Open Middle Problems - Click on link to access Open Middle Problems.
What are Open Middle Problems?
Open middle problems require a higher depth of knowledge than most problems that assess procedural and conceptual understanding. They support the Common Core State Standards and provide students with opportunities for discussing their thinking.
Some additional characteristics of open middle problems include:
- They often have multiple ways of solving them as opposed to a problem where you are told to solve it using a specific method. Example
- They may involve optimization so that while it is easy to get an answer, it is more challenging to get the best or optimal answer. Example
- They may appear to be simple and procedural in nature but turn out to be more challenging and complex when you start to solve it. Example
- They are generally not as complex as a performance task which may require significant background context to complete. Example
-- Nanette Johnson and Robert Kaplinsky