Teaching Powerful Problem-Solving in Math

Teaching Powerful Problem-Solving in Math provides the first in-depth portrait of schoolwide lesson study, showing how U.S. teachers at several schools build it and use it to transform teaching.

Students learn mathematics by confronting a novel problem and building the new mathematics needed to solve it, just as mathematicians would. By learning in this way, students discover the power of their own thinking and gain confidence that extends well beyond mathematics.

This book introduces readers to urban elementary and K–8 schools where teachers have dramatically transformed learning for teachers and for students. Readers will follow teachers as they transform instruction using schoolwide lesson study, building powerful new ways to learn from each other, practice, and research. The authors use in-depth classroom portraits (from the outset of schoolwide lesson study and three years later) to illuminate the changes in mathematics instruction at a school that grew its proficiency on Smarter Balanced Assessment from 15% to 56%. Extensive resources and links are provided to help readers understand and build on the work of these schools which is grounded in established principles of collective efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and learner agency for both students and teachers.

Book Features:

• Profiles teachers leading the transformation of instruction to achieve the ambitious vision of learning embodied in recent standards.
• Shows how teaching through problem-solving can erase the achievement gap in mathematics learning.
• Provides the first in-depth portrait of schoolwide lesson study, showing how U.S. teachers at several schools build it and use it to transform teaching.
• Uses photographs, student work, and detailed classroom descriptions to bring to life mathematics lessons in year 1 and year 4 of the school’s work to build problem-solving.
• Provides examples and links to the strategies teachers use to make student thinking visible (and actionable) during mathematics lessons.
• Includes lesson plans, photographs of board work, student journals, school newsletters, self-assessment rubrics and dozens of links to the resources needed to begin using teaching through problem-solving and school-wide lesson study.
• Provides long-term, teacher-led solutions for professional learning and for mathematics instruction that have been shown to improve teacher retention and student proficiency.

Catherine Lewis is a researcher at Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California who has conducted research in Japanese schools for four decades. Akihiko Takahashi is a professor emeritus of mathematics education at DePaul University and an internationally renowned elementary teacher. Shelley Friedkin is an instructional coach at John Muir Elementary School in San Francisco, California. Nora Houseman is program director for professional learning in the Alameda County Office of Education, California. Sara Liebert served as teacher, instructional coach and principal at John Muir Elementary School and currently works at Apple.

"I’ve seen it work firsthand—it’s real. In fact, the number of students meeting state test standards tripled at John Muir School. This book tells the story behind that success, and what you can do to move your school leaps and bounds."
—Phil Daro, lead writer, Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

“This amazing volume contains a wealth of information about one of the most successful models for teacher learning and increased student success in mathematics. The authors of this book produced a gem of a resource.”
—Alice J. Gill, retired senior associate director, Educational Issues Department, American Federation of Teachers

“Teachers and teacher educators from all levels and disciplines will be inspired by this book’s lesson-study-driven narrative of teacher and student learning. The history teachers in Oakland Unified School who engaged with lesson study will tell a similar story as they used the study of history to teach the skills essential for academic success and, most importantly, thoughtful civic engagement: reading of expository texts, analytical reasoning, and thoughtful writing. I take this book as an inspiration that shows how we might create impactful learning environments for teachers, and the students they dream of educating and inspiring.”
—Stanley L. Pesick, history educator, associate director of partnerships, Bay Area Writing Project, UC Berkeley

"If you only read one book about lesson study, this should be it. Lewis and her colleagues demonstrate that the devil, and the delight, is in the details. This is a book you will want to read twice. Kudos to this exceptional team!"
—James W. Stigler, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology, UCLA