Through Mathematical Eyes: Exploring Functional Relationships in Math and Science, Vol. 2

This second volume of the Moving Middle Schools series provides a picture of teachers with the courage to invest in a well chosen generative topic for the sake of enhancing students' mathematical power. It demonstrated how by concentrating on the concept of "functions," teachers can lay a foundation for two essential mathematical understandings: the ability to model real-world phenomena mathematically-to develop what the contributors call "math eyes"-and the capacity to create graphic, linguistic, and numerical representations of mathematical information.

Through Mathematical Eyes offers revealing stories of how this generative curriculum plays out in diverse classrooms ranging from rural Maine to urban San Francisco. Through the vivid stories of classroom teachers, we see students relating math and science as they explore the effects of smoking on lung capacity, the question of sleeping fish, and the properties of magnets. We see teachers openly confronting the controversies and struggles involved in teaching complex concepts to students who sometimes lack strong computational skills. Most of all we see teachers and students engaging in real conversations about powerful learning and teaching.

In this volume, teachers will find concrete examples of unit plans, classroom activities, and assessment practices to use in their own teaching or in discussions with colleagues. Teachers will also find practical information about the conceptual nature of functions and the critical role functions play in math, science, and daily life. As a vehicle for professional development, Through Mathematical Eyes is an excellent resource for prompting both personal reflection and professional discussion.

Dana Balick is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. While at PACE, she managed projects focused on the potential role of arts and cultural education in contemporary school reform. She is currently associated with Programs in Professional Education (PPE) at Harvard, a set of programs devoted to the education of adults who teach children.

Ron Ritchhart has taught elementary and middle school mathematics

Dennie Palmer Wolf has worked, written, taught, and conducted research in the fields of literacy, arts and humanities education, and new approaches to assessment for more than twenty-five years. Through her current project, PACE, she designs and researches school and community efforts to create learning opportunities, both in and out of school, that permit diverse children to become actively engaged in contemporary culture--as thinkers, authors, designers, and inventors. Wolf also teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Julie Craven has been teaching for ten years. She has worked extensively on restructuring and curriculum development programs, both as a teacher and as a researcher at PACE.