Decluttering Mathematics: Math Teaching in Practice Series
Autor April Strom, James Tanton, Scott Adamson, Ted Coeen Limba Engleză Hardback – 25 sep 2026
What mathematics truly matters for student success in middle and high school? Can we really declutter the content while accomplishing more?
Too often, secondary mathematics instruction is cluttered with disconnected procedures, jargon, and "drill-and-kill" computational practice. This approach hands students a huge pile of tiny puzzle pieces where students never build or even see the picture of the puzzle on the box, leading to confusion and fragile thinking that unravels the moment a memorized formula is forgotten. This book, co-published with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, draws upon mathematics education research and offers an alternative that prioritizes fundamental understandings.
Drawing on over a century of combined experiences, including an NSF-funded project involving over 300 educators, this book identifies five fundamental understandings that serve as a bedrock for student thinking in grades 6–12. By centering on these core ideas, teachers can reduce clutter in both content and student thinking by elevating sense-making and meaning. The authors provide practical examples and show how unleashing student thinking pays off in amazing ways.
This book guides teachers and instructional coaches to reimagine the mathematics they teach and to bring it to life in the classroom. The five fundamental understandings act as big puzzle pieces that support students to accomplish bigger things with mathematics. Whether you are a veteran educator or a preservice teacher, this book helps create a robust, mathematical environment in which every student can experience the joy of true sense-making.
Book Features:
- Five Fundamental Understandings: Identifies essential mathematical ideas—including measurement, comparisons, proportional relationships, equivalence, and graphical representations—to help teachers prioritize what matters most for student success.
- What Really Matters: Describes how the fundamental understandings unleash student thinking.
- The Math Attic: Recommends the mathematical clutter that can (and should) be de-prioritized in light of the five understandings.
- High-Profile Expertise: Authored by a team of experts and award-winning educators.
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Specificații
ISBN-10: 0807784478
Pagini: 208
Dimensiuni: 156 x 229 mm
Greutate: 0.42 kg
Editura: Teachers' College Press
Colecția Math Teaching in Practice Series
Seria Math Teaching in Practice Series
Cuprins
Contents
Introduction: Why Do We Need to Declutter Math? 1Introduction 1
Calling Out the Clutter 3
Connecting the Disconnected 5
Focusing on the Important 9
The Math Attic 10
Reflection Questions for Educators and Leaders 12
What’s Ahead 13
1. What Does It Really Mean to Learn Mathematics? 15
Introduction 15
What Does It Really Mean to Learn Mathematics? 16
The Conundrum We Currently Face 19
Putting the Ideas Together 20
Back to the Very Beginning: Base-10 Arithmetic 21
Focusing on the Important: What Really Matters 35
Focusing on the Important: How Do We Get There? 37
Reflection Questions for Educators and Leaders 38
Conclusion 38
2. Measurement: What Does It Really Mean to Measure Something? 41
Introduction 41
Why Does Measurement Matter? 42
The Conundrum We Currently Face 47
Putting the Ideas Together 51
Focusing on the Important: What Really Matters? 55
Focusing on the Important: How Do We Get There? 56
The Math Attic: What Content Can Go Up in the Attic? 57
Reflection Questions for Educators and Leaders 59
Conclusion 59
3. Comparisons: What?!? There Are Two Ways to Compare Quantities? 63
Introduction 63
Why Do Different Ways of Comparison Matter? 64
The Conundrum We Currently Face 65
Putting the Ideas Together 66
Focusing on the Important: What Really Matters? 74
Focusing on the Important: How Do We Get There? 76
The Math Attic: What Content Can Go Up in the Attic? 77
Reflection Questions for Educators and Leaders 79
Conclusion 79
4. Proportional Relationships: How Does It Take Two to Tango? 81
Introduction 81
Why Do Proportional Relationships Matter? 82
The Conundrum We Currently Face 82
Putting the Ideas Together 85
Focusing on the Important: What Really Matters? 87
Focusing on the Important: How Do We Get There? 93
The Math Attic: What Content Can Go Up in the Attic? 94
Reflection Questions for Educators and Leaders 95
Conclusion 96
5. Equivalence: What’s the Same Here? 99
Introduction 99
Why Does Equivalence Matter? 100
The Conundrum We Currently Face 101
Putting the Ideas Together 103
Focusing on the Important: What Really Matters? 104
Focusing on the Important: How Do We Get There? 109
The Math Attic: What Content Can Go Up in the Attic? 110
Reflection Questions for Educators and Leaders 113
Conclusion 113
6. Graphical Representations: What Story Do Graphs Tell and How Do They Unleash Thinking? 117
Introduction 117
Why Does Thinking About Graphs Matter? 121
The Conundrum We Currently Face 121
Putting the Ideas Together 123
Focusing on the Important: What Really Matters? 140
Focusing on the Important: How Do We Get There? 140
The Math Attic: What Content Can Go Up in the Attic? 142
Reflection Questions for Educators and Leaders 143
Conclusion 144
7. Putting the Fundamental Understandings into Practice: How Can Meaningful Student Thinking Be Unleashed? 147
Introduction 147
The Five Fundamental Understandings in Play 149
What’s Next? 151
Recognizing Linear Data 155
Addendum: Testing Your Mettle 162
Conclusion 168
Conclusion: Decluttering Mathematics: What Do I Do Now? 169
Yet One More Thing? 169
Summary of Fundamental Understandings 170
What Does the Research Community Say? 173
What Can You Do? 173
What About Pushback? 177
And Finally 178
References 181
Index 185
About the Authors 189
Notă biografică
Ted Coe is a mathematics education consultant and the founder of Coequal Mathematics and co-founder of Math for the Future. He has taught mathematics at the high school and college levels.
Scott Adamson is currently a mathematics professor at Chandler-Gilbert Community College after a decade of teaching in K–12 and is a national professional-development leader.
April Strom is a mathematics professor at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, as well as a professional development consultant.
James Tanton is a former high school educator and is currently a consultant and ambassador for the Mathematical Association of America, and founder of The Global Math Project.