Working with the Ratio Table, Grades 5-8: Mathematical Models by Antonia Cameron, Bill Jacob, Catherine Twomey Fosnot, Maarten Dolk, Sherrin B. Hersch

Product Details

Synopsis

In their series of professional books for teachers, Young Mathematicians at Work, Catherine Twomey Fosnot and Maarten Dolk described Mathematics in the City, an innovative project where teachers helped young children construct a deep understanding of number and operation in a math-workshop environment. Now they and two colleagues from the project have developed a flexible, video-based, digital context for inquiry into the teaching and learning of mathematics that will change how professional development is conducted.

Designed for you, the workshop leader or college instructor, the Working with the Ratio Table Resource Package enables your in- or preservice teachers to not only watch but interact with video that depicts classroom teachers as they listen to, question, and interpret students' thinking; develop connections between mathematical ideas and strategies; and, ultimately, develop vibrant mathematical communities in their classrooms.

• A completely interactive CD-ROM, where your workshop participants can exploreindependently or under your guidancevideos of instruction and assessment; sample childrens work over time to analyze development; take and save notes on what they see; capture specific frames or footage; and then email their captured video clips and notes to other members of your professional development workshop. The context of the classroom will be at the fingertips of your participants for exploration.
• A Professional Development Overview Manual that provides general advice on how you can use the CD-ROM for staff development.
• AFacilitator's Guide whose field-tested content is specific to the CD-ROM and includes helpful suggestions for using video clips and student examples on the CD to design rich professional development experiences; sample dialogue to help you anticipate what your participants might say; tips for facilitating discussions among teachers; and descriptions of the mathematical ideas being explored. In Working with the Ratio Table, your workshop participants will observe sixth graders as they construct some of the big ideas related to fractions, making connections between ratios and equivalence and uncovering landmark division strategies like comparison through common denominators. By studying the use of carefully crafted problems designed both to generate a range of solution strategies and to highlight the power of ratio tables and other models for division, teachers will discover what a valuable tool real-life contexts are for building a solid foundation in mathematics.

System Requirements for CD-ROM

Windows/PC
Pentium II Processor
266MHz (or higher)
Windows 98 (or higher)
64 MB RAM (more recommended)
SVGA Color Display (or better)
4x CD-ROM Drive (or faster)
Sound Card
16-bit Flash(tm) Player and Acrobat Reader
Quicktime 6.0 (or higher)

Mac

PowerPC ProcessorG3/233MHz (or higher)
System 9.2 or 10.2 (or higher)
64 MB RAM (more recommended)
SVGA Color Display (or better)
4x CD-ROM Drive (or faster)
Sound Card
16-bit Flash(tm) Player and Acrobat Reader
Quicktime 6.0 (or higher)

Biography

ANTONIA CAMERON is a co-principal investigator of the National Science Foundation funded project, Mathematics in the City at The City College of the City of New York. She also has been a frequent workshop leader using the CD-ROMs developed for the Resource Package, as well as a researcher involved in the field testing of the materials.

MAARTEN DOLK is a researcher and developer of mathematics education at the Freudenthal Institute in the Netherlands, where he has been involved in the development of professional materials for teachers and for student teachers. He also has directed an inservice project in the Netherlands for teacher educators and staff developers. His work in the United States is related to the inservice of primary school teachers. He is the coauthor of the Young Mathematicians at Work series.

CATHERINE TWOMEY FOSNOT is Professor of Education at The City College of the City of New York and Director of Mathematics in the City. She twice has won the "best writing" award from AERA's Constructivist SIG and she was the recipient of the "young scholar" award by Educational Communication and Technology Journal . She is an author of several books on mathematics education, most recently, the Young Mathematicians at Work series.

SHERRIN B. HERSCH is a co-principal investigator at The City College of the City of New York, overseeing mathematics grants funded by several national agencies. She frequently has led workshops using the CD-ROMs developed for the Resource Package, and has field tested the materials. Her deep interest in learning and teaching was shaped by her years working with children as a primary classroom teacher.

William Jacob is a professor of mathematics atthe University of California, Santa Barbara. In addition to his mathematical research he develops and teaches courses for undergraduates preparing for teaching careers. Over the past fifteen years he has designed and led numerous professional development programs for K12 teachers. He has been a collaborator with Mathematics in the City for five years and was a field test partner for the development of the CD-ROMs.