Teaching Mathematics for the 21st Century Methods and Activities for Grades 6-12

"It's time to let the secret out: Mathematics is not primarily a matter of plugging numbers into formulas and performing rote computations. It is a way of thinking and questioning that may be unfamiliar to many of us, but is available to almost all of us." So states John Allen Paulos inA Mathematician Reads the Newspaper(New York: Anchor Books, 1996). This second edition ofTeaching Mathematics for the 21st Centuryis intended to help you let the secret out--to open up to your students the wonderful discoveries and challenges of the pattern-making and problem-solving aspects of a subject you may already find fascinating. If you think back to those mathematics teachers who surely inspired you to want to emulate their enthusiasm, clarity, and reasoning ability, we believe you can see that they, too, opened doors to your understanding of content beyond the procedures. The beauty and elegance of mathematics, as well as the need to apply mathematics to become an informed citizen of our democracy, must be imparted to today's students. This can be a big challenge when these students bring into your classroom a mind-set with a more limited (and to them, boring) perspective of mathematics. This book came out of our experiences in middle-and high-school classrooms, as well as our extensive work with pre- and in-service teachers. Not only have we provided mathematics teachers with many forms of professional development but we have also visited the classrooms of hundreds of teachers in many different types of communities and been inspired by observing situations where mathematical understanding is clearly a goal that is being realized. We call the kind of teaching that goes on in these classrooms "Standards-based," referring to theStandardsdocuments produced by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the most recent of which is thePrinciples and Standards for School Mathematics(PSSM, 2000). All mathematics teachers can implementStandardsbased instruction in their classrooms, and all students can benefit from this experience. We trust that the assistance provided through this book and through your pre-service and in-service classes will help you enjoy a career that is person ally and professionally satisfying. And we hope that mathematical thinking will become a common part of your students' lives. ORGANIZATION OF THE TEXT Teaching Mathematics for the 21st Centurycontains twelve chapters organized into three overall parts. The first five chapters provide both theoretical and practical suggestions concerning what you should know and consider before you "step on the stage" of your first classroom. Chapters 6 through 10 discuss the ongoing realities of the classroom--planning and fine-tuning daily lessons, managing classrooms where discourse is valued, assessing and evaluating students, and dealing with issues of equity as they affect the classroom. The final two chapters look to your future as a member of a professional community, both in how you relate to constituents outside of education and how you avail yourself of ongoing professional growth activities as a lifelong learner. Within each part, the chapters are independent and can be studied in any order. Part I: Prior to Entering the Classroom Chapter 1, "History and Introduction to Mathematics Education Reform," provides extensive background about the history and development of the significant concepts leading to the current reform. The chapter details methods of teaching mathematics throughout the last half of the 20th century. We discuss research in cooperative learning and offer practical suggestions for implementing cooperative learning, one of the common activities in contemporary teaching practice. The mathematical focus of the activities in this chapter is logic. Chapter 2, "Learning, Motivation, and Basic Management Skills," begins by discussing tHuetinck, Linda is the author of 'Teaching Mathematics for the 21st Century Methods and Activities for Grades 6-12', published 2003 under ISBN 9780130488336 and ISBN 013048833X.