Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics


Book Description

Studies of teachers in the U.S. often document insufficient subject matter knowledge in mathematics. Yet, these studies give few examples of the knowledge teachers need to support teaching, particularly the kind of teaching demanded by recent reforms in mathematics education. Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics describes the nature and development of the knowledge that elementary teachers need to become accomplished mathematics teachers, and suggests why such knowledge seems more common in China than in the United States, despite the fact that Chinese teachers have less formal education than their U.S. counterparts. The anniversary edition of this bestselling volume includes the original studies that compare U.S and Chinese elementary school teachers’ mathematical understanding and offers a powerful framework for grasping the mathematical content necessary to understand and develop the thinking of school children. Highlighting notable changes in the field and the author’s work, this new edition includes an updated preface, introduction, and key journal articles that frame and contextualize this seminal work.




How Math Works


Book Description

We hear all the time how American children are falling behind their global peers in various basic subjects, but particularly in math. Is it our fear of math that constrains us? Or our inability to understand math’s place in relation to our everyday lives? How can we help our children better understand the basics of arithmetic if we’re not really sure we understand them ourselves? Here, G. Arnell Williams helps parents and teachers explore the world of math that their elementary school children are learning. Taking readers on a tour of the history of arithmetic, and its growth into the subject we know it to be today, Williams explores the beauty and relevance of mathematics by focusing on the great conceptual depth and genius already inherent in the elementary mathematics familiar to us all, and by connecting it to other well-known areas such as language and the conceptual aspects of everyday life. The result is a book that will help you to better explain mathematics to your children. For those already well versed in these areas, the book offers a tour of the great conceptual and historical facts and assumptions that most simply take for granted. If you are someone who has always struggled with mathematics either because you couldn’t do it or because you never really understood why the rules are the way they are, if you were irritated with the way it was taught to you with the emphasis being only on learning the rules and “recipes” by rote as opposed to obtaining a good conceptual understanding, then How Math Works is for you!




Analysis of Arithmetic for Mathematics Teaching


Book Description

This volume emerges from a partnership between the American Federation of Teachers and the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh. The partnership brought together researchers and expert teachers for intensive dialogue sessions focusing on what each community knows about effective mathematical learning and instruction. The chapters deal with the research on, and conceptual analysis of, specific arithmetic topics (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, and fractions) or with overarching themes that pervade the early curriculum and constitute the links with the more advanced topics of mathematics (intuition, number sense, and estimation). Serving as a link between the communities of cognitive researchers and mathematics educators, the book capitalizes on the recent research successes of cognitive science and reviews the literature of the math education community as well.




Teaching Mathematics Through Games


Book Description

Active engagement is the key to learning. You want your students doing something that stimulates them to ask questions and creates a need to know. Teaching Mathematics Through Games presents a variety of classroom-tested exercises and activities that provoke the active learning and curiosity that you hope to promote. These games run the gamut from well-known favorites like SET and Settlers of Catan to original games involving simulating structural inequality in New York or playing Battleship with functions. The book contains activities suitable for a wide variety of college mathematics courses, including general education courses, math for elementary education, probability, calculus, linear algebra, history of math, and proof-based mathematics. Some chapter activities are short term, such as a drop-in lesson for a day, and some are longer, including semester-long projects. All have been tested, refined, and include extensive implementation notes.




Mathematics for High School Teachers


Book Description

For algebra or geometry courses for teachers; courses in topics of mathematics; capstone courses for teachers or other students of mathematics; graduate courses for practicing teachers; or students who want a better understanding of mathematics. Filling a wide gap in the market, this text provides current and prospective high school teachers with an advanced treatment of mathematics that will help them understand the connections between the mathematics they will be teaching and the mathematics learned in college. It presents in-depth coverage of the most important concepts in high school mathematics: real numbers, functions, congruence, similarity, and more.




