|
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsKids Highly Likely to Transmit Coronavirus to Others: StudyKids' ER Visits for Injuries Rose During Lockdown, While Non-Injury Cases FellShould Your Child Get a COVID Test?Climate Change Is Spurring Malnutrition in Kids WorldwideNew Year, New Tips for Keeping Your Kids Safe and HealthyAHA News: Pandemic Pods Offer Social Relief, But There Are RisksPediatricians' Group Says School Is Priority, With Proper Safety MeasuresKids With Congenital Heart Disease Face Higher Odds of Mental Health IssuesReady to Resume Sports? Health Tips for Getting Back in the GameMasks Don't Mask Others' Emotions for KidsCould Going Vegetarian Lower Kids' Asthma Risk?Parents Feel the Strain as Pandemic Adds New Role: TeacherInvolved Dads Make a Difference for Disadvantaged TeensPoll Charts U.S. Parents' Biggest Worries During PandemicDo Genes Doom Some Kids to Obesity? Probably Not, Study FindsSchools, Day Care Not a Big Factor in Kids Getting COVID: StudyType 2 Diabetes in Youth Is Especially Unhealthy: StudyWhen Sepsis Strikes Children, Black Kids More Likely to Die: StudyNew Clues to Crohn's Disease in KidsKids With Dyslexia May Have Hidden StrengthsKids' Weight Rises When Convenience Stores Open Nearby: StudyA Better, Safer Way to Rid Some Kids of Seizures?More Clues to Why Kids Have Much Milder COVID-19Pandemic Causing Dangerous Delays in Care When Appendicitis Strikes KidsHow to Keep Kids Resilient in a Strange Holiday SeasonLockdowns May Be Keeping Kids' Asthma Attacks at Bay: StudyYoung Epilepsy Patients May Benefit From Mental Health ScreeningSudden Death More Common Than Thought in Very Young With EpilepsyCOVID in Kids: The Most Telling SymptomsPreemie Babies End Up Hospitalized More as KidsCommon Weight-Loss Surgery Can Weaken a Teen's BonesAnother Study Finds COVID Usually Mild in KidsParents' Age Key to Whether Kids Get Vaccinated Against COVID, Study FindsDoes Parents' Nagging Kids About Screen Time Even Matter?Which Kids With COVID Will Get Very Sick?Add Kids to COVID Vaccine Trials, Pediatricians' Group SaysToo Many Kids Still Get Antipsychotics They Don't NeedIs the Pandemic Harming Kids' Mental Health?Eczema More Common Among Black, Hispanic KidsTelemedicine Is Keeping Kids' Asthma Care on Track: StudyKids With Food Allergies Can Become Targets for BulliesHelp Young Athletes Keep Their Competitive Edge During PandemicAlmost 1 in 5 Parents Are 'Vaccine Hesitant,' Study FindsFor Rural Youth, Mental Health Care Can Be Tough to FindAre Healthy Kids Getting Too Many Heart Tests?Big Spike Seen in COVID Cases Among KidsAsymptomatic Kids With COVID-19 May Also Carry Less VirusLockdowns Can Widen Kids' Waistlines – Here's How to Curb ThatSocial Media 'Kid Influencers' Are Promoting Junk FoodsPoverty Might Raise Black Kids' Health Risks as Early as Age 5 Questions and AnswersVideosLinksBook Reviews100 Things Guys Need to Know3 NBS of Julian DrewA Guide to Asperger SyndromeA Tribe ApartA User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome and AD/HDA Walk in the Rain With a BrainAdolescence and Body ImageAdolescent DepressionAfterAggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsAll Alone in the UniverseAmelia RulesAmericaAnother PlanetAntisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsArtemis FowlAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionAutistic Spectrum DisordersBad GirlBetween Two WorldsBeyond AppearanceBeyond Diversity DayBig Mouth & Ugly GirlBill HensonBipolar DisordersBody Image, Eating Disorders, and ObesityBody Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in YouthBoyBoysBrandedBreaking PointBreathing UnderwaterBringing Up ParentsBullying and TeasingCan't Eat, Won't EatCatalystChild and Adolescent Psychological DisordersChildren Changed by TraumaChildren with Emerald EyesChildren’s Dreaming and the Development of Consciousness City of OneConcise Guide to Child and Adolescent PsychiatryConquering the Beast WithinContentious IssuesCrackedCutDancing in My NuddypantsDemystifying the Autistic ExperienceDescartes' BabyDilemmas of DesireDirtyDoing ItDoing SchoolDying to Be ThinEating an ArtichokeEducating Children With AutismElijah's CupEllison the ElephantEmerald City BluesEmotional and Behavioral Problems of Young ChildrenEvery Girl Tells a StoryFast GirlsFeather BoyFiregirlForever YoungFreaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeFreewillGeography