Fostering Algebraic Thinking: A Guide for Teachers, Grades 6-10

Read a sample chapter from (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)! Fostering Algebraic Thinking is a timely and welcome resource for middle and high school teachers hoping to ease their students’ transition to algebra. Drawing on his experiences with three professional development programs, author Mark Driscoll outlines key “habits of thinking” that characterize the successful learning and use of algebra. He offers strategies teachers can use to cultivate these habits of thinking and guidelines for assessing students’ development. Fostering Algebraic Thinking is organized according to the critical challenges algebra teachers face. Excerpts from discussions among the classroom teachers who participated in the professional development projects help place these issues in context. Each chapter also includes activities to encourage teachers to reflect on how they think about algebra and how that thinking informs their practice. There are also samples and analyses of student work to help teachers identify patterns of algebraic thinking along with questions and strategies that can be used to guide and extend students’ thinking.