Use these targeted probes to assess students' grasp of key mathematical concepts! This resource provides secondary teachers with assessment tools to gauge learners' knowledge of core mathematical ideas. The authors provide 30 probesubrief, easily administered assessmentsuthat can determine students' thinking by revealing common understandings and misunderstandings and providing further elaboration of student thinking. This invaluable book: Combines standards, educational research findings, and practical craft knowledge Helps teachers modify math instruction to build on individual students' existing understandings while addressing their identified difficulties Offers examples that illustrate the faulty thinking students are likely to exhibit and typical obstacles they may encounter

Descriptions of how the FACTs promote learning and inform teaching, including illustrative examples, support the inextricable link between instruction and learning. Instead of a one-size fits all approach, this one-of-a-kind resource will help teachers build a bridge between students' initial ideas and correct mathematical thinking. The authors also provide important guidance with each technique, including usage tips and caveats, implementation examples and suggested modifications.

'This book addresses the needs of teachers at every level in their teaching careers, as well as those who support and work with teachers. The processes can be used individually to guide professional learning and teaching, or within almost any professional development structure for facilitating group learning' - Katherine E. Stiles, Senior Program Associate, WestEd 'This resource supports continual professional growth of both content and pedagogical knowledge and will help teachers focus on the appropriate research. What a time saver this is!' - Rhonda Naylor, National Board Certified Mathematics Teacher Campus Middle School, Englewood, CO Becoming an accomplished mathematics teacher requires not only a thorough understanding of content, but also a familiarity with mathematics standards and research. However, a strategy for translating standards and research into instructional practice has been lacking since the advent of standards-based education reform. Mathematics Curriculum Topic Study provides a systematic professional development strategy that links mathematics standards and research to curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Developed by authors Page Keeley and Cheryl M. Rose of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, the Curriculum Topic Study (CTS) process can help educators align their practice with research-based concepts and skills. Successfully field-tested with hundreds of teachers, maths advisors and teacher trainers, this book contains 92 ready-to-use CTS guides arranged in seven categories. Designed to work in a variety of contexts, the CTS process will help teachers: o Increase their content and pedagogical knowledge o Better understand and access mathematics research o Translate standards to the classroom in a conscious, scholarly way o Learn to recognize and address learning difficulties o Increase opportunities for all students to achieve mathematical literacy An essential investment toward improving student achievement in mathematics for primary and secondary maths teachers, teacher trainers, department heads and maths advisors, this innovative resource is also appropriate for trainee teachers and higher education lecturers.

'Shows us ways to listen and observe children and their mathematical understandings so we can find better ways to help them take their next learning steps. This book is a gift to educators who 'seek to understand before being understood' - From the Foreword by Anne Davies 'A fresh and unique resource for mathematics teachers who recognize the importance of carefully establishing the starting points of instruction in terms of what students already know. The collection of assessment probes is inventive, engaging for students, and invaluable for teachers' - Richard H. Audet, Associate Professor, Roger Williams University Use formative assessment probes to take the guesswork out of mathematics instruction and improve learning! Students learn at varying rates, and if a misconception in mathematics develops early, it may be carried from year to year and obstruct a student's progress. To identify fallacies in students' preconceived ideas, Uncovering Student Thinking in Mathematics offers educators a powerful diagnostic technique in the form of field-tested assessment probes-brief, easily administered activities to determine students' thinking on core mathematical concepts. Designed to question students' conceptual knowledge and reveal common understandings and misunderstandings, the probes generate targeted information for modifying mathematics instruction, allowing teachers to build on students' existing knowledge and individually address their identified difficulties. Linked to National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards, this invaluable handbook assists educators with: * 25 ready-to-use mathematical probes * Teacher guides for implementing each probe at any grade level * Examples of typical obstacles and faulty thinking demonstrated by students This rich resource combines standards, educational research findings, and practical craft knowledge to help teachers deliver informed instruction that strengthens all students' learning and achievement in mathematics.

There is a substantive body of research that indicates formative assessment can significantly improve student learning. Yet, this same research shows that the features of formative assessment that impact student achievement are sadly missing from many classrooms (Black, et al., 2003). This book provides teachers with guidance and suggestions for using formative assessment to improve teaching and learning in the mathematics classroom, and identifies and describes practical techniques teachers can use to build a rich repertoire of formative assessment strategies. The acronym, FACT, is used to label the techniques included in this book. FACT stands for Formative Assessment Classroom Technique. Through the varied use of FACTs, explicitly tied to a purpose for gathering information about or promoting students' thinking and learning, teachers can focus on what works best for learning and design or modify lessons to fit the needs of the students.

From best-selling authors Cheryl Tobey and Carolyn Arline, this book helps pinpoint and reverse students' common math difficulties. Included are 20 research-based assessment probes designed specifically for Grades 3-5, to help teachers learn to ask the right questions to uncover just where students get confused, and apply practical strategies to get them quickly back on track. Organized by strand, the probes will enable readers to: Quickly and objectively identify and correct students' difficulties Systematically address conceptual misunderstandings and procedural mistakes-- before they become long-term problems Plan targeted instruction and remediation in multiplication and division, problem solving, the four operations, factorization, and beyond Master the essential CCSM mathematical processes and proficiencies for Grades 3-5 With the help of sample student responses, extensive Teacher Notes, reproducibles, and research-based tips and resources, teachers can quickly eliminate the guesswork and join thousands of busy teachers who've used these easy-to-implement probes to foster solid math proficiency!

