Rigor: Everyone is talking about it, and now the Common Core has made it policy. But how exactly do you design a math classroom where achieving that goal is guaranteed? This first-of-its-kind guidebook will help teachers and leaders across the grades make that goal a reality. You'll not only come to understand once and for all what rigor is, you'll also learn how to consistently apply that ideal from math classroom to math classroom.
Using their Proficiency Matrix as a framework, Hull, Harbin Miles, and Balka offer proven strategies for successful implementation of the CCSS mathematical practices—with practical tools you can use right away. Whether working individually or as part of a team, you'll learn how to:
- Define rigor in the context of each mathematical practice
- Identify and overcome potential issues and obstacles, including differentiating instruction, monitoring classrooms, and using data
- Relate specific roles and goals for students, teachers, math leaders, school leaders, and collaborative teams
- Use assessment tools to guide work and monitor progress
With action checklists and record sheets, self-assessments, a teacher planning guide, and much more, this is the only resource you need to guide your team to rigor - and your students to achievement.
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Author Bio
Ted H. Hull completed 32 years of service in public education before retiring and opening Hull Educational Consulting. He served as a mathematics teacher, K-12 mathematics coordinator, middle school principal, director of curriculum and instruction, and a project director for the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas in Austin. While at the University of Texas, 2001 to 2005, he directed the research project “Transforming Schools: Moving from Low-Achieving to High Performing Learning Communities.” As part of the project, Hull worked directly with district leaders, school administrators, and teachers in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas to develop instructional leadership skills and implement effective mathematics instruction. Hull is a regular presenter at local, state, and national meetings. He is an active member of Texas Association of Supervisors of Mathematics (TASM) and served on the NCSM Board of Directors as regional director for Southern 2.
Ruth Harbin Miles coaches elementary and middle school rural, suburban, and inner city teachers and leaders. She specializes in developing teachers' content knowledge and instructional strategies for engaging students to achieve high standards in mathematics. Ruth is a Corwin Mathematics consultant.
Don S. Balka, Ph.D., is a noted mathematics educator who has presented more than 2,000 workshops on the use of math manipulatives with PK-12 students at national and regional conferences of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and at in-service trainings in school districts throughout the United States and the world. He has served as a director of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics. In addition, he is president of TODOS: Mathematics for All and president of the School Science and Mathematics Association.