Mindset Mathematics: Visualizing and Investigating Big Ideas, Grade 1 - by Jo Boaler & Jen Munson & Cathy Williams (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The most challenging parts of teaching mathematics are engaging students and helping them understand the connections between mathematics concepts. In this volume, you'll find a collection of low floor, high ceiling tasks that will help you do just that, by looking at the big ideas at the first-grade level through visualization, play, and investigation.

During their work with tens of thousands of teachers, authors Jo Boaler, Jen Munson, and Cathy Williams heard the same message--that they want to incorporate more brain science into their math instruction, but they need guidance in the techniques that work best to get across the concepts they needed to teach. So the authors designed Mindset Mathematics around the principle of active student engagement, with tasks that reflect the latest brain science on learning. Open, creative, and visual math tasks have been shown to improve student test scores, and more importantly change their relationship with mathematics and start believing in their own potential. The tasks in Mindset Mathematics reflect the lessons from brain science that:

• There is no such thing as a math person - anyone can learn mathematics to high levels.
• Mistakes, struggle and challenge are the most important times for brain growth.
• Speed is unimportant in mathematics.
• Mathematics is a visual and beautiful subject, and our brains want to think visually about mathematics.

With engaging questions, open-ended tasks, and four-color visuals that will help kids get excited about mathematics, Mindset Mathematics is organized around nine big ideas which emphasize the connections within the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and can be used with any current curriculum.

From the Back Cover

Engage Your Students in Visual, Creative Explorations of the Big Ideas in Mathematics

The Mindset Mathematics series offers a unique, research-based visual approach to exploring the big ideas in mathematics, which is essential to future mathematics success. This hands-on resource is for any teacher who wants to engage their first grade students in reasoning and persisting through problems, and provides activities that will engage students' interest and show them the many ways that mathematics is important in their lives.

During their work with tens of thousands of teachers, authors Jo Boaler, Jen Munson, and Cathy Williams heard the same message: Teachers want to incorporate more brain science into their mathematics instruction, but they need guidance in the techniques that work best to promote learning of mathematics concepts. In this much-needed volume, the authors clearly show what the big ideas are at this grade level, why they are important to know, and how students can best learn those big ideas.

Filled with engaging questions, open-ended tasks, and four-color visuals, Mindset Mathematics is designed to be flexible so that it can be used with any current curriculum. All of the activities and tasks include instructions for launching in the classroom, suggestions for facilitating dynamic discussions, and guidance for what to look for in student thinking as it develops.

About the Author

JO BOALER is the Nominelli-Olivier professor at Stanford. Former roles have included being a maths teacher in London schools. She is author of 18 books, numerous articles and a White House presenter on women and girls. She co-founded www.youcubed.org, is a regular contributor to news and radio in the US and was named as one of the 8 educators "changing the face of education" by the BBC.

JEN MUNSON is an assistant professor of learning sciences at Northwestern University, a profession- al developer, and a former classroom teacher. She received her PhD in mathematics education from Stanford University. Her research focuses on responsive, equitable mathematics instruction.

CATHY WILLIAMS is the co-founder and the executive director of youcubed at Stanford University. Before working at youcubed, she was a high school math teacher and worked in mathematics curriculum and administration at the county and district levels in California.