My journey teaching math problem solving

When I started teaching I was working as a Title I Math Specialist 10 years ago pulling whole classes K-4 to teach math problem solving. Problem solving was viewed as a completely separate part of math, possibly even a separate subject, not connected to what students were learning during math time in the classroom. I was expected to teach a specific series of steps to solve problems. Students had to read the problem two times, underline important information (and sometimes write a bulleted list), write a sentence starting with "the problem I am trying to solve is...", solve the problem using the strategy being taught (work backwards, make a list...), put a box around the answer, write a paragraph about how they solved the problem, and some other steps I am surely forgetting.

While I have always loved teaching problem solving in math something about teaching it that way always seemed phony and I had a suspicion that they students thought so too. Many of the things I made students do were assuming they were not capable of solving the problem (making a list of the important information, writing the sentence about what they were trying to solve, and using a prescribed strategy), made to do to make the teacher's job easier (putting a box around the answer and writing a paragraph to explain thinking), and just not authentic to the the way we problem solve in real life. There were good lessons for students in there being wrapped in bad packaging.

I was in that position for 2 1/2 years. Now I am teaching 3rd grade (after teacher 4th grade for a few years) and have come to the conclusion that...

1. Problem solving is probably the most important set of skills I can teach students in math.
2. Students are innately good problem solvers and do not need me to tell them what strategy to use or a step by step procedure for problem solving.
3. Problem solving is not separate from the rest of my math curriculum and can and should be woven into my daily instruction.
4. Students develop math skills and become more sophisticated problem solvers by hearing other students share a variety of strategies and their thinking and through minilessons taught by the teacher.

I have a picture in mind of what I want my math classroom to look like incorporating those beliefs as well as others I have about teaching math. The picture is clearer on some days than others. I am using this blog as a way for my to sort out my thinking, record what is working and what is not, document my journey as a math teacher, and to collaborate with other teachers.