An activity-based approach to teaching with an emphasis on using manipulatives to build conceptual understanding! This invaluable book combines practical teaching ideas, updated assessment techniques, and the NCTM Assessment Standards to give teachers all the background they need to introduce elementary and middle school students to the wonders of mathematics.

The goal of Visualizing Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Methods is to teach mathematics in a way that excites and motivates readers, with an accessible format that serves as an introduction to the teaching of mathematics. This text, in partnership with National Geographic, is designed to present mathematics content and pedagogy in a fresh new way. This unique approach, while maintaining necessary rigor, provides the opportunity to set aside previous beliefs about mathematics and to learn concepts and pedagogy from a new perspective. The structure of Visualizing Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Methods is similar to the format of other methods texts, however, it has many unique features that are designed to be engaging and make the text relevant for readers. It begins with a brief summary of the history of mathematics. Diversity is integrated into the content of every chapter, through Multicultural Perspectives in Mathematics. Several chapters include Virtual Classroom Observation Videos.

Middle school teaching and learning has a distinct pedagogy and curriculum that is grounded in the concept of developmentally appropriate education. This text is designed to meet the very specific professional development needs of future teachers of mathematics in middle school environments. Closely aligned with the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, the reader-friendly, interactive format encourages readers to begin developing their own teaching style and making informed decisions about how to approach their future teaching career. A variety of examples establish a broad base of ideas intended to stimulate the formative development of concepts and models that can be employed in the classroom. Readers are encouraged and motivated to become teaching professionals who are lifelong learners. The text offers a wealth of technology-related information and activities; reflective, thought-provoking questions; mathematical challenges; student life-based applications; TAG (tricks-activities-games) sections; and group discussion prompts to stimulate each future teacher's thinking. "Your Turn" sections ask readers to work with middle school students directly in field experience settings. This core text for middle school mathematics methods courses is also appropriate for elementary and secondary mathematics methods courses that address teaching in the middle school grades and as an excellent in-service resource for aspiring or practicing teachers of middle school mathematics as they update their knowledge base. Topics covered in Teaching Middle School Mathematics: *NCTM Principles for School Mathematics; *Representation; *Connections; *Communication; *Reasoning and Proof; *Problem Solving; *Number and Operations; *Measurement; *Data Analysis and Probability; *Algebra in the Middle School Classroom; and *Geometry in the Middle School Classroom.

Building Support for Scholarly Practices in Mathematics Methods is the product of collaborations among over 40 mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) who teach mathematics methods courses for prospective PreK?12 teachers in many different institutional contexts and structures. Each chapter unpacks ways in which MTEs use theoretical perspectives to inform their construction of goals, activities designed to address those goals, facilitation of activities, and ways in which MTEs make sense of experiences prospective teachers have as a result. The book is organized in seven sections that highlight how the theoretical perspective of the instructor impacts scholarly inquiry and practice. The final section provides insight as we look backward to reflect, and forward with excitement, moving with the strength of the variation we found in our stories and the feeling of solidarity that results in our understandings of purposes for and insight into teaching mathematics methods. This book can serve as a resource for MTEs as they discuss and construct scholarly practices and as they undertake scholarly inquiry as a means to systematically examine their practice.