Smarter Than We Think: More Messages about Math, Teaching, and Learning in the 21st Century

Smarter Than We Think is a must-read for parents, teachers, policy makers, or anyone who cares about the mathematical education of the next generation. Seeley tackles common misconceptions about students, and she challenges teachers and teacher educators to engage students by turning their classrooms "upside-down" and to rethink what "everyone knows" about teaching mathematics. She exhorts policy makers to put mathematics first and uses this as the guiding principle in making choices about technology in the classroom, restructuring curriculum, and high-stakes testing. Finally, in a set of essays on the mathematical practices in the Common Core State Standards, Seeley reminds us that it is not simply mathematical content that we want students to master. Rather, we should also seek to instill in our students the essential habits of mind that are the hallmark of mathematical thinking, arguably the essential skill for thriving in the twenty-first century.

Cathy L. Seeley has given presentations in forty-nine states, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, France, Germany, Mexico, Portugal, and South Africa. She has been a mathematics teacher, K-12 district coordinator, and K-12 State Director of Mathematics for Texas. From 1999 to 2001 she taught mathematics (in French) as a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso. Dr. Seeley served as President of NCTM from 2004 to 2006 and is the author of Faster Isn't Smarter Messages About Math, Teaching, and Learning in the 21st Century. She recently retired as a Senior Fellow at the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas, however continues to speak, write, and consult on improving mathematics teaching and learning from elementary school through college at the local, state, and national level.