The Private Universe Project in Mathematics demonstrates and honors the power and sophistication of these ideas, and explores how mathematics teaching can be structured to resonate with children s sophisticated thinking. The Private Universe Project in Mathematics is a series of six K-12 teacher video workshops and a companion interactive Web site. Visit the Private Universe Project in Mathematics workshop Web site . In an overview of the study, we look at some of the conditions that made their math achievement possible.
Proof making is one of the key ideas in mathematics.
We learn how to foster and appreciate students' notations for their richness and creativity, and we look at some of the possibilities that early work on problems that engage students in creating notation systems might open up for students as they move on toward algebra. This program parallels what a mathematician does in real-life with the creative thinking of students. Building on Useful Ideas One of the strands of the Rutgers long-term study was to find out how useful ideas spread through a community of learners and evolve over time. Here, the focus is in on the teacher s role in fostering thoughtful mathematics.