An instructor at the University of Arizona Center for Retention-Recruitment for Math Teachers just ordered a second set of Use Your Math Power books. This instructor and her students loved the first set of books she’d ordered.  I thought you might be interested in how she used the books to help teachers deepen their understanding of teaching and learning guided by the Common Core Math Standards.

This instructor used the books in workshops to help teachers tease out what the Standards for Mathematical Practice really MEAN and how they might look.  They first discussed examples of a practice in action within K-5 content clusters.  Then they read a Use Your Math Power book that exemplified the practice, discussed the attributes exemplified in the book and examples of other math practices within the story.  They also looked at key representations in the book, the reasoning for using those representations, and significant benefits of the representations.  Finally, they focused on the messaging in the book and how it fits with the 4 academic mindsets they discuss.

This instructor has also used the Use Your Math Power books in methods courses with secondary students as a way to look at diversity in terms of gender, culture, and race representation in mathematics literature.  In an institute this summer, she plans to focus on content and learning trajectories with the sets she just purchased. Teachers will examine important questions. Where is the child in the book along the trajectory, and what might be next for him/her?

I know that many math educators have used the Use Your Math Power books to help teachers explore the Standards for Mathematical Practice.  They provide a unique opportunity to examine children learning to engage in the practices.  I hope you will appreciate hearing these ideas from the University of Arizona.