Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation

The Most Powerful Sentence I Started Saying in My Math Classes

Try, fail, repeat until success

Early in my teaching, I started noticing the same thing happening in almost every class.
I’d finish working through an example, turn to my students, and ask, “Does that make sense?”
Most of the time, I’d get a room full of nods. Great, I thought. We’re ready to move on.
Then I’d give them a similar problem to work on by themselves.
Almost immediately, someone would raise a hand.
“Where do I start?”
“I don’t know what to do next.”
I remember thinking, We just worked through a problem like this together. What changed?

Playlist #19 Preparing for a Connected Semester

Graduation cap with connected icons representing student engagement, trust, learning, and academic success

Explore three thought-provoking episodes focused on what helps students feel engaged, connected, and supported in your classroom. This month’s playlist features practical active learning strategies, considerations for teacher-student trust in an era of GenAI, and course design approaches to help students connect more deeply and effectively with their learning experiences.