One of my grade 11 students wants to be a mathematics teacher. She has asked me a for a list of books she should read. Here is a list of books I would recommend, along with some recommendations from members of my Twitter network.
- Why Children Fail by John Holt
- A Mathematician’s Lament by Paul Lockhart
- Mathematics Miseducation by Derek Stolp
- The Element by Sir Ken Robinson
- Teaching Children to Care by Ruth Charney ( suggested by @lookforsun )
- Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmerman ( suggested by @lookforsun )
- Comprehending Math by Arthur Hyde ( suggested by @lookforsun )
- The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night by Mark Haddon ( suggested by @getcarter66 )
- Mindset by Carol Dweck
- What does it mean to be well educated? by Alfie Kohn ( suggested by @symphily )
- The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn
- Punished by Rewardsby Alfie Kohn
- The Six-Lesson School Teacher by John Taylor Gatto
- A Different Kind of Teacher by John Taylor Gatto ( suggested by @symphily )
- The New Teacher Book by Stephanie Walters ( suggested by @symphily )
- The Three Questions by Jon Muth ( suggested by @brophycat )
- Teaching Tools by Fred Jones ( suggested by @graemecampbell )
- Words Worth Teaching – Dr. Andrew Biemiller, OISE. ( suggested by @pattimarathon )
What else would you add to this list?
@tangomanfromqc says:
by Parker J. Palmer
http://www.amazon.ca/Courage-Teach-Exploring-Landscape-Anniversary/dp/0787996866/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307480718&sr=1-3
June 7, 2011 — 5:07 pm
Nick says:
Innumeracy by John Allen Paulos (actually, anything by John Allen Paulos)
A Mathematician’s Apology by G.H. Hardy
A Mathematician’s Apology is not a math-ed book, but should be read by any future mathematicians.
June 7, 2011 — 5:57 pm
Craig says:
Flatland by Edwin Abbott
A book about a world of geometric shapes and the mathematical and political rules that govern their lives. It was written in 1884.
Here is the wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland
June 7, 2011 — 7:40 pm
Chris Wejr says:
Drive – Daniel Pink
What’s The Point of School? – Guy Claxton
Lost at School – Dr Ross Greene
June 7, 2011 — 9:58 pm
Scott McLeod says:
Although Alfie Kohn is on this list several times already, I highly recommend his book Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community (http://amzn.to/jJRCPc), which had (and continues to have) a profound impact on my own views about learning and teaching.
“This book questions the assumption that classroom problems are always the fault of students who don’t do what they are told. New classroom management techniques are not the answer, he says. Instead, we must reconsider what we’re telling students to do and to learn. He shows how a fundamentally cynical view of children lies beneath the assumption that we must tell students exactly how we expect them to behave and then punish or reward them accordingly. Kohn contrasts the idea of discipline, in which things are done to students to control their behavior, with an approach in which we work with students to create caring communities where decisions are made together.” – from http://amzn.to/jJRCPc
June 8, 2011 — 2:38 am
Mylene says:
The Teenage Liberation Handbook by Grace Llewellyn (John Holt’s philosophical heir). And maybe _Real Lives_, same author.
June 8, 2011 — 11:17 am
Jaimie Ashton says:
A New Culture of Learning: Cultivation the Imagination for a World of Constant Change
by: Douglas Thomas & John Seely Brown
This is a great easy read! It fundamentally changed my views of education and made me think more deeply about my own learning.
Good reading!!
June 8, 2011 — 12:50 pm
Blair says:
“The Book of Learning and Forgetting” – Frank Smith
A critique of the “official theory of learning” and reinforcement of the “classical view of learning”. Well referenced and researched, but easy to understand to and quick to read.
June 8, 2011 — 4:06 pm
MJ says:
What’s Math Got To Do With It? Helping Children Learn to Love Their Least Favourite Subject – And Why It’s Important to America by Jo Boaler
I recently read this book and although it does focus on the USA, it is still applicable to Canada. This book was suggested by Steven Leinwand. He also has written some books. The following is one that I have read and found very worthwhile. “Ten Instructional Shifts That Raise Student Achievement and Sensible Mathematics: A Guide for School Leaders.”
June 24, 2011 — 3:49 pm