Well-chosen tasks can pique students' curiosity and draw them into mathematics. Regardless of the context, worthwhile tasks should be intriguing, with a level of challenge that invites speculation and hard work. Such tasks often can be approached in more than one way, such as using an arithmetic counting approach, drawing a geometric diagram and enumerating possibilities, or using algebraic equations, which makes the tasks accessible to students with varied prior knowledge and experience. Worthwhile tasks alone are not sufficient for effective teaching. Teachers must also decide what aspects of a task to highlight, how to organize and orchestrate the work of the students, what questions to ask to challenge those with varied levels of expertise, and how to support students without taking over the process of thinking for them and thus eliminating the challenge.
Effective teaching requires continually seeking improvement.
Effective teaching involves observing students, listening carefully to their ideas and explanations, having mathematical goals, and using the information to make instructional decisions. Teachers who employ such practices motivate students to engage in mathematical thinking and reasoning and provide learning opportunities that challenge students at all levels of understanding. Effective teaching requires continuing efforts to learn and improve. These efforts include learning about mathematics and pedagogy, benefiting from interactions with students and colleagues, and engaging in ongoing professional development and self-reflection. To improve their mathematics instruction, teachers must be able to analyze what they and their students are doing and consider how those actions are affecting students' learning.