When most people think about math, they often think of it as a solo activity with one person, one pencil, and one calculator. But math modeling flips that idea. Success isn’t just about being good at math; it’s about working together and combining different strengths.

Whether it’s a classroom project, a competition like HiMCM®/MidMCM or MCM®/ICM®, or in a career, teamwork in math modeling plays a crucial role. It’s not just about dividing up the work. It’s about collaborating on ideas, building off each other’s strengths, and working through complex problems together from multiple perspectives.Here are four reasons why using teamwork in math modeling makes all the difference:

1. Real-World Problems Require a Range of Skills

Math modeling is all about making sense of messy, real-world problems. These problems don’t come with step-by-step instructions, and they definitely don’t have only one right answer. Math modeling takes a wide range of skills, including critical thinking and creative problem-solving, and no one person can do it all alone.

Within a team, different students naturally take the lead in different ways. Some may excel at brainstorming creative approaches, while others focus on building equations, digging into research, or working through productive struggles as they refine ideas. And some really thrive when it comes to the written paper and creating a well-presented solution. Every role matters. And the ability to identify and let those strengths come through is what turns a good model into a great one.

2. Teams Create Stronger More Creative Solutions

When students work together, they bring different ways of thinking and their own experiences to the table. That diversity leads to more creative models, more approaches that lean into innovation, and ultimately stronger solutions.

Instead of getting stuck on one idea or one way of solving a problem, teams can brainstorm multiple paths forward, weigh the options, and adjust their models based on group input.  

3. Collaboration Is a Life Skill That Takes Practice 

Collaboration doesn’t happen automatically. Teachers and advisors can help set the tone early by encouraging teams to divide responsibilities, check in regularly, and give room for brainstorming. Giving students a chance to reflect and think about the collaboration process they followed (what worked well, what they’d tweak for next time) can be just as valuable as the modeling experience itself.

Collaboration like this is what students can expect in their future careers across industries. Complex challenges are rarely solved by one person working alone!

4. Teamwork in Math Modeling Is About More Than Just the Model

When students work together in a math modeling contest or a project, they aren’t just practicing math. They’re building real-world skills that will stick with them long after the competition ends.

Communication, delegation, leadership, and problem-solving all come into play naturally when teams are faced with open-ended challenges. Students learn how to explain ideas clearly, how to listen and incorporate different ideas, and how to move forward when opinions differ. These are the same skills that employers in every industry value, meaning teamwork in math modeling is excellent preparation for life after graduation, not just for the next math class.

The more opportunities students have to work as a team, the more confident they’ll become in navigating real-world challenges together. It’s an excellent reminder that collaboration is just as important as calculation when it comes to solving the problems that matter most.