Integers, Fractions, and Arithmetic


Book Description

A co-publication of the AMS and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. This book, which consists of twelve interactive seminars, is a comprehensive and careful study of the fundamental topics of K–8 arithmetic. The guide aims to help teachers understand the mathematical foundations of number theory in order to strengthen and enrich their mathematics classes. Five seminars are dedicated to fractions and decimals because of their importance in the classroom curriculum. The standard topics are covered in detail, but are arranged in an order that is slightly different from the usual one. Multiplication is treated first, and with that in hand, common denominators and equivalent fractions are more readily understood and are available for use when discussing addition. The book is intended for the professional development of teachers. It is appropriate for teacher education programs as well as for enrichment programs such as Mathematical Circles for Teachers. There are numerous activities in each seminar that teachers can bring into their classrooms. In the interest of fostering a greater awareness and appreciation of mathematics and its connections to other disciplines and everyday life, MSRI and the AMS are publishing books in the Mathematical Circles Library series as a service to young people, their parents and teachers, and the mathematics profession.--Publisher website.




Making Sense of Mathematics for Teaching High School


Book Description

Develop a deep understanding of mathematics by grasping the context and purpose behind various strategies. This user-friendly resource presents high school teachers with a logical progression of pedagogical actions, classroom norms, and collaborative teacher team efforts to increase their knowledge and improve mathematics instruction. Explore strategies and techniques to effectively learn and teach significant mathematics concepts and provide all students with the precise, accurate information they need to achieve academic success. Combine student understanding of functions and algebraic concepts so that they can better decipher the world. Benefits Dig deep into mathematical modeling and reasoning to improve as both a learner and teacher of mathematics. Explore how to develop, select, or modify mathematics tasks in order to balance cognitive demand and engage students. Discover the three important norms to uphold in all mathematics classrooms. Learn to apply the tasks, questioning, and evidence (TQE) process to ensure mathematics instruction is focused, coherent, and rigorous. Gain clarity about the most productive progression of mathematical teaching and learning for high school. Watch short videos that show what classrooms that are developing mathematical understanding should look like. Contents Introduction Equations and Functions Structure of Equations Geometry Types of Functions Function Modeling Statistics and Probability Epilogue: Next Steps Appendix: Weight Loss Study Data References Index




Helping Children Learn Mathematics


Book Description

Results from national and international assessments indicate that school children in the United States are not learning mathematics well enough. Many students cannot correctly apply computational algorithms to solve problems. Their understanding and use of decimals and fractions are especially weak. Indeed, helping all children succeed in mathematics is an imperative national goal. However, for our youth to succeed, we need to change how we're teaching this discipline. Helping Children Learn Mathematics provides comprehensive and reliable information that will guide efforts to improve school mathematics from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The authors explain the five strands of mathematical proficiency and discuss the major changes that need to be made in mathematics instruction, instructional materials, assessments, teacher education, and the broader educational system and answers some of the frequently asked questions when it comes to mathematics instruction. The book concludes by providing recommended actions for parents and caregivers, teachers, administrators, and policy makers, stressing the importance that everyone work together to ensure a mathematically literate society.




Teaching Mathematics


Book Description

Teaching junior and senior high school math classes. Instructors of mathematics, school administrators, math specialists, and parents.




Principles of Mathematics Book 1 Teacher Guide


Book Description

Teacher Guide for Book 1 of the Principles of Mathematics - Biblical Worldview Curriculum for junior high! Math is a real-life tool that points us to God and helps us explore His creation, yet it often comes across as dry facts and meaningless rules. Here at last is a curriculum that has a biblical worldview integrated throughout the text and problems, not just added as an afterthought. The resources in the Teacher Guide will help students master and apply the skills learned in the Student Textbook. What does this Teacher Guide include? Worksheets, Quizzes, and Tests: These perforated, three-hole punched pages help provide practice on the principles taught in the main student textbook.Answer Keys: The answers are included for the worksheets, quizzes, and tests found in this Teacher Guide.Schedule: A suggested calendar schedule is provided for completing the material in one year, though this can be adapted to meet individual student needs. There is also an accelerated schedule for completing the material in one semester. Are there any prerequisites for this course? This curriculum is aimed at grades 6-8, fitting into most math approaches the year or two years prior to starting high school algebra. If following traditional grade levels, Book 1 should be completed in grade 6 or 7, and Book 2 in grade 7 or 8. In Book 1 students should have a basic knowledge of arithmetic (basic arithmetic will be reviewed, but at a fast pace and while teaching problem-solving skills and a biblical worldview of math) and sufficient mental development to think through the concepts and examples given. Typically, anyone in sixth grade or higher should be prepared to begin. The focus of the course is actually learning math for life, not simply preparing to pass a test.