These student-constructed problems foster collaboration, communication, and a sense of ownership over learning.

Students often struggle to connect math with the real world. Word problems—a combination of words, numbers, and mathematical operations—can be a perfect vehicle to take abstract numbers off the page.

Claire Madden, a math education specialist for Milwaukee schools, shows teachers different methods of subtracting two-digit numbers. Credit: Abby J. McFarland for The Hechinger Report The Hechinger ...

They found that students assigned to teachers who used more mathematical vocabulary in their lessons made greater progress ...