Search results for ""Author Courtney Koestler""

Since their release in 2010, the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) has had a profound impact on educational reform. The adoption of these standards represents an opportunity to support teachers in the common goal of helping students achieve a high-quality education.The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics will affect almost every K-12 student and the majority of the US’s teachers over the next decade. Although the CCSSM was created through a top-down approach, spearheaded by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School officers, the primary audience and the ultimate users of the standards are classroom teachers.The focus of this book is on the Standards of Mathematical Practice outlined in the CCSSM. Although the CCSSM features these standards prominently, they are not described in detail and are not integrated into CCSSM's Standards for Mathematical Content. As a result, they are easy to overlook or ignore.The ideas in the Standards for Mathematical Practice are not new but linked to previous practices and standards articulated by other groups, including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). For example, problem solving and reasoning are at the core of all practices outlined in CCSSM, just as they have been at the core of NCTM's vision for mathematics education since the publication of An Agenda for Action in 1980. Subsequent NCTM curriculum recommendations, emphasized and elaborated the role and place of mathematical processes and practices.The Standards of Mathematical Process outlined in CCSSM, and explored in greater detail in this book, reaffirm the significance of habits of mind, mathematical processes, and proficiency as crucial aspects of learning mathematics. Although the terms and emphasis may be new to teachers, the main ideas have existed a long time and remain unchanged. Intended for classroom teachers, this book makes explicit connections between these related ideas and the CCSSM Standards for Mathematical Practice. By connecting the CCSSM to previous standards and practices, the book serves as a valuable guide for teachers and administrators in implementing the CCSSM to make mathematics education the best and most effective for all students.

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"This book is a must-read for all elementary educators. A call to action, the guide for teachers offers incredible resources, including powerful lesson plans, to engage readers in the practice of teaching mathematics for social justice in early childhood settings. An immense contribution to the conversation around social justice and mathematics in elementary education." Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Empower children to be the change—join the teaching mathematics for social justice movement! We live in an era in which students of all ages have—through media and their lived experiences— a more visceral experience of social injustices. However, when people think of social justice, mathematics rarely comes to mind. With a teacher-friendly design, this book brings early elementary mathematics content to life by connecting it to the natural curiosity and empathy young children bring with them and the issues they experience. Tested in PK-2 classrooms, the model lessons contributed in this book walk teachers through the process of applying critical frameworks to instruction, using standards-based mathematics to explore, understand, and respond to social justice issues. Learn to plan instruction that engages children in mathematics explorations through age-appropriate, culturally relevant topics such as fairness, valuing diversity and difference, representation and inequality, and environmental justice. Features include: Content cross-referenced by mathematical concept and social issues Connection to Learning for Justice’s social justice standards Downloadable instructional materials and lesson resources Guidance for lessons driven by children’s unique passions and challenges Connections between research and practice Written for teachers committed to developing equitable and just practices through the lens of mathematics content and practice standards as well as social justice standards, this book will help connect content to children’s daily lives, fortify their mathematical understanding, and expose them to issues that will support them in becoming active citizens and leaders.

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