Knowing And Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers Understanding Of Fundamental Mathematics In China And The United States

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“Both sides in the math wars claim Dr. Ma as their own. Districts have distributed her book to teachers. Its broad appeal offers some hope for common ground in math education…. We will continue fights over whether children should be taught arithmetic rules or theory. What Dr. Ma shows is that we need both.” —The New York Times “Ma’s book is a significant contribution to mathematics education because it begins to tackle the important and complex question of ‘what is mathematical knowledge for elementary teaching.’ In doing so, she helps us to understand elementary mathematics as a complex and demanding subject that is to be taken seriously.” —Contemporary Psychology “A stealth hit for math junkies on both sides of the ‘math wars,’ and a must read for anyone interested in solving the problems of public schools.” —Christian Science Monitor “This book supports the need for, and indeed the educational benefits of, changing professional teaching conditions for U.S. teachers…. It provides some food for thought for everyone involved in improving mathematics education. And it supports the necessity that even at the elementary school level, students can, and should, learn challenging mathematics.” —National Council of Teachers of Mathematics News Bulletin “Must reading for those who call for more mathematics and those who champion reform pedagogy in teacher education.” —CHOICE “The contributions of this book are multifaceted…. This book is an excellent resource and will interest anyone involved in teaching preservice teachers, as well as researchers concerned with teachers’ knowledge of content and methods.” —Teaching Children Mathematics Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics The 20th anniversary edition of this groundbreaking and bestselling volume offers powerful examples of the mathematics that can develop the thinking of elementary school children. Studies of teachers in the U.S. often document insufficient subject matter knowledge in mathematics. Yet, these studies give few examples of the knowledge teachers need to support teaching, particularly the kind of teaching demanded by reforms in mathematics education. Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics describes the nature and development of the knowledge that elementary teachers need to become accomplished mathematics teachers, and suggests why such knowledge seems more common in China than in the United States, despite the fact that Chinese teachers have less formal education than their U.S. counterparts. Along with the original studies of U.S. and Chinese teachers’ mathematical understanding, this 20th anniversary edition includes a new preface and a 2013 journal article by Ma, “A Critique of the Structure of U.S. Elementary School Mathematics” that describe differences in U.S. and Chinese elementary mathematics. These are augmented by a new series editor’s introduction and two key journal articles that frame and contextualize this seminal work. Liping Ma earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University, following a masters degree in education from East China Normal University. After a term as a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, she is now an independent scholar. She served as a member of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel from 2006 to 2008. Studies in Mathematical Thinking and Learning Alan H. Schoenfeld, Series Editor Artzt/Armour-Thomas/Curcio Becoming a Reflective Mathematics Teacher: A Guide for Observation and Self-Assessment, Second Edition Artzt/Armour-Thomas/Curcio/Gurl Becoming a Reflective Mathematics Teacher: A Guide for Observation and Self-Assessment, Third Edition Baroody/Dowker (Eds.) The Development of Arithmetic Concepts and Skills: Constructing Adaptive Expertise Boaler Experiencing School Mathematics: Traditional and Reform Approaches to Teaching and Their Impact on Student Learning Carpenter/Fennema/Romberg (Eds.)