A book that explains the fundamentals of geometry, algebra, and trigonometry with as fewest words as the author deems it possible.

The book consists of thirty lectures on diverse topics, covering much of the mathematical landscape rather than focusing on one area. The reader will learn numerous results that often belong to neither the standard undergraduate nor graduate curriculum and will discover connections between classical and contemporary ideas in algebra, combinatorics, geometry, and topology. The reader's effort will be rewarded in seeing the harmony of each subject. The common thread in the selected subjects is their illustration of the unity and beauty of mathematics. Most lectures contain exercises, and solutions or answers are given to selected exercises. A special feature of the book is an abundance of drawings (more than four hundred), artwork by an accomplished artist, and about a hundred portraits of mathematicians. Almost every lecture contains surprises for even the seasoned researcher.

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

Too many high school students, faced with mathematics in courses at the level of algebra and beyond, find themselves struggling with abstract concepts and unwilling to pursue further study of mathematics. When students curtail their course taking in mathematics, they may be impacting their college and career options. Thus, high school mathematics teachers have the responsibility to help students recognize the value and importance of mathematics while also designing instruction that makes mathematics accessible to all students. Ball and Bass (2000), as well as other mathematics educators, have recognized that mathematics teachers not only need to know mathematics content and mathematics pedagogy (i.e., teaching strategies) but they also need to know how these ideas are integrated. This mathematical knowledge for teaching is the knowledge that teachers of mathematics need and it differs from the knowledge that research or applied mathematicians must know. This text is designed to provide teachers with insights into this mathematical knowledge for teaching. Teaching and Learning High School Mathematics is likely different from many other texts that you have used. It integrates both content and pedagogy to help you develop and build your own understanding of teaching. The text is designed to help you develop “deep conceptual understanding of fundamental mathematics” (Ma 1999) so that you are able to approach mathematics from multiple perspectives with many tools. Such flexibility in teaching is essential if teachers are to help all students become mathematically proficient. Throughout this book, you are encouraged to work in cooperative teams. This strategy is designed to help you develop a mathematics learning community and build a professional network that will be a valuable resource during your professional career. Hopefully, you will experience the benefits of engaging in rich mathematical discussions with peers and consider how to encourage such learning environments in your own classrooms. Lesson planning is another element pervasive throughout this text. To help teachers plan for effective student-centered lessons, the Question Response Support (QRS) Guide is introduced in Lesson 1.1 and used throughout the remainder of the lessons. The QRS Guide is a tool on which teachers may record tasks or questions (Q) for students, expected and observed student responses (R), and teacher support (S) in the form of additional “just enough” questions to support students in their progress on the task. In each unit, teachers expand their repertoire of teaching and learning elements and strategies and incorporate these elements as they plan additional lesson segments. In Unit 4 lesson planning is formally introduced as teachers put together elements from previous units into complete, cohesive lesson plans.

This book takes a fresh look at programs for advanced studies for high school students in the United States, with a particular focus on the Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate programs, and asks how advanced studies can be significantly improved in general. It also examines two of the core issues surrounding these programs: they can have a profound impact on other components of the education system and participation in the programs has become key to admission at selective institutions of higher education. By looking at what could enhance the quality of high school advanced study programs as well as what precedes and comes after these programs, this report provides teachers, parents, curriculum developers, administrators, college science and mathematics faculty, and the educational research community with a detailed assessment that can be used to guide change within advanced study programs.