The Problem
Ms. Perry* posed a multifaceted problem that focused on multiplication and percentages. In groups of five, students received the following instructions: “Your next job is developing an 80 game schedule. From the 80 games, 30% have to be from the same division, 15% from the North East Division, 15% from the South East Division and the remaining 40% from the Western Conference.” As multiplication and percentages had been covered in a full unit just two weeks prior, the teacher expected students to quickly calculate the number of home games and move on to looking at travel distances. Instead, all groups were stumped.