Fermi Problems and Questioning

Today’s teachers are pushed for time to develop the level of understanding with content as well as the levels of expertise with the Standards for Mathematical Practice in the typical mathematics classroom. Fermi problems provide an engaging platform for fostering students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, estimating, modelling, and questioning skills. And they can be implemented in such a way as not to detract from the limited class time teachers have available.

Fermi problems can be embedded in daily instruction to help students develop these important skills. This model of implementation does not require a large amount of additional time to be spent but fits seamlessly into daily instruction. A power point for classroom use is provided as well as facilitation notes supporting the initial process for implementing a Fermi problem in your daily instruction. From the first journaling assignment to the final check phase students will engage in writing, posing questions that need to be answered in order to “solve” the Fermi problem, developing a model to be used in determining an answer, applying the model, and reflecting on the outcomes.

Activity, PowerPoint Presentation

This resource is good for students with dyslexia and language-based learning deficiencies.