INTRODUCTION TO MODULE 1

This introductory module aims to familiarize you, on the one hand, with the dual goal of (a) selecting and using mathematically challenging tasks in your mathematics lessons, and (b) on the other hand, immersing all your students—as far as possible—in such tasks that have the potential to improve students’ mathematical thinking and reasoning. Scholarly work (Research) over the past decades has documented the importance of providing students with opportunities to engage in such tasks, since they were found to improve both the quantity and the quality of student learning. However, research has also shown that these tasks are not utilized that often and also not with all students—possibly because of the complexity of this work. This module will engage you in activities that will help you to begin to think more deeply around issues and challenges surrounding this dual goal. You will first have the opportunity to identify mathematically challenging tasks and determine their characteristics. Next, you will be exposed to different ideas related to differentiating your instruction to meet the needs and the readiness/ability levels of all your students. Finally, you will have the opportunity to consider the collaborative relationship between the two goals. You should bear in mind that, as an introductory module, Module 1, will expose you to several of the issues and challenges surrounding the dual goal of working with mathematically challenging tasks and ensuring that all students are productively engaged in such tasks. You will have the opportunity to delve deeper in each of these issues and challenges in the remaining four modules.

Symbols used throughout the course materials