How can mathematics be taught effectively?

The NCTM Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (1991, p. 1) suggest that in order to reach the goal of mathematical power for all students, teachers must strive to become more proficient in the following areas:

• Selecting mathematical tasks that engage students' interests and intellect and providing opportunities to deepen their understanding of the mathematics being studied and its applications

  
  Dwight Cooley, fourth grade teacher in Fort Worth, Texas, engages his students in an authentic task (468k). Excerpted from Strategic Teaching Framework (NCREL, 1994).

• Orchestrating classroom discourse in ways that promote investigation and growth in mathematical ideas

• Using - and helping students use - technology and other tools to pursue mathematical investigations

• Seeking - and helping students seek - connections to previous and developing knowledge

• Guiding individual, small-group, and whole-class work

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