ClubGeorgia Under WaterGirl in the MirrorGirlfightingGirlsourceGirlWiseGLBTQGood GirlsGoodbye RuneGranny Torrelli Makes SoupGrowing Up GirlHandbook for BoysHealing ADDHeartbeatHelping Children Cope With Disasters and TerrorismHelping Parents, Youth, and Teachers Understand Medications for Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsHollow KidsHow Children Learn the Meanings of WordsHow to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can'tHug MeIntrusive ParentingIt's Me!It's Perfectly NormalJake RileyJoey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJuvenile-Onset SchizophreniaKeeping the MoonKilling MonstersKim: Empty InsideKnocked Out by My Nunga-NungasLaura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your MonsterLearning About School ViolenceLeo the Lightning BugLet Kids Be KidsLiberation's ChildrenLife As We Know ItLisa, Bright and DarkLittle ChicagoLord of the FliesLoserLove and SexLove That DogManicMastering Anger and AggressionMind FieldsMiss American PieMom, Dad, I'm Gay.MonsterMore Than a LabelMyths of ChildhoodNew Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar DisorderNo Two AlikeNot Much Just Chillin'Odd Girl OutOdd Girl Speaks OutOn the Frontier of AdulthoodOne Hot SecondOne in ThirteenOphelia SpeaksOphelia's MomOur Journey Through High Functioning Autism and Asperger SyndromeOut of the DustOvercoming School AnxietyParenting and the Child's WorldParenting Your Out-Of-Control TeenagerPediatric PsychopharmacologyPeriod PiecesPhobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and AdolescentsPINSPraising Boys WellPraising Girls WellPretty in PunkPrincess in the SpotlightProblem Child or Quirky Kid?Psychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsRaising a Self-StarterRaising BlazeRaising Resilient ChildrenReclaiming Our ChildrenRedressing the EmperorReducing Adolescent RiskRethinking ADHDReweaving the Autistic TapestryRineke DijkstraRitalin is Not the Answer Action GuideRunning on RitalinSay YesSexual Teens, Sexual MediaSexuality in AdolescenceShooterShort PeopleShould I Medicate My Child?Skin GameSmackSmashedStaying Connected to Your TeenagerStick FigureStoner & SpazStop Arguing with Your KidsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthStrong, Smart, & BoldStudent DepressionSurvival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar DisorderSurviving OpheliaTaking Charge of ADHD, Revised EditionTaming the Troublesome ChildTargeting AutismTeaching Problems and the Problems of TeachingTeen Angst? NaaahThat SummerThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook Of Child And Adolescent PsychiatryThe Arctic IncidentThe Bipolar ChildThe Buffalo TreeThe Bully, the Bullied, and the BystanderThe Carnivorous CarnivalThe Depressed ChildThe Developing MindThe Dragons of AutismThe Dream BearerThe Dulcimer Boy The Einstein SyndromeThe EpidemicThe Eternity CubeThe Explosive ChildThe Field of the DogsThe First IdeaThe Identity TrapThe Inside Story on Teen GirlsThe Little TernThe Mean Girl MotiveThe Men They Will BecomeThe Myth of LazinessThe New Gay TeenagerThe Notebook GirlsThe Nurture AssumptionThe Opposite of InvisibleThe Order of the Poison OakThe Other ParentThe Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Real Truth About Teens and SexThe Rise and Fall of the American TeenagerThe Secret Lives of GirlsThe Sex Lives of TeenagersThe Shared HeartThe Spider and the BeeThe StepsThe Thought that CountsThe Unhappy ChildThe Vile VillageThe Whole ChildThen Again, Maybe I Won'tTherapy with ChildrenThings I Have to Tell YouTouching Spirit BearTrauma in the Lives of ChildrenTreacherous LoveTrue BelieverTwistedUnhappy TeenagersWay to Be!We're Not MonstersWhat about the KidsWhat Would Joey Do?What's Happening to My Body? Book for BoysWhat's Happening to My Body? Book for GirlsWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Sex Goes to SchoolWhen Your Child Has an Eating DisorderWhere The Kissing Never StopsWhose America?Why Are You So Sad?WinnicottWorried All the TimeYes, Your Teen Is Crazy!You Hear MeYoung People and Mental HealthYour Child, Bully or Victim? |
| |
by Magdalene Lampert Yale University Press, 2001 Review by Kevin M. Purday on Oct 6th 2004
There have been many excellent books published about
teaching but this book has something very special about it. I am currently in
my thirty seventh year of teaching and I must say that I have never read
anything quite like it.
