"Participants examine generalizations at the heart of the study of operations in the elementary grades. They express these generalizations in common language and in algebraic notation, develop arguments based on representations of the operations, study what it means to prove a generalization, and extend their generalizations and arguments when the domain under consideration expands from whole numbers to integers"--DMI website

What are the "big ideas" in elementary school mathematics? How do students understand them? How can teachers best offer help and support as their students grapple with these ideas? These and other questions about the practice of teaching K-8 mathematics are the focus of Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI), a powerful, engaging professional development curriculum for current and future teachers. At the heart of a DMI seminar is the casebook, sets of classroom episodes (cases) illustrating student thinking as described by their teachers. In addition to case discussions, the curriculum offers teachers opportunities: to explore mathematics in lessons led by facilitators; to share and discuss the work of their own students; to view and discuss DVD clips of mathematics classrooms; to write their own classroom cases; and to read overviews of related research.

Drawing on rich classroom observations of educators teaching in China and the U.S., this book details an innovative and effective approach to teaching algebra at the elementary level, namely, "teaching through example-based problem solving" (TEPS). Recognizing young children’s particular cognitive and developmental capabilities, this book powerfully argues for the importance of infusing algebraic thinking into early grade mathematics teaching and illustrates how this has been achieved by teachers in U.S. and Chinese contexts. Documenting best practice and students’ responses to example-based instruction, the text demonstrates that this TEPS approach – which involves the use of worked examples, representations, and deep questions – helps students learn and master fundamental mathematical ideas, making it highly effective in developing algebraic readiness and mathematical understanding. This text will benefit post-graduate students, researchers, and academics in the fields of mathematics, STEM, and elementary education, as well as algebra research more broadly. Those interested in teacher education, classroom practice, and developmental and cognitive psychology will also find this volume of interest.

(Orginally published in 2008) The goal of AMTE Monograph 4, "Cases in Mathematics Teacher Education: Tools for Developing Knowledge Needed for Teaching", is to provide detailed accounts of case use that will inform the mathematics teacher education community on the range of ways in which cases can be used to foster teacher learning and the capacity to reflect on and learn from teaching. The chapters in this monograph describe the use of cases with preservice and practicing teachers at all levels K - 12, in content and methods courses as well as professional development settings, and focus on developing various aspects of teachers' knowledge base (i.e., content, pedagogy, and students as learners). Hence, Monograph 4 should prove to be a superb resource for mathematics teacher educators.

A Co-Publication of Routledge for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) In recent years there has been increased interest in the nature and role of proof in mathematics education; with many mathematics educators advocating that proof should be a central part of the mathematics education of students at all grade levels. This important new collection provides that much-needed forum for mathematics educators to articulate a connected K-16 "story" of proof. Such a story includes understanding how the forms of proof, including the nature of argumentation and justification as well as what counts as proof, evolve chronologically and cognitively and how curricula and instruction can support the development of students’ understanding of proof. Collectively these essays inform educators and researchers at different grade levels about the teaching and learning of proof at each level and, thus, help advance the design of further empirical and theoretical work in this area. By building and extending on existing research and by allowing a variety of voices from the field to be heard, Teaching and Learning Proof Across the Grades not only highlights the main ideas that have recently emerged on proof research, but also defines an agenda for future study.