## New Lesson Study Book Now Available

To all my readers from the Philippines, our new book on Lesson Study is now off the press. The book is titled Lesson Study: Planning Together, Learning Together.  It is a documentation of the actual experiences of teachers and students in mathematics and science classes as well as learning that arise while doing Lesson Study. It was published by the the University of the Philippines National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP NISMED).

The book is 258 pages and costs Php300.00. You can buy it at the UP NISMED Bookstore in the University of the Philippines, Diliman.

By the way, I am also glad to tell that I am one of the writers of this book. 🙂

Here are the contact details:

Tel: +632 927-4276, 928-1563
Fax: 928-3545
Email: nismed@upd.edu.ph

## 5 Misconceptions About Rational Numbers

Before, I discuss the misconceptions, let us recall the definition of rational numbers. A rational number is a number that can represented by the fraction $\frac{a}{b}$ where $a$ and $b$ are integers and $b$ not equal to 0. From this definition and other previously learned concepts, let us examine the following misconceptions about rational numbers.

Misconception 1 : Zero is not a rational number.

Truth: YES, it is. Zero, and negative and positive integers are all rational numbers. For example, $0 = \frac{0}{1}$, $-5 = \frac{-5}{1}$, and $100 = \frac{100}{1}$ are all fractions whose numerators and denominators are integers and denominator 1 (which is clearly not equal to 0). » Read more

## An Open Letter to New Teachers

Two weeks ago, I shared to you about A Mathematician’s Lament, an essay by Paul Lockhart about the mishaps of teaching in K-12 Mathematics. In this post, I’m going to share to you about an open letter to new teachers, a great piece written by Sam Shah in his blog, that discusses teaching tips. I think it’s a must read for new teachers, especially math teachers.

Here is Sam’s letter.

Dear person about to enter the classroom as a full-time teacher,

I love you. Okay, fine, not quite true — maybe respect, like, or lurve is more appropriate — but you have a passion for something and you’re following it. I don’t know if that passion is for the subject you teach, or for working with kids, or the deeply interesting intellectual puzzle of how to get someone to understand something, or for (in the booming Wizard of Oz voice) the Betterment of All Mankind. Regardless, this thing that brings you to the classroom is wonderful, because it puts you in the same ranks as those wonderful teachers that loom large in your past who inspired you and who helped you recognize that what they do has some worth. Continue reading…

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