BCAMT Reads

The BCAMT supports members by hosting virtual gatherings to discuss books related to mathematics and/or education. 

We’re excited to announce our upcoming BCAMT Reads event…

Secondary (8-12)

**NEW DATE**

Wednesday, November 8, 2023 - 7:00pm

Raising Achievement in Secondary Mathematics

by Anne Watson

Join hosts Sean Chorney and Susan Robinson for a virtual discussion of Anne Watson’s book, Raising Achievement in Secondary Mathematics.

Anne Watson presents a provocative perspective in her book and argues, for example, that simplifying mathematical questions for previously low achieving students runs counter to the learning of mathematics. She provides empirical evidence and strong argumentation of how mathematics can be taught more equitably and authentically and provides suggestions as to how to support previously low achieving students.”

Sign up through this form: https://forms.gle/SYLZ21jZNsHyCv4f9 

A Zoom link will be sent the day before the meeting. 

There are lots of secondhand copies of this book available online through Abebooks (if you want to avoid Amazon).

RUN YOUR OWN BOOK CLUB

The BCAMT also encourages educators to take part in school- or district-based book clubs. If you are interested in starting one up at your location, here are some tips that we think you’ll find helpful:

Is it to talk about the successes and challenges of implementing practical ideas in your classroom? Or, is it to broaden your philosophical understanding of or personal relationship with mathematics? Is it both? Is it something else?

Some titles, such as Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You’d Had and Necessary Conditions, are all-encompassing and, as such, will need to be discussed over many months. Others, like Number Sense Routines and Open Middle are more narrowly focussed and lend themselves to shorter “learning sprints.” Decide how often you will come together. Try to find your team’s “Goldilocks” schedule: enough time for each member to read the next chapter, but not so much time that the momentum of the group is lost.

Book clubs are successful when participants follow mutually agreed upon expectations. Beyond social norms, these might include reading the designated section prior to each meeting, trying a task or practice from a previous chapter, or sharing samples of students’ mathematical thinking related to the reading.

If possible, take turns serving as the “host” of each meeting. Organizing and leading every meeting can be a bit too much to ask of a single–already busy–colleague.

Most professional learning titles contain reflection or discussion questions, either within the book itself or through a companion website. Choose one or two questions; there won’t be time to answer them all! Alternatively, pose one of the following sets of questions (and don’t shy away from repeating them at different meetings):

  • What did you try from this chapter? What did you learn–about your students as mathematicians or about yourself as a mathematics teacher–from this experience?
  • What’s one quote that popped out to you? Is this something with which you agree, with which you might argue, or to which you aspire? What are some connections you are making between this quote and your practice?

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

The BCAMT recommends the following titles as candidates for your site’s book club:

  • Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You’d Had by Tracy Zager [General]
  • Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics by Peter Liljedahl [General]
  • Choral Counting & Counting Collections by Megan L Franke, Elham Kazemi, and Angela C. Turrou [Elementary]
  • Fun and Fundamental Math for Young Children by Marian Small [Early Learning]
  • Invigorating High School Math by Steven Leinwand and Eric Milou [Secondary]
  • Mathematizing Children’s Literature by Allison Hintz and Antony T. Smith [Primary]
  • Modeling with Mathematics by Nancy Butler Wolfe [Middle School, Secondary]
  • Necessary Conditions by Geoff Krall [Secondary]
  • Number Sense Routines by Jessica F. Shumway [Elementary]
  • Open Middle by Robert Kaplinsky [Middle School, Secondary]
  • Principles to Action by NCTM [General]
  • Teaching Math with Meaning by Cathy Marks Krpan [Elementary]
  • Young Children’s Mathematics by Thomas P. Carpenter et al. [Early Learning]