Enhancing Your Students' Mathematics Learning Through Cooperative Small-Group Discovery

This book outlines Cooperative Small-Group Discovery (CSGD) theory and learning strategies for implementing it in higher education classrooms. Ideal for educators in secondary and collegiate mathematics instruction, this book develops teacher understanding of cooperative learning and provides advice on getting started and refining that work.

This book outlines cooperative small-group discovery (CSGD) theory and practical learning strategies for implementing it in secondary and collegiate classrooms. Based on Neil Davidson's decades of work, the author team has designed a resource to help current users of small-group methods in mathematics refine their practice and to entice others to try the strategies themselves. The book describes principles and strategies for teaching, complemented by an extensive collection of examples from instructional materials designed to support teacher implementation, with a focus on topics in the algebra curriculum. Chapters are organized into four parts, beginning with the theory and practice of CSGD and moving through examples and guidance, both on sequencing CSGD activities into unit plans and addressing challenges of CSGD in the classroom. The authors outline the rationale and basic operational principles of teaching through CSGD, as well as common student and teacher roles accompanied by a variety of structural models to illustrate these roles. The authors also include lesson plans that show how students can develop an understanding of elementary and advanced algebra through problem-based CSGD, and how coherent units of CSGD material can be used to develop student understanding of key ideas about linear and quadratic functions. The authors complement this information with practical strategies for getting started with cooperative small-group discovery teaching, some common challenges in using small-group methods, and proven methods for solving those problems. Ideal for educators and faculty involved in secondary and collegiate mathematics instruction, this resource develops teacher understanding of principles and methods of cooperative learning and provides practical advice on getting started and refining that work.

Autorentext

Neil Davidson is Professor Emeritus of Teaching and Learning, University of Maryland, USA, Past President of the International Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education (IASCE), and Founder of the Network of International Cooperative Learning Educators and Enthusiasts (NICLEE).

James Fey is Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Mathematics and Teaching and Learning, University of Maryland, USA.

Charlene Beckmann is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Mathematics, Grand Valley State University, USA.

Inhalt

Part I: Cooperative Small-Group Discovery Learning: Theory and Practice 1. Learning Through Cooperative Small-Group Discovery Activity: What and Why 2. Operating a Cooperative Small-Group Discovery Mathematics Class Part II: Cooperative Small-Group Discovery Learning in Algebra 3. Recognizing and Representing Quantitative Relationships ... 4. Linear Functions, Expressions, and Equations 5. Exponential Functions and Expressions 6. Quadratic Functions, Expressions, and Equations 7. Polynomial and Rational Functions and Expressions Part III: Sequencing Cooperative Small-Group Discovery Learning Activities in Unit Plans 8. Introducing Rate of Change, Slope, and y-Intercept 9. Introducing Quadratic Functions Part IV: Challenges of Using Cooperative Small-Group Discovery Teaching 10. Developing a Productive Cooperative Small-Group Learning Environment 11. Dispelling Myths about Cooperative Small-Group Discovery Learning