What if one of the biggest shifts we could make in math class is also one of the simplest: trust students with the math?
That idea sits at the heart of our conversation with educator, math thinker, author Zak Champagne. We talk about control, curiosity, student voice, math identity, productive struggle—and the small classroom moves that can help students see themselves as capable mathematicians.
It’s a conversation that feels particularly relevant “chez nous”, where Québec’s Mathematics Program places considerable emphasis on solving situational problems and developing mathematical reasoning, rather than simply arriving at an answer. In elementary school, students are expected to explain and validate their solutions using mathematical language; at the secondary level, students continue to develop strategies, validate solutions and communicate their mathematical thinking.
So what might this look like on Monday morning?
In Zak’s latest book, Curious Kids in the Math Classroom, he lays out how to make small steps seem big! Start with the question, not the procedure. Give students a problem worth thinking about before showing them exactly how to solve it. Let them draw, estimate, represent, talk, try something that might not work—and revise. Slow down the rush to the answer. Ask, How did you think about it? or What makes you think that? Instead of treating different strategies as detours, make them part of the mathematics. Let students hear each other think. Québec’s program explicitly connects problem solving with validating and communicating solutions. A five-minute conversation about two different approaches can be mathematics—not time away from mathematics.
And perhaps most importantly, notice what students are learning about themselves. Who volunteers? Who takes a risk? Who changes their mind? Who assumes they are “not a math person”? Those moments tell us something important about the classroom we are creating.
None of this requires throwing out the curriculum, abandoning routines, or turning every lesson into an open-ended investigation. In fact, Québec curriculum itself provides resources around mathematical reasoning, conjectures, differentiated instruction and realistic implementation of mathematics programs.
- The shift can be smaller.
- Trust students with a problem.
- Give them time to think.
- Ask them to explain.
- Listen to their strategies.
- Let them see that being stuck is part of doing mathematics.
As Zak puts it: “Trust the kids with the math. Trust the process. Stick with it.”
That sounds less like a radical reinvention of math class—and more like a very doable place to start.
