Exemplary Practices for Secondary Math Teachers

by Posamentier, Alfred S.; Jaye, Daniel; Krulik, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781416605249
• ISBN10: 141660524X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-01
• Publisher: Ingram Book Co

Summary

Every year new secondary mathematics teachers take up positions in middle and high schools. The luckiest novices receive assistance from a coach or mentor: a master mathematics teacher who makes constructive comments, models effective approaches, and illuminates other practical aspects of teaching secondary math. But many new teachers don't have this advantage and must further their development on their own. If you are one of these teachers, this is the book you need.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Starting Out as a Math Teacher Today	p. 3
To Whom Can a New Teacher Turn for Advice?	p. 4
What to Expect from Your Immediate Supervisor	p. 5
What Happens When You Close the Classroom Door?	p. 6
How Is Teaching Mathematics Now Different from When You Went to School?	p. 8
The Impact of Various Position Papers and Documents	p. 9
The Teaching Assignment	p. 13
Is Your Textbook the Curriculum?	p. 15
Differentiation Within the Curriculum	p. 15
How Do You Get Ideas to Teach Something Beyond the Textbook?	p. 22
Your Room as a Math Lab	p. 24
Arranging Your Room to Support Student Learning	p. 24
Technology in the Mathematics Classroom	p. 25
Creating a Mathematics Library in the Classroom	p. 35
Using Your Textbook Effectively	p. 38
The Teacher's Edition	p. 39
Teacher's Edition Features	p. 39
How You Should Use Your Textbook	p. 42
Building a Personal Library of Textbooks and Other Math Books	p. 44
Selecting a New Text	p. 45
Designing an Effective Lesson Plan	p. 47
What Are the Components of a Lesson Plan?	p. 47
Planning Paths of Differentiated Instruction	p. 51
Planning Group Work in the Mathematics Classroom	p. 52
Teacher-Centered Versus Student-Centered Instructional Models	p. 53
Solving Systems of Equations Using the Developmental Lesson Model and the Workshop Model	p. 55
Designing the Homework Assignment	p. 60
Routines for Checking Homework	p. 63
The Importance of Planning Your Board Work	p. 65
Incorporating Technology into Your Lessons	p. 66
Planning a Series of Lessons (Unit Planning)	p. 69
Some Specific Ideas for Teaching Certain Lessons	p. 76
Angle Measurement with a Circle by Moving the Circle	p. 76
Sum of an Arithmetic Progression	p. 80
Introducing the Product of Two Negatives	p. 83
Rationalizing the Denominator	p. 85
The Pythagorean Theorem	p. 86
Introduction to Nonpositive Exponents	p. 93
Introducing the Notion of a Function	p. 95
Intuition Versus Justification	p. 96
Building Confidence in Probability	p. 100
Demonstrating the Need to Set Up a Sample Space in Probability	p. 102
Introducing the Law of Sines	p. 103
How to Use Questions Effectively-Or the Art of Classroom Questioning	p. 104
Driving the Lesson with Challenging Problems	p. 110
Getting the Lesson Started	p. 110
Motivating the Lesson	p. 110
Concluding the Lesson	p. 121
Reasoning and Problem Solving	p. 131
Teaching Problem Solving	p. 133
Where to Find Problems	p. 147
Problem of the Week	p. 149
Review of the Process	p. 149
The Responsibility of Assessment	p. 152
Evaluative Assessment	p. 152
Diagnostic Assessment	p. 153
Designing the Classroom Test	p. 154
Informing Students of Their Grades	p. 166
Improving Their Test Scores	p. 166
Assessing Your Assessment	p. 167
The Class Did Poorly-Should You Curve Your Exam?	p. 168
Testing Students of Varying Ability Levels	p. 170
Handling Absentees on Test Days	p. 170
Comprehensive Assessment	p. 171
Beyond the Classroom: Extracurricular Activities and Keeping Up with the Profession	p. 175
Extracurricular Activities	p. 175
Improving Your Professional Practice	p. 182
What a Math Teacher Has to Know About Special Education	p. 187
Notes	p. 201
References and Resources	p. 203
Index	p. 225
About the Authors	p. 229
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.