Mindset Mathematics: Visualizing and Investigating Big Ideas, Grade 3

by Jo Boaler, Jen Munson, Cathy Williams

Engage students in mathematics using growth mindset techniques The most challenging parts of teaching mathematics are engaging students and helping them understand the connections between mathematics concepts. In this volume, you'll find a collection of low floor, high ceiling tasks that will help you do just that, by looking at the big ideas at the third-grade level through visualization, play, and investigation. During their work with tens of thousands of teachers, authors Jo Boaler, Jen Munson, and Cathy Williams heard the same message―that they want to incorporate more brain science into their math instruction, but they need guidance in the techniques that work best to get across the concepts they needed to teach. So the authors designed Mindset Mathematics around the principle of active student engagement, with tasks that reflect the latest brain science on learning. Open, creative, and visual math tasks have been shown to improve student test scores, and more importantly change their relationship with mathematics and start believing in their own potential. The tasks in Mindset Mathematics reflect the lessons from brain science With engaging questions, open-ended tasks, and four-color visuals that will help kids get excited about mathematics, Mindset Mathematics is organized around nine big ideas which emphasize the connections within the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and can be used with any current curriculum.

Genres: Mathematics, School, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published July 31, 2018

About the author

Dr Jo Boaler is a Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University and co-founder of www.youcubed.org. Formerly the Marie Curie Professor of Mathematics Education for England, a mathematics teacher in London comprehensive schools and a researcher at King's College, London. She is the author of eight books including What's Math Got To Do With It? (2015) and Mathematical Mindsets (2016). She is the recipient of the NCSM award for equity, the author of the first MOOC on mathematics learning for teachers and parents, a White House presenter and an advisor to the PISA team at the OECD.

Reviews

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read for teachers striving for stronger conceptual math experiences in their classroom. It also ties very well in to the youcubed.org site that authors also run and provides greater context and understanding for the ideas on that site. I would have liked to see some examples of the activities in action as sometimes it is hard to picture what they are going for since I do not have the strong math mind the authors do; however, it was also nice to have detailed explanations and step by step instructions for how to run them so I should be able to have my own examples someday. A must read for anyone engaged in math workshop practices.