What is JUMP Math, and why are some teachers raving about it? Try 13 of its brain-teasing problems to find out

In her more than two decades in front of a classroom, Michelle Jones has used five different math textbooks and, until recently, had grown increasingly frustrated in her inability to reach many of her students. The story-based math problems that filled those textbooks left most of the children either checked out or confused. She’d draw on videos and other materials to supplement her lessons, but it didn’t feel like that was enough to help her students build their confidence in the subject. Then, three years ago, her board – the Delta School District in Delta, B.C. – piloted a program that incorporated JUMP Math, a resource originally developed by John Mighton, an accomplished playwright and entrepreneur in Toronto. The program, run by a charity established in 2002, emphasizes students rehearsing basic arithmetic operations so they can see patterns and break problems down into smaller parts, gradually raising the level of difficulty. “We were just ready for a shift, to try something different,” said Ms. Jones, who teaches Grades 6 and 7 at Delta’s Jarvis Traditional Elementary School.

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