LESSONS FOR FUTURE MATH TEACHERS

Lessons for Future Math Teachers is an evergreen collection of essays telling slightly bent, untold, true stories of mathematics teaching and learning.





Commendations:


Professor Chernoff is set to popularise mathematics education. With acumen and humour, Chernoff revisits popular myths about mathematics, popular algorithms and popular assessment strategies, which have all stood the test of time...for now. This book is a multi-purpose reader. Only one of these purposes is implied by the title: It contains lessons for future mathematics teachers. However, the book is also a wonderful resource for mathematics educators teaching future teachers and seeking ancillary recourses for their students; and for experienced teachers who wish to revisit their practice from a rather unique perspective. The stories of the author’s mathematical experiences, which are often recounted in first person, add a palpable element of authenticity to the material. In a bookstore, in addition to complementing the obvious “math and science” shelf, I would also place a copy of this book in a “self-help” section: It is a helpful resource of unconventional teaching ideas.
~Professor Rina Zazkis, Canada Research Chair in STEM Teaching and Learning




Lessons for Future Math Teachers offers a singular perspective on the teaching, learning, and doing of mathematics, as encountered both inside and outside the math classroom. Delivered with his signature wry humour and approachable narrative style, Chernoff’s take on topics ranging from camera calculator apps to playing the lottery will have you seeing them in a fresh new light. Whether stressing the importance of reflecting on and revising lesson plans or skewering overconfidence in the form of unjustified levels of precision in percentage grades, Chernoff makes his point by means of thought-provoking analogies and anecdotes, and doesn’t shy away from sharing his own hard-learned lessons as a mathematics student, teacher, and teacher educator. A must-read not only for future math teachers, but for anyone with strong feelings about mathematics or mathematics education, ranging from enthusiasm to curiosity to “What use is this stuff in the real world, anyway?!”
~Ilona Vashchyshyn, Founding Editor, The Variable