Fostering Children's Mathematical Development, Grades PreK-3 (Resource Package): The Landscape of Learning (Young Mathematicians at Work)

CD-ROM developed by Maarten Dolk and Catherine Twomey Fosnot
Facilitator's Guide developed by Antonia Cameron, Sherrin B. Hersch, and Catherine Twomey Fosnot

In their Young Mathematicians at Work series, Catherine Twomey Fosnot and Maarten Dolk described Mathematics in the City, an innovative project where teachers helped young children construct a deep understanding of number and in a math workshop environment. Now they and two colleagues from the project have developed a 21st-century approach that provides pre- and inservice teachers with an interactive, video-based, digital context for inquiry into the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Designed for workshop leaders and college instructors, the Fostering Children's Mathematical Development Resource Package consists of three valuable components:

• A CD-ROM that offers users a multi-media learning environment for professional development on topics ranging from instruction to assessment, and that stimulates action, reflection, and discussion with dynamic video clips, children's work samples, and interviews with students and teachers
• A Professional Development Overview Manual that provides general advice on teaching in a digital environment
• A Facilitator's Guide specific to the CD-ROM that includes suggestions for using the video clips; sample dialogue from field-tested sites; facilitation tips; and more.

Fostering Children's Mathematical Development focuses on short video clips from interviews, routines, minilessons, games, and investigations. The clips provide opportunities for teachers to observe, analyze, and discuss critical moments in cildren's development, and then to build a landscape of the ideas, strategies, and models of early number, addition, and subtraction. The Resource Package helps teachers examine children's thinking; investigate their strategies; and analyze how they model their world mathematically.

Users are also able to study teachers at work: designing rich contexts for problem-solving; listening to, questioning, and interpreting students' thinking; drawing connections between mathematical ideas and strategies; and, ultimately, developing a vibrant mathematical community.

Windows/PC
Pentium II Processor
266Mhz (or higher)
Windows 98 (or higher)
64 MB RAM (more recommended)
SVGA Color Display (or better)
4X CD-ROM Drive (or faster)
Sound Card
16-bit Flash(TM) Player and Acrobat Reader(R)
Quicktime 6.0 (or higher)

MacIntosh
PowerPC Processor
G3/233Mhz (or higher)
System 9.2 (or higher)
64 MB RAM (more recommended)
SVGA Color Display (or better)
4X CD-ROM Drive (or faster)
Sound Card
16-bit Flash(TM) Player and Acrobat Reader(R) Quicktime 6.0 (or higher)