Connecting Mathematical Ideas: Middle School Video Cases to Support Teaching and Learning

by Jo Boaler, Cathleen Humphreys

"Where do content and pedagogy meet? They converge in these beautifully crafted cases of teaching-richly detailed, deeply interpreted, sensitively glossed, moving effortlessly between written and visual media. Jo Boaler and Cathy Humphreys model the exquisite collaboration between a scholar of practice and a scholarly practitioner."
-Lee S. Shulman, President, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching In math, like any subject, real learning takes place when students can connect what they already know to new ideas. In Connecting Mathematical Idea s, Jo Boaler and Cathy Humphreys offer a comprehensive way to improve your ability to help students in the middle grades link different mathematical ideas, representations, and strategies. Video case studies from Humphrey's own classroom are included in the online resources. You'll see students bridging complex mathematical concepts with their prior knowledge, engaging in math talk, and investigating topics like representation, reasonableness, and proof. The online resources also include complete transcripts and study questions to stimulate professional learning. The accompanying book guides you through the online videos with in-depth commentary from Jo and Cathy that breaks down and analyzes the lesson footage from both a theoretical and a practical standpoint. In addition to addressing the key content areas of middle school mathematics, Connecting Mathematical Ideas covers a broad range of frequently asked questions, such Go inside real classrooms to solve your toughest teaching questions. Use the case studies and the wealth of professional support within Connecting Mathematical Ideas and find new ways to help your students connect with math.

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Genres: Education, Mathematics

144 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2005

About the author

Dr Jo Boaler is a Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University and co-founder of www.youcubed.org. Formerly the Marie Curie Professor of Mathematics Education for England, a mathematics teacher in London comprehensive schools and a researcher at King's College, London. She is the author of eight books including What's Math Got To Do With It? (2015) and Mathematical Mindsets (2016). She is the recipient of the NCSM award for equity, the author of the first MOOC on mathematics learning for teachers and parents, a White House presenter and an advisor to the PISA team at the OECD.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty spectacular. This is probably the best resource (at a reasonable price) for video cases of a reform-based mathematics classroom. It really captures the power of a good mathematical discussion. In one such discussion, the class starts with an understanding of the volume formula for a rectangular prism, and ends with students generalizing how to find the volume of any prism. How did that just happen?!

Ms. Humphreys is the classroom teacher in the videos, and she really rocks. For a math teacher who aims to be well-read while challenging her students to make math "make sense," Cathy is a good role model. This book goes well with Making Sense by Hiebert et al. I needed a middle-school version of Making Sense, and it's presented here.

Tons of great ideas in this book. A little unorganized. But still spectacular.