Hardback : $169.00
This book explains and demonstrates the teaching strategy of asking learners to construct their own examples of mathematical objects. The authors show that the creation of examples can involve transforming and reorganizing knowledge and that, although this is usually done by authors and teachers, if the responsibility for making examples is transferred to learners, their knowledge structures can be developed and extended. A multitude of examples to illustrate this is provided, spanning primary, secondary, and college levels. Readers are invited to learn from their own past experience augmented by tasks provided in the book, and are given direct experience of constructing examples through a collection of many tasks at many levels. Classroom stories show the practicalities of introducing such shifts in mathematics education. The authors examine how their approach relates to improving the learning of mathematics and raise future research questions.
*Based on the authors' and others' theoretical and practical experience, the book includes a combination of exercises for the reader, practical applications for teaching, and solid scholarly grounding.
*The ideas presented are generic in nature and thus applicable across every phase of mathematics teaching and learning.
*Although the teaching methods offered are ones that engage learners imaginatively, these are also applied to traditional approaches to mathematics education; all tasks offered in the book are within conventional mathematics curriculum content.
Mathematics as a Constructive Activity: Learners Generating Examples is intended for mathematics teacher educators, mathematics teachers, curriculum developers, task and test designers, and classroom researchers, and for use as a text in graduate-level mathematics education courses.
This book explains and demonstrates the teaching strategy of asking learners to construct their own examples of mathematical objects. The authors show that the creation of examples can involve transforming and reorganizing knowledge and that, although this is usually done by authors and teachers, if the responsibility for making examples is transferred to learners, their knowledge structures can be developed and extended. A multitude of examples to illustrate this is provided, spanning primary, secondary, and college levels. Readers are invited to learn from their own past experience augmented by tasks provided in the book, and are given direct experience of constructing examples through a collection of many tasks at many levels. Classroom stories show the practicalities of introducing such shifts in mathematics education. The authors examine how their approach relates to improving the learning of mathematics and raise future research questions.
*Based on the authors' and others' theoretical and practical experience, the book includes a combination of exercises for the reader, practical applications for teaching, and solid scholarly grounding.
*The ideas presented are generic in nature and thus applicable across every phase of mathematics teaching and learning.
*Although the teaching methods offered are ones that engage learners imaginatively, these are also applied to traditional approaches to mathematics education; all tasks offered in the book are within conventional mathematics curriculum content.
Mathematics as a Constructive Activity: Learners Generating Examples is intended for mathematics teacher educators, mathematics teachers, curriculum developers, task and test designers, and classroom researchers, and for use as a text in graduate-level mathematics education courses.
Contents: Preface. Introduction in Exemplification in Mathematics. Learner-Generated Examples in Classrooms. From Examples to Example Spaces. The Development of Learners' Example Spaces. Pedagogical Tools for Developing Example Spaces. Strategies for Prompting and Using Learner-Generated Examples. Mathematics as a Constructive Activity. Appendices.
Anne Watson, John Mason
"...found this book enlightening and delightful, useful for the
teacher and thought provoking for the researcher....one of the most
enjoyable and enlightening aspects of the book, namely, the more
than sixty mathematical tasks sprinkled between it covers."
—International Reviews on Mathematical Thinking"The
authors...describe this text as being 'about the teaching strategy
of asking learners to construct their own examples of mathematical
objects.' They 'show not only can all learners construct
mathematical objects, but the act of construction can engage
learners who might otherwise be passive and uninterested.'
Recommended."
—CHOICE"The book is a worthy addition to any library. It will
appeal to a diverse audience: Anyone who enjoys the thrill of
communicating and sharing the satisfaction of unanticipated
discoveries through the act of constructing examples will welcome
the book."
—Mathematical Thinking and Learning"I have read the book both as a
mathematics educator, and, more recently, as a teacher educator.
Both I and my students have been constantly surprised, as we read
each chapter, at how applicable, fresh, and generative the idea of
using learner-constructed examples in the classroom has
been....Everyone, from the kindergarten to the high school teacher,
and from the special education consultant to the doctoral student,
has found ideas to work with, to try, and to challenge and improve
their own practices."
—Nathalie Sinclair
Michigan State University
"....I found this book enlightening and delightful, useful for the
teacher and thought-provoking for the researcher." --Michael N.
Fried, ZDM 2006 Vol. 38"The book is a worthy addition to any
library. It will appeal to a diverse audience: Anyone who enjoys
the thrill of communicating and sharing the satisfaction of
unanticipalted discoveries through the act of constructing examples
will welcome the book."--Mathematical Thinking and Learning, Vol.
8, No. 4
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