Use these targeted probes to assess students' grasp of key mathematical concepts! This resource provides secondary teachers with assessment tools to gauge learners' knowledge of core mathematical ideas. The authors provide 30 probesubrief, easily administered assessmentsuthat can determine students' thinking by revealing common understandings and misunderstandings and providing further elaboration of student thinking. This invaluable book: Combines standards, educational research findings, and practical craft knowledge Helps teachers modify math instruction to build on individual students' existing understandings while addressing their identified difficulties Offers examples that illustrate the faulty thinking students are likely to exhibit and typical obstacles they may encounter

'This book addresses the needs of teachers at every level in their teaching careers, as well as those who support and work with teachers. The processes can be used individually to guide professional learning and teaching, or within almost any professional development structure for facilitating group learning' - Katherine E. Stiles, Senior Program Associate, WestEd 'This resource supports continual professional growth of both content and pedagogical knowledge and will help teachers focus on the appropriate research. What a time saver this is!' - Rhonda Naylor, National Board Certified Mathematics Teacher Campus Middle School, Englewood, CO Becoming an accomplished mathematics teacher requires not only a thorough understanding of content, but also a familiarity with mathematics standards and research. However, a strategy for translating standards and research into instructional practice has been lacking since the advent of standards-based education reform. Mathematics Curriculum Topic Study provides a systematic professional development strategy that links mathematics standards and research to curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Developed by authors Page Keeley and Cheryl M. Rose of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, the Curriculum Topic Study (CTS) process can help educators align their practice with research-based concepts and skills. Successfully field-tested with hundreds of teachers, maths advisors and teacher trainers, this book contains 92 ready-to-use CTS guides arranged in seven categories. Designed to work in a variety of contexts, the CTS process will help teachers: o Increase their content and pedagogical knowledge o Better understand and access mathematics research o Translate standards to the classroom in a conscious, scholarly way o Learn to recognize and address learning difficulties o Increase opportunities for all students to achieve mathematical literacy An essential investment toward improving student achievement in mathematics for primary and secondary maths teachers, teacher trainers, department heads and maths advisors, this innovative resource is also appropriate for trainee teachers and higher education lecturers.

This book offers a collection of classroom-friendly strategies, resources, tools, instructional routines, and sample lessons, to help teachers learn about and implement formative assessment practices in the mathematics classroom. It's accompanying website includes additional material including: Downloadable PDF and Word versions of handouts described in the book Sample lesson plans Video examples Interactive learning activities Planning tools (PDF templates and interactive web pages)

Helping students master secondary school mathematics just got a whole lot easier! Bestselling authors Cheryl Rose Tobey and Carolyn B. Arline provide 25 detailed and grade-level specific assessment probes that promote deep learning and expert maths instruction. Learn to ask the right questions to uncover where and how students commonly get confused. You'll learn how to: Quickly diagnose students' common misconceptions and procedural mistakes Help students pinpoint areas of struggle Plan targeted instruction that builds on students' current understandings while addressing difficulties with algebra, functions, logarithms, geometry, trigonometric ratios, statistics and probability, and more Elicit the skills and processes related to the Standards for Mathematical Practices You'll find sample student responses, extensive Teacher Notes, and research-based tips and resources, as well as the QUEST Cycle for effective, hands-on implementation, to help instil new mathematical ideas. This is a great teaching resource with easy-to-implement tools and ideas to build solid mathematics proficiency.

Back by popular demand, Cheryl Tobey and new coauthor Emily Fagan bring you 20 entirely new formative assessment probes- this time specifically for Grades K-2 and directly aligned to the Common Core. Thousands of teachers have already discovered that using probes may be the single-best way to identify students' understandings and misunderstandings of key math concepts and then follow-up with the most appropriate instructional choices. Organized by strand, the probes will enable you to: Objectively evaluate each child's prior basic numeracy and math knowledge Systematically address common mistakes and obstacles before they become long-term problems Help students integrate new mathematical ideas and immediately pinpoint areas of struggle Plan targeted instruction that builds on students' current understandings while addressing their identified difficulties With the help of these probes, K-2 teachers will eliminate once and for all the perception "some kids just aren't good at math" and put all students on the path of lifelong proficiency.

Formative assessment is an important strategy for improving student achievement in mathematics. This resource provides tools and examples that allow primary educators to gauge students' knowledge of core mathematics concepts and strengthen their ability to teach effectively. The authors provide 25 formative assessment probes-brief, easily administered activities targeting specific mathematics ideas and concepts-to reveal common understandings and misunderstandings in student thinking. Field-tested with teachers and students at various grade levels, these powerful diagnostic tools help teachers modify their teaching and identify areas that require more instruction.