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Accessible Mathematics: Ten Instructional Shifts That Raise Student Achievement
Raising students' math achievement doesn't mean ripping up your planning book and starting over. In Accessible Mathematics Steven Leinwand (author of Sensible Mathematics ) shows how small shifts in the good teaching you already do can make a big difference in student learning.
Steve focuses on the crucial issue of classroom instruction. He scours the research and visits highly effective classrooms for practical examples of small adjustments to your teaching that lead to deeper student learning in math. Some of his 10 classroom-tested teaching shifts may surprise you and others will validate your thinking. But all of them will improve your students' performance.
Thoroughly practical and ever-aware of the limits of teachers' time, Steve gives you everything you need to put his commonsense ideas to use immediately. His extensive planning advice will help you streamline your teaching to get more from everything you do. Classroom examples from every grade level model teaching language and instructional moves. And his suggestions for professional learning help increase your effectiveness through the power of collaboration.
Steven Leinwand shares your raising the mathematical understanding and achievement of every one of your students. Read Accessible Mathematics , try his 10 suggestions in your practice, and discover how minor shifts in your teaching can put student learning into high gear.
Steve focuses on the crucial issue of classroom instruction. He scours the research and visits highly effective classrooms for practical examples of small adjustments to your teaching that lead to deeper student learning in math. Some of his 10 classroom-tested teaching shifts may surprise you and others will validate your thinking. But all of them will improve your students' performance.
Thoroughly practical and ever-aware of the limits of teachers' time, Steve gives you everything you need to put his commonsense ideas to use immediately. His extensive planning advice will help you streamline your teaching to get more from everything you do. Classroom examples from every grade level model teaching language and instructional moves. And his suggestions for professional learning help increase your effectiveness through the power of collaboration.
Steven Leinwand shares your raising the mathematical understanding and achievement of every one of your students. Read Accessible Mathematics , try his 10 suggestions in your practice, and discover how minor shifts in your teaching can put student learning into high gear.
128 pages, Paperback
First published March 12, 2009
10 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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November 14, 2011Every teacher in my school is currently reading this text as a school-wide book study. We are focusing on trying to improve our math instruction. In November we will be having a teacher workshop day where all of the teachers in the district will be meeting the author and we will be discussing how to use the 10 instructional shifts that he details out within the text.
August 17, 2018
Great, short book that gives some great points on teaching mathematics. It breaks it down into 10 main points, and each chapter is really only a few pages long. There's a lot of good examples that help paint a picture for any teacher reading this and will give you some ideas to either drastically change or fine tune your teaching.
November 19, 2022
Some great points he made
1) Use things that work in reading literacy classes to improve mathematical literacy. Prediction, inferences, the whole shebang. This is especially true as students try to solve word problems that are multi-factorial in the dimensions of thinking that are needed.
2) Use multiple representations of the same thing! A quarter can be represented by a pie chart, 25 cents, or a piece of 4 whole pieces. Do more to show that what you're talking about is not mere numbers and symbols on a chalkboard.
3) Distributed cumulative practice is proven to work better for skill retention. In layman's terms spaced repetition but incorporating all knowledge learned thusfar and not just the skill at hand is king. Always take the opportunity to bring back concepts from older lessons in your warm-ups.
4) Have students justify and criticize math where possible. Math is a special case of philosophy where argumentation is often about the numerical nature of the world and it has room for things philosophers often enjoy doing because of it, debating!
See full review: https://www.soroushtorkian.com/access...
1) Use things that work in reading literacy classes to improve mathematical literacy. Prediction, inferences, the whole shebang. This is especially true as students try to solve word problems that are multi-factorial in the dimensions of thinking that are needed.
2) Use multiple representations of the same thing! A quarter can be represented by a pie chart, 25 cents, or a piece of 4 whole pieces. Do more to show that what you're talking about is not mere numbers and symbols on a chalkboard.
3) Distributed cumulative practice is proven to work better for skill retention. In layman's terms spaced repetition but incorporating all knowledge learned thusfar and not just the skill at hand is king. Always take the opportunity to bring back concepts from older lessons in your warm-ups.
4) Have students justify and criticize math where possible. Math is a special case of philosophy where argumentation is often about the numerical nature of the world and it has room for things philosophers often enjoy doing because of it, debating!
See full review: https://www.soroushtorkian.com/access...
August 15, 2013
Ten shifts to improve math instruction:
1. Incorporate ongoing cumulative review into every day's lesson.
2. Adapt what we know works in our reading programs and apply it to mathematics instruction.
3. Use multiple representations of mathematical entities.
4. Create language-rich routines.
5. Take every available opportunity to support the development of number sense.
6. Build from graphs, charts, and tables.
7. Tie the math to such questions as How big? How much? How far? to increase the natural use of measurement throughout the curriculum.
8. Minimize what is no longer important, and teach what is important when it is appropriate to do so.
9. Embed the mathematics in realistic problems and real-world contexts.
10. Make “Why?” “How much?” “Can you explain?” classroom mantras.
1. Incorporate ongoing cumulative review into every day's lesson.
2. Adapt what we know works in our reading programs and apply it to mathematics instruction.
3. Use multiple representations of mathematical entities.
4. Create language-rich routines.
5. Take every available opportunity to support the development of number sense.
6. Build from graphs, charts, and tables.
7. Tie the math to such questions as How big? How much? How far? to increase the natural use of measurement throughout the curriculum.
8. Minimize what is no longer important, and teach what is important when it is appropriate to do so.
9. Embed the mathematics in realistic problems and real-world contexts.
10. Make “Why?” “How much?” “Can you explain?” classroom mantras.
January 19, 2011
If you teach math, read this book. If you don't teach math, read this book. So often we hear of student frustration and teacher frustration in mathematics learning and instruction. Leinwand offers ten instructional shifts that just make sense in the teaching and learning of math. He offers clear examples and many "of course...why wouldn't we teach it that way" moments. I highly recommend this to teachers and administrators who want to understand the "why" of math instead of the "what" of math. After reading this, I have a strong understanding of why students are lacking number sense and have difficulty in the abstract and conceptual. Leinwand suggests common sense instructional practices that will ensure both teacher and student success in math.
July 17, 2022
I thought this was an interesting perspective when hitting against Sal Khan's radical book about how much we need to change the educational system. Leinwand's focus on the quality of instruction was intuitive to me, and I liked his tips as ways that one can actually make the classroom better without reinventing society. I really liked the idea of honing in on the importance of vocabulary, making a mind map on the board for students to write what they thought about a certain number or concept. Hopefully soon I'll check out the works of some more diverse teachers on how to improve classrooms in a way that discusses structural issues more.
July 21, 2016
Quick read and good reminders on research-based (and author observed) practices in teaching mathematics. Most principles correlate to more recent research (since the book came out in 2009). Definitely worth the read if math instruction is in any way part of your life (teacher, educational administrator, parent).
October 3, 2012
Amazing book! A must for any math teacher.
February 18, 2016
Brief clear and compelling. The how as much as the why.
July 25, 2016
Really good book on how we can get our students to become better at math. He also has suggested lesson template and guide for effective professional development.
September 11, 2016
Well, I liked the book more than the author. It had some useful strategies and it didn't yell at me about what an idiot I am for three days straight.
January 6, 2023
Loved the chapter on number sense and asking deeper questions.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews