Michael Pershan began his career in 2010 at a high school in New
York City where he taught mathematics and computer science. Since
then he has taught at
St Ann’s School in Brooklyn, where he teaches math to elementary,
middle, and high school students, and at Bridge to Enter Advanced
Mathematics’s summer camp for underserved students. He has taught a
course for teachers at Math for America, organized math education
conferences, and helped create research-informed curriculum for
Mathalicious, Amplify Education and M.I.T.’s Teaching Systems Lab.
He and his family live in NYC.
Of all the changes I have made to my teaching since I began
engaging with educational research five years ago, my use of worked
examples has been the most significant. I now have a structure and
routine for worked examples that takes less time, my students enjoy
and - most importantly of all - seems to lead to greater
understanding. I thought my worked examples had peaked, and finally
I could stop thinking about them. Then I read Michael's book, and
my world has fallen apart again. What I find fascinating is that
Michael has read much the same research as me, and yet we have
reached contrasting conclusions. His worked examples look very
different to mine, and yet I spent the entire book nodding in
agreement.
Michael makes the point that 'some of the dullest teaching on the
planet comes courtesy of worked example abusers'. This is so true.
If students stare blankly at a teacher's squiggles, nod their heads
on cue, don't ask any awkward questions, and then frantically copy
down what is on the board into their books, then maths is at risk
of becoming the boring, incomprehensible subject many label it as.
But the approach Michael presents is interactive, thought-provoking
and interesting. There is support scaffolded in for those who
initially struggle, and no ceiling imposed for those who grasp the
concept more quickly. Above all, the approach has the potential to
lay the foundations to enable our students to become the creative,
knowledgeable, problem solvers we all want them to be.
Rammed full of practical ideas - all of which are beautifully
articulated and backed by research - this is a truly wonderful
book. -- Craig Barton * Author of How I Wish I'd Taught Maths and
Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain * So often, books about education
float high above the work of teaching, with nods to the ways that
big ideas and values might look in practice - but without getting
much into the muck of the classroom itself. It's such a pleasure as
an educator to come across a book that dives deep into instruction,
while situating a very specific body of practices (in this case,
teaching with worked examples) within a much broader literature on
cognitive science and equitable mathematics teaching. Michael
Pershan makes a compelling argument for educators to shift their
focus from mathematical problem-solving to mathematical
understanding - and describes the many ways that exploring and
analyzing worked examples can democratize the math classroom,
engage learners in rich thinking tasks, and provide targeted,
thoughtful scaffolding towards the problem-solving work that math
educators (rightfully) value. The book is rich with specific
strategies and tools for implementing worked examples - and the
theoretical grounding for those ideas, making it a wonderful
resource for educators who want something 'they can enact on
Monday' and something that strengthens and extends their schema
about how math learning (and learning in general) works. As a
bonus, it is also a human, funny, and real book about teaching
stuff to kids - which is a rarity in itself and makes each chapter
a pleasure to read. -- Callie Lowenstein * Deans for Impact * What
do you get when you cross a teacher's generosity, a scientist's
precision, and a philosopher's dogged pursuit of the truth? Two
words: Michael Pershan.
Michael Pershan hears the quiet moments that make education work.
Reading this book, I felt he was teaching me how to listen. He
takes up the humblest parts of teaching, and he makes them shine.
An exemplary book, in every sense. -- Ben Orlin * Author of Math
With Bad Drawings * If you could visit the classroom of a friendly
colleague engaging in research-informed practice, while he
conversationally whispers in your ear the what, how, and why, it
would be something like reading Teaching Math with Examples. I
can't recommend highly enough this very do-able and high-leverage
approach to any math teacher or curriculum developer who wants to
level up their task design, or just try out something new. -- Kate
Nowak * Former high school math teacher and currently Vice
President of Product Strategy for Illustrative Mathematics *
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