How Productive Is the Productive Struggle? Lessons Learned From a Scoping Review

• In Event: Fostering Learning: Relationships With Teachers, Mathematics, and Challenging Tasks

Abstract

The productive struggle is arguably one of the most important, yet least operationalized constructs within mathematics education. Yet, a systematic review of the current literature examining the productive struggle remains elusive. We present the results of a scoping review that helps to increase the nexus between the theoretical and practical application of the productive struggle. A systematic literature search yielded 45 relevant documents. The majority of the studies included teachers or pre-service teachers as the primary participants of interest, while the majority of the studies applied qualitative methods followed by an equal number of quantitative and mixed methods studies. Based on the results of the scoping review we provide recommendations to support research and practices related to the productive struggle.

Authors

• Miriam Marie Sanders, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Danielle Bevan, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Jamaal Young, Texas A&M University

• Mary Margaret Capraro, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Robert M. Capraro, Texas A&M University - College Station