National Academy Press
The Mathematical Sciences Education Board of the National Research Council created this guide to aid educators and other stakeholders in making crucial decisions regarding their mathematics programs. In recognition of the struggles to understand what change means and to implement that change, this valuable resource points to recent research findings and provides straightforward access to experts' most recent thinking on issues of national concern in mathematics education.
The book saves the educator time by summarizing research findings and policy recommendations from eight documents related to mathematical content, effective teaching and learning, and assessment. These eight sources, published between 1998 and 2001, represent a range of constituencies and perspectives, including the NCTM and various NRC committees.
The report is organized around five key questions, each constituting a chapter:
- What should we teach?
- How should we teach?
- What preparation and support do teachers need?
- How do we know whether what we are doing is working?
- What must change?
Each chapter responds to the question from the perspective of one or more of the source publications. For each source, the report provides an overview, summarizes recommendations, and lists "actions educators might consider." Contact information for obtaining each of the eight original sources is also included.