GAIMME Time: Introducing : Transforming Textbook Word Problems

After years of teaching from textbooks, we recognize that it can be hard to imagine yourself generating a genuine open-ended modeling experience that meets all of the high standards presented in the GAIMME report. Here's the good news - you don't have to start from scratch! Most textbooks include some word problems, and while these have several fatal flaws that prevent them from being modeling questions as-is, they can serve as a source of inspiration and can be transformed into a modeling challenge that is inherently aligned with your curriculum goals. In this edition of GAIMME Time, we point out the reasons why people might look to their textbooks for word problems, highlight their fatal flaws as modeling problems, and present a set of guidelines to help you transform your textbook problems into meaningful modeling experiences.