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One way I like to start a class or tutorial is with a puzzle.  I have found that all students, especially ones who struggle in math class, love puzzles.  The pressure is low, the fun is high...what could be better?!?  Some of my favorites are puzzles by Naoki Inaba, many of which can be found for free on the internet.  My students also love brain teasers such as Math Perplexors or soduku puzzles. 


These puzzles and patterns, especially solving the "tricky" ones, help activate what Zadina calls 'The Reward Pathway', and is just another way for us to help our students do the hard work of learning! 


Once we have solved our puzzle, the students are usually ready to go on with a more traditional math discussion.  I like to call this part "turning our brains on!".  Zadina says that "If the person is attending to a stimulus, the firing will be stronger than if the person is simply aware of the stimulus." (p113)  A big part of our job as educators is engaging our students and working to overcome their apathy.  Puzzles and patterns are a great way to help engage several pathways to learning (the emotion pathway, the reward pathway, and the attention pathway).

My students with learning differences in math particularly love working with patterns and puzzles, and these exercises are easy to tailor to a specific topic and level.  My students who grasp concepts easily find the struggle of patterns and puzzles addicting!  And my students who have learning difficulties in mathematics find the success of solving puzzles and patterns rewarding and fun.  We can and should have fun in math class!


I'll leave you with one of my students' favorite puzzles:


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