The Math Pact, High School: Achieving Instructional Coherence Within and Across Grades - Paperback

by Barbara J. Dougherty (Author), Sarah B. Bush (Author), Karen S. Karp (Author)

A schoolwide solution for students' mathematics success!

Do you sometimes start to teach a mathematics concept and feel like you're staring at a sea of bewildered faces? What happens when you discover students previously learned a calculation trick or a mnemonic that has muddied their long-term understanding? When "rules" seem to change from year to year, teacher to teacher, or school to school, mathematics can seem like a disconnected mystery for students. Clear up the confusion with a Mathematics Whole-School Agreement!

Expanded from the highly popular "Rules that Expire" series of NCTM articles, this essential guide leads educators through the collaborative step-by-step process of establishing a coherent and consistent learner-centered and equitable approach to mathematics instruction. Through this work, you will identify, streamline, and become passionate about using clear and consistent mathematical language, notations, representations, rules, and generalizations within and across classrooms and grades. Importantly, you'll learn to avoid "rules that expire"--tricks that may seem to help students in one grade but hurt in the long run. Features of this book include:

- Abundant grade-specific examples
- Effective working plans for sustainability
- Barrier-busting tips, to-dos, and try-it-outs
- Practical templates and checklists
- PLC prompts and discussion points

When teachers unite across grades, students hit the ground running every year. Take the next step together as a team and help all your students build on existing understanding to find new success and most importantly, love learning and doing mathematics!

Author Biography

Karen S. Karp is a professor in the School of Education atJohns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She continues to work in classrooms, supporting teachers' instruction for students who struggle with learning mathematics, particularly students with disabilities.

Sarah B. Bush is an associate professor of K-12 STEM education at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She is interested in the meaningful learning of mathematics through transdisciplinary STEAM instruction.

Barbara J. Dougherty is a professor and the Director of Curriculum Research and Development Group at the University of Hawai'i in Honolulu. She conducts research on teaching and learning in the middle grades with an emphasis on students who struggle in mathematics, specifically algebra.