Bringing Joy to Uninspired Teachers of Math: Touchstone Strategies, Part 3

Author: Hal Melnick

Abstract

The third in a three-part series, this resource describes and illustrates three of eight Touchstone Strategies for teacher educators to use in their work with mathematics teachers. The article explores how to inspire teachers to find the joy in mathematics so they can support their students to do the same. Through a variety of tools, techniques, and helpful hints, the eight touchstone strategies in the series illustrate what high quality mathematics instruction looks like and how teachers can reframe their own thinking about mathematics to create deeper learning opportunities for their students. This piece, Part 3, describes the three touchstone strategies: work a problem “to death,” non-dominant language, and concept teaching games.