Schools Mathematics And The World Of Reality

Professional Development that Supports School Mathematics Reform

Teaching Secondary and Middle School Mathematics

Teaching Secondary and Middle School Mathematics combines the latest developments in research, technology, and standards with a vibrant writing style to help teachers prepare for the excitement and challenges of teaching secondary and middle school mathematics. The book explores the mathematics teaching profession by examining the processes of planning, teaching, and assessing student progress through practical examples and recommendations. Beginning with an examination of what it means to teach and learn mathematics, the reader is led through the essential components of teaching, concluding with an examination of how teachers continue with professional development throughout their careers. Hundreds of citations are used to support the ideas presented in the text, and specific websites and other resources are presented for future study by the reader. Classroom scenarios are presented to engage the reader in thinking through specific challenges that are common in mathematics classrooms. The sixth edition has been updated and expanded with particular emphasis on the latest technology, resources, and standards. The reader is introduced to the ways that students think and how to best meet their needs through planning that involves attention to differentiation, as well as how to manage a classroom for success. Features include: The entire text has been reorganized so that assessment takes a more central role in planning and teaching. Unit 3 (of 5) now addresses the use of summative and formative assessments to inform classroom teaching practices. ● A new feature, "Links and Resources," has been added to each of the 13 chapters. While the book includes a substantial listing of citations and resources after the chapters, five strongly recommended and practical resources are spotlighted at the end of each chapter as an easy reference to some of the most important materials on the topic. ● Approximately 150 new citations have either replaced or been added to the text to reflect the latest in research, materials, and resources that support the teaching of mathematics. ● A Quick Reference Guide has been added to the front of the book to assist the reader in identifying the most useful chapter features by topic. ● A significant revision to Chapter 13 now includes discussions of common teaching assessments used for field experiences and licensure, as well as a discussion of practical suggestions for success in methods and student teaching experiences. ● Chapter 9 on the practical use of classroom technology has been revised to reflect the latest tools available to classroom teachers, including apps that can be run on handheld, personal devices. An updated Instructor’s Manual features a test bank, sample classroom activities, Powerpoint slides, chapter summaries, and learning outcomes for each chapter, and can be accessed by instructors online at www.routledge.com/9780367146511

Mathematics Education as a Research Domain: A Search for Identity

No one disputes how important it is, in today's world, to prepare students to un derstand mathematics as well as to use and communicate mathematics in their future lives. That task is very difficult, however. Refocusing curricula on funda mental concepts, producing new teaching materials, and designing teaching units based on 'mathematicians' common sense' (or on logic) have not resulted in a better understanding of mathematics by more students. The failure of such efforts has raised questions suggesting that what was missing at the outset of these proposals, designs, and productions was a more profound knowledge of the phenomena of learning and teaching mathematics in socially established and culturally, politically, and economically justified institutions - namely, schools. Such knowledge cannot be built by mere juxtaposition of theories in disci plines such as psychology, sociology, and mathematics. Psychological theories focus on the individual learner. Theories of sociology of education look at the general laws of curriculum development, the specifics of pedagogic discourse as opposed to scientific discourse in general, the different possible pedagogic rela tions between the teacher and the taught, and other general problems in the inter face between education and society. Mathematics, aside from its theoretical contents, can be looked at from historical and epistemological points of view, clarifying the genetic development of its concepts, methods, and theories. This view can shed some light on the meaning of mathematical concepts and on the difficulties students have in teaching approaches that disregard the genetic development of these concepts.