Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally, 6th edition

• Publisher:   Allyn & Bacon
• Number Of Pages:   576
• Publication Date:   2006-02-13
• ISBN-10 / ASIN:   0205483925
• ISBN-13 / EAN:   9780205483921

This leading K-8 math methods text has the most coverage of the NCTM standards, the strongest coverage of middle school mathematics, and the highest student approval of any text currently available. Elementary and Middle School Mathematics provides an unparalleled depth of ideas and discussion to help students develop a real understanding of the mathematics they will teach. John Van de Walle, one of the foremost experts on how children learn mathematics, finds that 80 percent of the students who purchase this book keep it for reference when they begin their professional teaching careers. This text reflects the NCTM Principles and Standards and the benefits of constructivist-or student-centered-mathematics instruction. Moreover, it is structured for maximum flexibility, offering 24 brief, compartmentalized chapters that may be mixed and matched to fit any course or teaching approach.

Van de Walle spent most of his career teaching math teachers, not math students -- let alone the kinds of math students we encounter in today's urban public schools. Many such students are on a path to failure. Practical math, such as being able to make change from the till, being able to balance a checkbook, and being able to understand how credit card interest works, would be of tremendous benefit to them. But Van de Walle's philosophy disallows the teaching of procedures. He doesn't believe that teachers should inform students when their answers are wrong. "There is no need for the teacher or other authority to provide judgment of student answers. In fact, when teachers routinely respond with 'Yes, that's correct' or 'No, that's wrong,' ... learning will be curtailed." He rejects the very idea of norms of correctness: "Knowledge [is] unique for each learner." I would submit that the question of whether an account is in balance, like the question of whether four quarters make a dollar, is an objective one. Van de Walle complains that math students are often cast in a passive role. Fair enough. In his philosophy, though, it is the teacher who becomes passive. The mathematics classroom is to be "student-centered", and the students (each one individually, and then the "community", acting in concert) are to decide what is right and what is wrong. "The teacher is not the arbiter of what is mathematically correct." She just puts the blocks ("models") away at the end of the day. I agree that problem-solving should be part of mathematics instruction, but I do not see how blindly trying to solve problems "develops the belief in students that they are capable of doing mathematics and that mathematics makes sense." Some concepts and some procedures must be taught, and they must be taught before students try to solve problems. Doing it the other way around would lead to frustration -- or perhaps not, since the students could simply decide that their results were correct. This "reform math" propaganda text demonstrates Van de Walle's lack of practical experience. Use it to pass your methods course or teaching exam, but don't let it corrupt your math teaching.

The book took a little longer to receive than normal, and though it was suppost to be new, there was cover damage. Though it took longer and didn't come in a perfect condition, i have to say i love amazon and their service for the most part.

Fantastic book! It was the foundational text of my math methods course and almost single-handedly revolutionized the way I taught math (7th grade). In short, it shifted my mindsets around building conceptual and relational understanding, gave me the knowledge of what it looks like to do build these levels of understanding successfully, and helped me develop the skill to do so in my own classroom.

This is a great book with loads of activity suggestions, and links for blackline masters and other resources. I had to get it for a class, otherwise I would not have purchased a $100 Math book just for activities. But, since I had to, I did, and will keep it as a resource for teaching Math.

I have been using this text with my grad classes for the last 2 years and really enjoy the new additions to this text!

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