Book Reviews

Amanda Jansen and James Middleton

Why do some children disengage from mathematics? Middleton and Jansen answer these questions with one word: motivation.

Shelia Tobias

Overcoming Math Anxiety is an intelligent and research oriented look at Math Anxiety; a debilitation that many individuals live with on a daily basis.

Eric Gutstein

Eric Gutstein’s book, Reading and Writing the World with Mathematics, examines the issue of equity and mathematics from two perspectives: equity in and out of the classroom.

Anita A Wager & David W. Stinson

This book acts as a vehicle to guide readers through their development of an individual definition, or understanding, of social justice in mathematics through reflecting on the contributions of its authors.

NCTM

The “Perspectives on Gender” issue of this series of books on mathematics education provides a broad overview of the issue of the gender gap in mathematics, which refers to the fact that, on average, boys outperform girls in mathematics.

Jacqueline Leonard

Leonard works to articulate why students of marginalized groups in society are not having their needs met by their educational experiences.

Liping Ma

Based on the premise that children in China greatly outperform American children in mathematics, Ma set out to examine teachers’ mathematical knowledge in hopes of finding a contributing factor to the disparity.

Hiebert, J. et al.

Based on the premise that children in China greatly outperform American children in mathematics, Ma set out to examine teachers’ mathematical knowledge in hopes of finding a contributing factor to the disparity.

Charles Seife

In his novel, Seife manages to weave accurate mathematical proofs into a human account of the origins and history of the number zero.

Yoko Ogawa

A delightful read about a mathematics professor who experienced brain damage in an accident, leaving him with only 80 minutes of present-time memory since the accident henceforth.

Hans Magnus Enzensberger

In this fantastical journey through a boy’s dreams, we encounter a Number Devil who shares what seems like magic in everyday number patterns.

James W. Stigler & James Hiebert

Instead of best-practice recommendations of the quick-fix variety, the authors recommend the slow-and-steady Japanese Lesson Study method for consistently improving teaching in the long run.

Daniel Tammet

Daniel Tammet shares a historical, linguistic and sociological look into the world of mathematics through 24 rich and detailed essays that offer perspective on the way we make meaning of our lives through mathematics.

Jo Boaler

The book is very straightforward and easy to read making it easy to engage with, even for those who do not have a solid foundation in mathematics.

Jana Hazekamp

This book  explains the Singapore math approach and gives concrete lessons, pictorial representations and guided conversations that assist teachers in implementing and facilitating these approaches.

Marilyn Burns and Robyn Silbey

Catering to teachers at all levels of experience, “So You Have to Teach Math?:  Sound Advice for K-6 Teachers” addresses student’s and teacher’s misconceptions about elementary level mathematics.

Ted H. Hull, Don S. Balka & Ruth Harbin Miles

This book is teacher-friendly with numerous examples of how traditional questions that require minimal thinking can be adapted into alternative problems that foster visible thinking.

John Mighton

Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies” (JUMP) promotes a mastery learning method of math instruction, aimed at helping struggling students catch up quickly.