ABSTRACT
Puzzling Problems involves students in cooperative groups working on basic problem solving or a rich task that involves multiple components. The sample tasks that have been developed illustrate the latter. The problems are scaffolded so each subsequent question in some part depends upon the students completing the prior piece. These problems were developed to model what a performance-based assessment at a high cognitive level might look like. Writing is a key component in each of these problems. This is a perfect opportunity for students to employ math journaling or a Mathematician's Notebook to individually record their observations, reasoning, and thoughts as they work through each component of the problems. It also gives them a reference for the next component of the task. Teachers need to remember that just because students can discuss something verbally does not necessarily mean they can capture those thoughts in written words. Writing in mathematics needs to be a natural, daily part of a student's experiences.
