is for teachers to
first ask children to identify the known and the
unknown. As children become more adept at this
 kind of analysis, they can be challenged to create
such alternative problems on their own.
5. Pose problems that have various solutions and
then use those solutions to make new extensions.
For instance, in a second-grade classroom children
brainstormed properties and representations for 52,
which was the number of days they had been in
school. Some of their solutions included these:
“5 tens and 2 ones”
“It’s an even number.”
“If you reverse the digits, it’s odd (25).”
“It’s 100 – 48.”
“25 times 2, plus 2”
Teachers can extend any of these observations as a
further challenge: What if we tried making 52 using
a different number of tens? What other numbers in
the 50s are even? Does that tactic of reversing the
digits and changing an even number to an odd num-
ber work with all numbers? How else can we use
subtraction to make 52? How else can we use two
operations to make 50? In this way teachers build
on the mathematical insights of their students.
6. Encourage children to record “wonders”
about their mathematical observations (Whitin and
Whitin 2000). Teachers can explain wonders to
children by saying, “A ‘wonder’ is something you
are thinking about next. Just think to yourself, ‘Now
that I know this, what do I want to know next?’ ”
Children might record these ideas in their mathemat-
ics journals, share them aloud, and then post them
in the classroom for other students to pursue. For
instance, a graph about plant growth might cause
children to wonder, “What if we didn’t water our
plants as often; would they grow just as tall?” The
children could graph the growth rate of two sets of
plants. One set might be watered every other day,
and the other set might be watered every other week.
What differences do the children see in the growth
of these plants? Or an investigation about fractions
using pattern blocks might prompt some children
to wonder, “What other fractions can we make that
are equivalent?” Wonders are a natural way to invite
extensions and often suggest to teachers the next
steps in their curriculum planning.
7. Use children’s literature as a context for
problem-posing investigations. For instance, teach-
ers have examined The Doorbell Rang (Hutchins
1986) with their students as a springboard to
­problem-posing activities. The distinguishing fea-
tures of this story include a set of twelve cookies
and a growing set of children (2, 3, 4, 6, 12) who
18 Teaching Children Mathematics / August 2006
share these cookies. Teachers have modified these
features of the story to create alternative scenarios:
What if there were still twelve cookies but now
there were twenty-four children? How might they
share the cookies? Or what if two children were
trying to share eleven cookies; how could they
share them fairly? Teachers have also used 26 Let-
ters and 99 Cents (Hoban 1988) to do some prob-
lem posing. One half of the book shows different
combinations of coins to make certain amounts of
money. For instance, readers see twenty-five cents
as two dimes and a nickel. Teachers can extend this
initial solution by asking, “What if we use pennies,
as well as nickels and dimes? What other solutions
could we find?” Much good children’s literature
is available that invites this kind of mathematical
musing (Whitin and Whitin 2004).
Conclusion
Problem posing is an adventure waiting to happen.
Teachers can foster these mathematical journeys by
encouraging their students to notice, wonder, mod-
ify, and extend. In the process of these problem-
posing experiences, children can learn to persevere,
postpone judgment, tolerate a sense of ambiguity,
and ask important questions about problems and
their solutions. In these ways teachers can help
their students live rich mathematical lives.
References
Brown, Stephen, and Marion Walter. The Art of Problem
Posing. 1983. Reprint, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erl-
baum Associates, 1990.
Moses, Barbara, Elizabeth Bjork, and E. Paul Golden-
berg. “Beyond Problem Solving: Problem Posing.”
In Teaching and Learning Mathematics in the 1990s,
1990 Yearbook of the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics (NCTM), edited by Thomas J. Cooney,
pp. 82–91. Reston, VA: NCTM, 1990.
Hoban, Tana. 26 Letters and 99 Cents. New York: Green-
willow Books, 1988.
Hutchins, Pat. The Doorbell Rang. New York: Greenwil-
low Books, 1986.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.
Reston, VA: NCTM, 2000.
Whitin, David J., and Phyllis Whitin. New Visions for
Linking Literature and Mathematics. Urbana, IL: Na-
tional Council of Teachers of English; Reston, VA:
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2004.
(Available from NCTM)
Whitin, Phyllis, and David J. Whitin. Math Is Language
Too: Talking and Writing in the Elementary School
Classroom. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers
of English; Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics, 2000. (Available from NCTM) ▲