PHILADELPHIA, PA, September 26, 2013

Math Forum staffer seeks to help students understand and excel at math.

The Math Forum‘s Max Ray has authored a new book, Powerful Problem-Solving: Activities for Making Sense with the Mathematical Practices. The book combines the Math Forum’s 20 years of experience and history into a practical guide packed with approachable information.

In the book, Max Ray and his colleagues at the Math Forum offer their collective wisdom about how students become proficient problem-solvers, through the lens of the CCSS for Mathematical Practices. They examine the problem-solving process in new ways and, according to Heinemann’s book description,”turn the Practices into activities that teachers can use to foster habits of mind required by the Common Core,” including communicating ideas, estimating and reasoning, and organizing info to promote problem-solving, to name a few.

Powerful Problem Solving shows what’s possible when students become active participants in math. Max believes that the process of sense-making truly begins when students’ curiosity and inquisitive nature is fostered in creative classrooms that explore their thoughts and ideas. When asked questions such as, “What do you notice?,” students have the opportunity to see problems in a larger sense, and discover multiple strategies for tackling them. Self-confidence, reflective skills, and engagement soar, and students discover that the goal is not to simply work through the problem, but to realize different ways to approach it. 

Powerful Problem-Solving is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Its official release date is this Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. The book is published by Heinemann, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Photos of Max by Suzanne Alejandre. Book cover image via Heinemann.