Book Review: What Successful Math Teachers Do

This year when I made out my annual goals, one of them was to read the book What Successful Math Teachers Do, Grades 6-12.It is written by Alfred S. Posamentier and Daniel Jaye and was published by Corwin Press in 2006. (ISBN 1-4129-1619-4) I had seen an advertisement for it and was interested. In the meeting where I discussed my goals with the principal, he directed me to Barbara in the library and she ordered it for the school. Two weeks later, the book arrived and I have kept it on my night stand, looking at it frequently. I wanted to buy my own copy and ended up doing just that, because it is a valuable reference for math teachers, and because my lunch that contained beets dripped on it a little bit.

I understand that there is a counterpart to this book for math teachers of grades K-5 also.

After observing countless mathematics classrooms, the authors compiled a list of 79 strategies that are present in math classrooms where there is a high rate of student achievement. These are listed and explained in the book. After a strategy is given, it is followed by sections titled, "What the Research Says," "Teaching to the NCTM Standards," "Classroom Applications," and "Precautions and Possible Pitfalls."

The strategies are further organized into chapters titled, "Managing Your Classroom," "Enhancing Teaching Techniques," "Facillitating Student Learning," "Assessing Student Progress," "Teaching Problem Solving,"and "Considering Social Aspects in Teaching Mathematics."

I will admit that this is not the kind of book I can sit down and read cover to cover. For me, it is easiest read by reading one or two strategies at a time. Because I have been teaching for quite a few years now, I spent less time in the classroom management and assessment sections and focused a bit more in the problem solving and teaching techniques sections.

This is a book that I would love to discuss with other math teachers in a group setting. I will admit that in my mind, I was able to dismiss a few of the the strategies as less important than some of the others and would enjoy some discussion on them. Just three of the strategies that caught my eye were:

#37 Teachers can help students learn to ask better questions.

#59 Have students study written model solutions to problems while learning and practicing problem solving.

#66 Help students learn without relying on teacher-centered approaches. Give them carefully chosen sequences of worked-out examples and problems to share.


I am hoping that someone will want to be in a group to discuss this book--I think the strategies in it are interesting and valuable, not only to new teachers, but to seasoned veterans as well.