Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 194
Trim: 5½ x 7¼
978-1-4422-1196-4 • Paperback • July 2011 • $39.00 • (£30.00)
978-1-4422-1197-1 • eBook • July 2011 • $37.00 • (£30.00)
Anna Graeber is Associate Professor Emerita in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, with her doctorate in mathematics education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to teaching at the University of Maryland, she served in various mathematics curriculum and staff development positions at Research for Better Schools, a regional educational laboratory in Philadelphia. She is best known for her research on students' misconceptions in mathematics.
Linda Valli is the inaugural Jeffrey & David Mullan Professor of Teacher Education and Professional Development in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Maryland. Her Ph.D. is from the Department of Education Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she developed her interests in educational inequalities and critical theory. She has used cases in her own teaching and conducts research on learning to teach, professional development, culturally-responsive teaching, and education policy.
Preface
Alternative Thematic Frameworks
Introduction
Part I: The Teaching of Mathematics - Lesson Cases
Case 1: Promoting One of the Meanings of Multiplication: Requesting Alternate Methods in Order to Foster Understanding
Case 2: Fractions, Decimals and Percents: Evoking Student Reasoning
Commentary: A Teacher Educator Perspective
Case 3: Getting a Sense of Grams: Building Conceptual Understanding
Commentary: A Teacher Educator Perspective
Case 4: Converting Among Customary Units of Measure: Attending to Students' Developmental Levels
Commentary: A Teacher's Perspective
Case 5: Converting Units Within a System of Measurement: Encouraging Resourcefulness
Commentary: An English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Perspective
Case 6: Distinguishing Between Area and Perimeter: Using Multiple Representations to Aid Discrimination
Case 7: Exploring the Meanings of "Volume": Recognizing a Word's Everyday Meaning and its Mathematical Meaning
Commentary: An English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Perspective
Commentary: A Teacher's Perspective
Case 8: The Importance of Sample Size: Posing High Level Questions to Build Understanding
Commentary: A Teacher's Perspective
Case 9: Continuous versus Discrete Data: Using Concept Attainment to Define Mathematical Terms
Part II: Perspectives on Teaching - Commentaries
Learner-Centered Psychological Principles
Moral Perspectives on Teaching
Perspective from the Special Education Math Literature
A Principal's Perspective
References
List of Contributors
These math classroom cases are short and to the point – ideal for a focused class discussion about a specific pedagogical principle or teaching dilemma. I especially appreciated the multiple ways in which the cases are classified – it makes it easier for a teacher educator to decide which ones to use and for what purposes. I also liked the diversity in instructional settings – and especially appreciated having some cases portraying classes with students with disabilities and limited English proficiency.
— Raffaella Borasi, dean and Frederica Warner Professor of Education, University of Rochester
All the cases in this groundbreaking book have the characteristics of good cases: they portray real events, involve engaging characters, convey on-the-spot decisions made by the teachers, and call for critical evaluation. Graeber and Valli provide the community, not only with good cases but also with thoughtful reflections, in the form of short commentaries, by a variety of relevant voices and various perspectives. I am eager to use these cases in my own teacher education courses.
— Dina Tirosh, Tel-Aviv University, Israel
Interest in improving the mathematics proficiency of US schoolchildren continues to build, as evidenced by many states' recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards. While many works address the theoretical and practical underpinnings needed to deliver exemplary math instruction, few explore how this looks in practice. To meet this need, Graeber (emer., Univ. of Maryland), Valli (Univ. of Maryland), and Newton (Temple Univ.) have written a collection of case studies. Each chapter provides a case study that explores a range of subject matter as delineated by standards, a variety of pedagogical approaches, and a mixture of instructor experience levels and learning settings. The standards covered explore subject matter including measurement, geometry, estimation, and basic operations. Metacognitive approaches such as scaffolding, accessing prior knowledge and addressing misconceptions, and using high-level questions and demanding multiple representations are shared. Learning settings include advanced, English as a second language, and intervention settings. The case studies are brief and are followed by guiding questions and teacher commentaries that give a professional perspective. Realistic and practical. Summing Up:Highly recommended. General readers, undergraduate students, and professionals.
— Choice Reviews
I would recommend this book to preservice teacher education programs to guide discussions surrounding math education.
— Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School
SPECIAL FEATURES:
—Cases are actual and unrehearsed lessons for diverse groups of students in real classrooms
—Case introductions highlight well-regarded principles of learning
—While cases are from Grade 4 and 5 classrooms, the mathematics content ranges from third to seventh grade.
—End-of case questions and commentaries stimulate consideration of various aspects of the cases.
—Lesson objectives are keyed to Common Core State Standards in Mathematics
INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES:
Facilitator's Guide has been written to accompany the text. Please contact Rowman & Littlefield at textbooks@rowman.com on how to access this guide. Features of the Facilitator's Guide include:
—Instructional approaches for each chapter. Key aspects highlighted with analytic comments to guide discussion
—Experienced instructor insight. Three new commentaries written by Kristie Jones Newton, a math methods instructor, describing her approaches and insights in using the cases.
—Applications of case studies. Suggestions on using the cases with preservice and in-service teachers
FOR PROFESSORS
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Instructor's Manual. For each chapter, this valuable resource provides a variety of tools such as lecture outlines, student learning objectives, discussion questions, and other resources to simplify classroom preparation.