The author is a professor of
education but she has kept in touch with the teaching chalk-face by continuing
to teach mathematics to a Grade Five (U.K. Year Six) class. As is perhaps clear
from the title, the book has two interlinked themes. The first is that
mathematics is best taught through problem solving. The second is that teaching
is an enormous skill but it is a skill that can be learned.
That mathematics is best learned
through problem solving is not news to many but in several parts of the world
teachers are still to be found who teach the subject merely by rote learning of
data and dry as dust repetition of barren exercises. The author's contention is
that her job as a teacher is to help her students understand mathematics and by
that she means enabling the students to see, for example, the links between
addition and multiplication through the setting of problems which lend
themselves to the exploration of such links. Part of the book is dedicated to
approaching mathematics through various problems arising from a
cross-curricular video story of a group of enthusiasts traveling by boat to see
some whales. Whereas other subject teachers presumably used the story to elicit
creative writing or to deal with biological and ecological themes, the author
uses it to help the students come to terms with some quite difficult
mathematical problems arising from the navigation – speed, distance, position,
etc. The author leads us into the complexity of these problems as faced by the
children. Teachers who teach as part of a team using a cross-curricular theme,
such as teachers of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years and Middle
Years Program, would find this section particularly rewarding.
However, it is the second strand,
the problems of teaching, which makes this book different. The author videoed
her lessons, had observers carefully record what took place and herself made
copious notes after each lesson. She used all this evidence to explain exactly
what was going through her mind every minute of the lesson. Although the author
was teaching a whole Grade Five class, she was acutely aware of the needs,
concerns, worries, blind spots and skills of every single student in the group.
Every good teacher is constantly thinking "How do I get Jemima to
contribute to the lesson?", "How do I manage to get Loretta to give
other students a chance without offending her or putting her off?",
"How do I explain this so that Gene really understands it?",
"How do I use Paul's wrong answer to advance his and every other student's
understanding of the problem without putting him down?". However, I had
never come across a book that makes all these thoughts of a teacher explicit
until I read this one.
The uniqueness of the book lies in the
weaving together of the two strands. The various chapters of the book deal with
a number of mathematical problems. The author skillfully explains how she
approached each problem and how she encouraged the students to use their
already existing mathematical skills to travel down fresh avenues, study more
complex problems, acquire new skills and see the links between what they had
already known and what they now knew. All the time the author is relating these
developments, she is also telling us of her concerns about every child in the
class and informing us of how she is trying to support her/him and why she is
doing it.
This book is a great deal more than
just another book about teaching. The psychology of teaching mathematics
through problems, when allied to a detailed analysis of the psychology involved
as the teacher reflects on the needs of every individual child in the class and
the way her own responses are going to best support them, is such a fruitful
combination that many people and not just teachers of mathematics would find
this book extremely illuminating. I think that all teachers would find a great
deal to help them. In particular, trainee and inexperienced teachers would find
it a tremendous help. One problem that trainee and new teachers find
particularly intractable is how they should teach a whole class while at the
same time teaching every individual in it when those individuals bring such a
diversity of skills, knowledge, aptitudes, interests and problems into the
classroom. This book shows how one very experienced teacher went about squaring
this perennial circle.
© 2004 Kevin Purday
Kevin M. Purday
is Head of the Cambridge International High School in Jordan and is currently a distance-learning student on the
Philosophy & Ethics of Mental Health course in the Philosophy Dept. at the University of Warwick.
|