Review by Choice Review
Cohen, a developmental psychologist who was part of the team for Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI), an elementary mathematics program, writes about the program, describes its use with participants from two cohorts of teachers, reviews the perceived benefits to teachers and students, and discusses what was learned about teachers' change. Cohen provides excerpts from professional development sessions and classroom observations of and interviews with participants to illustrate how the program (1) prompts teachers to see that mathematical ideas are important to themselves and their students, (2) assists teachers to deepen their understanding of school mathematics, and (3) evokes teacher practices that support students in building their mathematical ideas. In the concluding chapter, Cohen reviews the perceived benefits to students and teachers. The author's observations about the change process are perhaps of even more interest to staff development researchers and leaders. For example, Cohen reports that "DMI participants came to see children as having mathematical ideas before seeing themselves in this way." Cohen includes a discussion of the limitations of her claims and explores how participant differences, seminar leadership, or seminar structure might have influenced these claims. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Graduate collections and above. A. O. Graeber University of Maryland College Park
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
