Figuring Out Fluency in Mathematics Teaching and Learning, Grades K-8
Moving Beyond Basic Facts and Memorization
- Jennifer M. Bay-Williams - University of Louisville, KY, Kansas State University, USA, University of Missouri, USA, Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Lima, Peru)
- John J. SanGiovanni - Howard Public School System
Foreword by Christina Tondevold, Because fluency practice is not a worksheet
Corwin Mathematics Series
Because fluency practice is not a worksheet.
Fluency in mathematics is more than adeptly using basic facts or implementing algorithms. Real fluency involves reasoning and creativity, and it varies by the situation at hand.
Figuring Out Fluency in Mathematics Teaching and Learning offers educators the inspiration to develop a deeper understanding of procedural fluency, along with a plethora of pragmatic tools for shifting classrooms toward a fluency approach. In a friendly and accessible style, this hands-on guide empowers educators to support students in acquiring the repertoire of reasoning strategies necessary to becoming versatile and nimble mathematical thinkers. It includes:
- “Seven Significant Strategies” to teach to students as they work toward procedural fluency.
- Activities, fluency routines, and games that encourage learning the efficiency, flexibility, and accuracy essential to real fluency.
- Reflection questions, connections to mathematical standards, and techniques for assessing all components of fluency.
- Suggestions for engaging families in understanding and supporting fluency.
Fluency is more than a toolbox of strategies to choose from; it’s also a matter of equity and access for all learners. Give your students the knowledge and power to become confident mathematical thinkers.
Everything you need and want to know about fluency is clearly spelled out in Jennifer Bay-Williams and John SanGiovanni’s masterful new book, Figuring Out Fluency in Mathematics Teaching and Learning! This incredibly amazing resource defines what fluency is along with specific actions teachers need to take to help students understand, choose, and use effective strategies. A must-have for all math coaches and every K–8 teacher, this book provides practical tools, great activities, and fun games! After reading this book, everyone will understand that mastery, fluency, and automaticity are just not the same thing!
In this practical and comprehensive resource Jennifer Bay-Williams and John SanGiovanni take a deep dive into one of the often-misinterpreted components of rigorous mathematics instruction—procedural fluency. Along with thorough explanations, engaging mathematical routines, tasks, and games, the authors offer a ‘just-right’ amount of research to ground each of the claims to powerful instruction in mathematics. This is a timely good-for-all, necessary-for-some resource for teaching/learning in mathematics.
Figuring Out Fluency in Mathematics Teaching and Learning provides a masterful approach to unpacking the meaning of mathematical fluency while investigating widely held fallacies. The authors provide a plethora of high-cognitive demand activities that teach and develop fluency. These activities are sure to become my go-to resources for implicitly teaching fluency!