How Productive Is the Productive Struggle?

January 25, 2025

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Learning Environment.

Metacognition

The purpose of this study was to conduct a scoping review of the literature on ‘productive struggle’ in mathematics education. The review aimed to quantify the breadth and depth of existing research on this concept, address gaps in understanding its operationalization and implementation, and explore its potential to foster equity in mathematics learning. Specifically, the study sought to assess how productive struggle supports learning by examining its connections to attribution, metacognition, and controlled frustration.

The Importance of Productive Struggle

The study emphasizes that most research on productive struggle in mathematics education has concentrated on in-service and pre-service teachers rather than students. This is significant because understanding how students experience productive struggle is essential for improving learning outcomes and effectively operationalizing the concept in classroom settings.

Despite the growing body of literature, only 4 out of 45 studies explicitly addressed equity in mathematics education. This highlights a substantial gap in understanding how productive struggle can be leveraged to foster inclusive and equitable learning environments—an important area for further investigation.

The Focus Needs to Be on the Student Experience of Productive Struggle

The study was conducted as a scoping review, systematically searching databases like Google Scholar and EBSCO for peer-reviewed literature on productive struggle in mathematics education from 2011 to 2020. After screening 76 initial records, 45 studies were included and categorized by methodology, participant type, grade level, and connections to cognitive constructs such as attribution, metacognition, and frustration. This process revealed gaps, including limited student-focused research and inconsistent operationalization of productive struggle.

The review found that while research on productive struggle in mathematics education has expanded, it remains shallow in several key areas. Most studies focused on in-service and pre-service teachers rather than students, limiting insights into how students experience and benefit from productive struggle. Additionally, there was inconsistency in how productive struggle was defined and applied, with many studies relying on qualitative or non-empirical methods. Few studies addressed equity in mathematics education, underscoring a critical gap in understanding how productive struggle can foster inclusivity. Overall, the study stressed the need for more rigorous, student-focused, and equity-centered research to improve the effective implementation of productive struggle in classrooms.

The Relationship Between Attribution, Metacognition, and Frustration Is Critical for Productive Struggle

The absence of a clear, consistent definition and operationalization of productive struggle complicates efforts to measure and compare its effects across studies. Developing robust frameworks for its implementation is essential to advancing research and practice.

While many studies focus on teachers, understanding students’ perspectives and experiences with productive struggle is crucial to fully realizing its potential to improve learning outcomes.

There is a notable gap in research on how productive struggle can promote equity in mathematics education. This highlights the need for studies that prioritize diverse and inclusive classroom practices, ensuring all students benefit from this approach.

The relationship between attribution, metacognition, and frustration is vital for productive struggle. Future research should explore how these constructs interact to create optimal learning environments.

Quotes

Effective mathematics teaching uses students’ struggles as valuable opportunities to deepen their understanding of mathematics. Students come to realize that they are capable of doing well in mathematics with effort and perseverance in reasoning, sense-making, and problem-solving”.

The productive struggle is the process of engaging with challenging tasks or problems that require effort, critical thinking, and persistence to solve. It involves encountering obstacles, making mistakes, and experiencing a level of cognitive discomfort while actively working towards a solution.

 At the heart of the productive struggle construct is the importance of challenging students and encouraging them to struggle. The importance of challenge and frustration is evidenced by the many references to effort, persistence, and perseverance within the active definitions of the productive struggle.

Personal Takeaway

I appreciate how this study focuses on mathematics and emphasizes the role of productive struggle in deepening mathematical understanding. The study effectively highlights that frustration is an inherent part of productive struggle, serving as both a challenge and an opportunity for growth. When managed appropriately, moderate frustration levels can lead to a deeper understanding, greater resilience, and a stronger sense of accomplishment.

Young, J.R., Bevan, D., & Sanders, M. (2024). How productive is the productive struggle? Lessons learned from a scoping review. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology (IJEMST), 12(2), 470-495. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijemst.3364