Teaching for Success
Research from the learning sciences indicates that successful learning happens when students are immersed in environments that are learner-centred, knowledge-centred and assessment-centred, bounded by a vibrant mathematical community. Teachers are key to creating these richly textured learning environments. They are able to:
- attend to students' preconceptions and begin instruction with what students think and know
- organize mathematical knowledge around core concepts
- focus on what is to be taught, why it is taught and what mastery looks like
- provide daily opportunities to make students' thinking and learning visible as a guide for the teacher and student in learning and instruction
- encourage a culture of questioning, respect and risk taking.
Adapted from M. Suzanne Donovan and John D. Bransford, "Introduction," in M. Suzanne Donovan and John D. Bransford (eds.), How Students Learn: Mathematics in the Classroom (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2005), p. 13.
