Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had: Ideas and Strategies from Vibrant Classrooms

Ask mathematicians to describe mathematics and they'll use words like "playful", "beautiful", and "creative". Pose the same question to students and many will use words like "boring", "useless", and even "humiliating". In Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had, author Tracy Zager helps teachers close this gap by making math class more like mathematics. Zager has spent years working with highly skilled math teachers in a diverse range of settings and grades and has compiled those ideas from these vibrant classrooms into this game-changing book. Inside you'll find:

• How to Teach Student-Centered Mathematics: Zager outlines a problem-solving approach to mathematics for elementary and middle school educators looking for new ways to inspire student learning
• Big Ideas, Practical Application: This math book contains dozens of practical and accessible teaching techniques that focus on fundamental math concepts, including strategies that simulate connection of big ideas; rich tasks that encourage students to wonder, generalize, hypothesize, and persevere; and routines to teach students how to collaborate
• Key Topics for Elementary and Middle School Teachers: Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had offers fresh perspectives on common challenges, from formative assessment to classroom management for elementary and middle school teachers

No matter what level of math class you teach, Zager will coach you along chapter by chapter. All teachers can move towards increasingly authentic and delightful mathematics teaching and learning. This important book helps develop instructional techniques that will make the math classes we teach so much better than the math classes we took.

Author: Tracy Zager
Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers
Published: 01/04/2017
Pages: 376
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 2.03lbs
Size: 9.90h x 7.90w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781571109965


Review Citation(s):
Choice 01/01/2018

About the Author
Zager, Tracy: -

Tracy happily taught fourth grade in a public school near Seattle for several years. When her family moved to New England and their daughters came along, she gave up her classroom to work with pre-service teachers and their in-service mentors. After many years in adult education in a wide range of grade levels and urban, suburban, and rural schools, Tracy began extensive field research for Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had: Ideas and Strategies from Vibrant Classrooms. She now splits her time between editing math and science professional development books for Stenhouse Publishers and working with the teachers and students of Rollinsford Grade School as a K-6 math coach. Tracy has facilitated a dramatic shift in the math teaching and learning over time at Rollinsford, and she finds her work and relationships there tremendously gratifying.

Tracy is regularly invited to present at major conferences in mathematics education, and she enjoys interacting with colleagues before, during, and after workshops through twitter (@tracyzager) and her blog (tjzager.com). She's happiest when she is in classrooms, learning together with teachers and students over time, and she hopes to return to full-time teaching someday.

Tracy, her husband, and their children jump at the chance to travel, after which they appreciate returning home to their peaceful old house and rambunctious two dogs in Portland, Maine.