Karen S. Karp – författare

Shifting from remediation to preparation so all students can thrive in mathematics

Traditional math interventions often focus on remediation, addressing gaps only after students have fallen behind. Proactive Mathematics Interventions, Grades 2–5: Priming for Success Through Engaging Tasks and Purposeful Design presents a game-changing approach that shifts the focus from "fixing kids" to fixing systems. Designed with a strengths-based perspective, this resource equips educators to prime students for success by preparing them with the foundational skills and confidence needed for grade-level success and beyond.

Grounded in the latest research, the book tackles critical challenges such as systemic inequities, math anxiety, and gaps in student readiness. By integrating formative assessment, asset-based strategies, and practical intervention tasks, this comprehensive guide supports teachers, math coaches, interventionists, and school leaders to create proactive systems that meet every learner where they’re at.

Packed with 40+ adaptable tasks, more than 100 printable instructional resources, and actionable strategies, this guide

Start transforming your approach to intervention today to make a lasting impact on your student's mathematical successes and identities. This is a must-have tool for educators committed to addressing inequities and redefining intervention, this book ensures every student can be a confident, capable doer of mathematics.

“This book is a game changer! Strengths-Based Teaching and Learning in Mathematics: 5 Teaching Turnarounds for Grades K- 6 goes beyond simply providing information by sharing a pathway for changing practice. . . Focusing on our students’ strengths should be routine and can be lost in the day-to-day teaching demands. A teacher using these approaches can change the trajectory of students’ lives forever. All teachers need this resource!    

Connie S. Schrock Emporia State University National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics President, 2017-2019

NEW COVID RESOURCES ADDED:  A Parent’s Toolkit to Strengths-Based Learning in Math is now available on the book’s companion website to support families engaged in math learning at home. This toolkit provides a variety of home-based activities and games for families to engage in together.

Your game plan for unlocking mathematics by focusing on students’ strengths.

We often evaluate student thinking and their work from a deficit point of view, particularly in mathematics, where many teachers have been taught that their role is to diagnose and eradicate students’ misconceptions. But what if instead of focusing on what students don’t know or haven’t mastered, we identify their mathematical strengths and build next instructional steps on students’ points of power?

Beth McCord Kobett and Karen S. Karp answer this question and others by highlighting five key teaching turnarounds for improving students’ mathematics learning: identify teaching strengths, discover and leverage students’ strengths, design instruction from a strengths-based perspective, help students identify their points of power, and promote strengths in the school community and at home. Each chapter provides opportunities to stop and consider current practice, reflect, and transfer practice while also sharing

·         Downloadable resources, activities, and tools

·         Examples of student work within Grades K–6

·         Real teachers’ notes and reflections for discussion

It’s time to turn around our approach to mathematics instruction, end deficit thinking, and nurture each student’s mathematical strengths by emphasizing what makes them each unique and powerful. 

A schoolwide solution for students’ mathematics success!

Do you sometimes start to teach a mathematics concept and feel like you’re staring at a sea of bewildered faces? What happens when you discover students previously learned a calculation trick or a mnemonic that has muddied their long-term understanding? When “rules” seem to change from year to year, teacher to teacher, or school to school, mathematics can seem like a disconnected mystery for students. Clear up the confusion with a Mathematics Whole-School Agreement! 

Expanded from the highly popular “Rules that Expire” series of NCTM articles, this essential guide leads educators through the collaborative step-by-step process of establishing a coherent and consistent learner-centered and equitable approach to mathematics instruction. Through this work, you will identify, streamline, and become passionate about using clear and consistent mathematical language, notations, representations, rules, and generalizations within and across classrooms and grades. Importantly, you’ll learn to avoid “rules that expire”—tricks that may seem to help students in one grade but hurt in the long run. Features of this book include

·         Abundant grade-specific examples

·         Effective working plans for sustainability

·         Barrier-busting tips, to-dos, and try-it-outs

·         Practical templates and checklists

·         PLC prompts and discussion points

A schoolwide solution for students’ mathematics success! Do you sometimes start to teach a mathematics concept and feel like you’re staring at a sea of bewildered faces? What happens when you discover students previously learned a calculation trick or a mnemonic that has muddied their long-term understanding? When “rules” seem to change from year to year, teacher to teacher, or school to school, mathematics can seem like a disconnected mystery for students. Clear up the confusion with a Mathematics Whole-School Agreement!  Expanded from the highly popular “Rules that Expire” series of NCTM articles, this essential guide leads educators through the collaborative step-by-step process of establishing a coherent and consistent learner-centered and equitable approach to mathematics instruction. Through this work, you will identify, streamline, and become passionate about using clear and consistent mathematical language, notations, representations, rules, and generalizations within and across classrooms and grades. Importantly, you’ll learn to avoid “rules that expire”—tricks that may seem to help students in one grade but hurt in the long run. Features of this book include: • Abundant grade-specific examples • Effective working plans for sustainability • Barrier-busting tips, to-dos, and try-it-outs • Practical templates and checklists • PLC prompts and discussion points When teachers unite across grades, students hit the ground running every year. Take the next step together as a team and help all your students build on existing understanding to find new success and most importantly, love learning and doing mathematics!