✏️ When Teachers Do All the Work: The Silent Thief of Student Learning

Step into a math classroom on any given day and you might find a familiar scene: the teacher is standing at the front, passionately explaining a problem, breaking it down step-by-step, and modeling the “best” way to solve it. Students are diligently copying notes, occasionally nodding—or just as often, disengaged entirely. The teacher is clearly working hard. But the question is: Who’s doing the thinking?

When teachers carry the full cognitive load, students may leave with a beautifully filled notebook—but very little understanding. In fact, when we do most of the work for students, we unintentionally steal the very thing they need most: the opportunity to make sense of mathematics for themselves.

📉 The Myth of “Good Teaching”

Many of us were taught that “good teaching” means explaining things clearly, demonstrating procedures, and leaving no confusion. But in the pursuit of clarity, we often fall into the trap of performing for our students instead of engaging them.

We’ve been conditioned to believe that a quiet class is a productive one, and that if students are taking notes while we explain, they must be learning. But note-taking is not sense-making. True learning requires students to grapple with ideas, make connections, and persist through moments of confusion. Learning doesn’t happen to students—it happens within them.

🔍 The Research (and Reality) Behind Learning

Learning occurs when students are actively constructing understanding—not when they’re passively watching someone else do the work (Hiebert & Grouws, 2007). This is especially true in mathematics, where reasoning, problem-solving, and communication are central to building long-term understanding.

Yet here’s the tension: teachers under pressure to raise test scores often do too much of the cognitive heavy lifting—especially for students who struggle. This over-scaffolding usually comes from a place of care or urgency, but the result is the same: students miss out on productive struggle, which is critical for growth (Boaler, 2015).

In trying to help, we sometimes hinder. We explain too quickly, simplify too much, and rescue too often. And when we do, we unknowingly communicate: I don’t believe you can do this on your own.

But students can—and must—wrestle with math if we want them to become confident, capable problem-solvers.

🚫 The Real Cost to Students

When we consistently do the thinking for students, we:

• Undermine their confidence and mathematical identity.

• Reinforce learned helplessness and dependence.

• Deny them access to rigorous mathematical practices.

And perhaps most concerning, we often reserve real thinking for the students we already perceive as “high achievers.” This is a major equity issue. The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs) are not enrichment activities for advanced students—they are the foundation of math learning for every student. When we limit access to reasoning, modeling, and problem solving, we reinforce the myth that only some students are “math people.”

🛠 What Sharing the Cognitive Load Looks Like

Letting go doesn’t mean leaving students to flounder—it means designing lessons and routines that position students as doers of mathematics. Here are a few ways to shift the balance:

• Ask before you tell. Pose a task or problem, then allow students time to grapple with it before jumping in with a solution.

• Use instructional routines like “Notice/Wonder,” “Which One Doesn’t Belong,” or Number Talks to invite every student into the thinking.

• Encourage multiple strategies and representations instead of pushing one “correct” method.

• Value mistakes as part of learning rather than rushing to correct them.

• Facilitate discussions where students explain their reasoning, critique others’ ideas, and make connections—without you being the only voice in the room.

🔄 From Theory to Practice: Simple Shifts You Can Make Tomorrow

Start small. Here are a few reflection questions and classroom moves to try:

• ✏️ Ask yourself: “Am I doing work that my students could be doing themselves?”

• 🎯 Replace “Let me show you…” with “What does this problem remind you of?”

• 💬 Use prompts like “What do you notice?” or “Can someone build on that idea?” to shift the cognitive demand back to students.

• 🧠 Design tasks that invite reasoning, not just recall—so all students have the chance to engage in the SMPs.

💬 Closing: The Courage to Let Go

Releasing control isn’t easy—especially in environments driven by high-stakes testing and narrow definitions of success. But if we want students to grow as thinkers, not just test-takers, we must resist the urge to do all the work. That means trusting our students, giving them space to struggle, and expecting brilliance from every single one of them.

Because when students do the work of learning, they don't just get better at math—they begin to see themselves as competent doers of mathematics.

🧠 References

• Boaler, J. (2015). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching. John Wiley & Sons.

• Hiebert, J., & Grouws, D. A. (2007). The Effects of Classroom Mathematics Teaching on Students’ Learning. In F. Lester (Ed.), Second Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning (pp. 371-404). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All. NCTM.

• National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Washington, DC: NGA Center and CCSSO.