Sensible Mathematics: A Guide for School Leaders

by Steven J. Leinwand

Designed for school leaders, this highly useful guide provides the tools you need to make a vision of sensible mathematics a reality for all students.

Genres: Education

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2000

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leinwand has created a practical guide to how school leaders can and should support reform in mathematics education. He uses the "baby and the bath water" as a metaphor for the things that modern math curriculum need to keep and to throw out. The most specific example that he uses several times through out the book is related to computation. He argues effectively that calculators and computers have made multi-digit paper and pencil computations "bath water," but single digit multiplication by three or four digits and division by a single digit are "baby" because they can be used to build conceptual understanding and estimation skills necessary for using and making sense of the operations with a calculator. He then goes on to give concrete but fairly general advise about the ideas, structures, and policies that should be in place to support change in classroom experiences for children. Overall, I agree whole-heartedly with his concept of "Sensible Mathematics" and the ideas for supporting the change are good. But in general they are too thin to build a robust change effort on alone. They are more a framework, that requires a good bit of creation to make practical, but I suppose that is necessary to make a book like this accessible to so many different readers.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like what this book has to say. Now to use/internalize 10% of it and I will be happy. Math instruction isn't what it used to be as the times change so does how we teach mathematics change.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our math coach is going to want to completely change our math program and fire our math consultant.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for educational leaders