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Contexts for Learning Mathematics

Math fact drills and endless word problem worksheets are ineffective and meaningless to students. Contexts for Learning Mathematics provides carefully crafted units designed to foster deep understanding in a math workshop environment. By setting each unit in the context of students' lives, teaching and learning immediately becomes engaging and meaningful in your classroom.



Lead Author: Cathy Fosnot

Cathy Fosnot "Our work is driven by the desire to transform classrooms into communities of mathematicians."

Cathy Fosnot is a leading voice in mathematics education. She is Professor Emerita of Education at the City College of New York and the founder of Mathematics in the City, a national center for professional development located at the college. In 2007 she established New Perspectives on Learning to devote her time to speaking around the world, fostering school change through professional learning and support, and producing new resources and materials.

New Perspectives on Learning meets the needs of today’s teachers and leaders by offering personally tailored workshops, on-site and in-class lesson study work, as well as Seminars-by-the Sea™ on the New England coast. Built on a foundation of professional learning and research on how children develop mathematical understanding, everything—from multi-day workshops to new print resources—is about supporting better math instruction.

Cathy and her colleagues have developed a web-based assessment app and an online Personalized Professional Support System to further support teachers and schools using Contexts for Learning Mathematics. Learn more about these resources at NewPerspectivesOnLearning.com.