Math and the Middle School Dance: Digitizing Instructional Routines to Maximize Entrepreneurial Thinking

by Dan Johnson

Overview

Dan Johnson calls Math and the Middle School Dance his "so what" book. After publishing numerous books and articles on temperament, critical thinking, mathematics, and educational change; Dr. Johnson asks educators in grades 5-9 to join him in answering the question, "So what do those Common Core standards look like in the classroom?" In Math and the Middle School Dance Dr. Johnson describes how students think, how they can improve their thinking, and how they can develop entrepreneurial thinking skills for the 21st Century global marketplace. He explains how teachers and principals can use digital technology to transform instruction from a logical-sequential march into a dance in the spaces between the notes. He describes this shift in how we think about teaching and learning as a necessary first step toward transforming schools into centers of entrepreneurial thinking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780615616810
Publisher:	Triple-C-21, LLC
Publication date:	06/26/2012
Pages:	172
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.37(d)

About the Author

Dan Johnson compares his career as an educational entrepreneur to a person walking the wrong way in the middle of a Macy's parade. It's a difficult walk at times, but at least you get to meet a lot of people face-to-face. As an educator, father, and grandfather, Dan has learned that life doesn't move in a singular direction along a singular path. It's not as logical or sequential as most textbooks would have us believe.

From his childhood experiences in the Appalachian coal country of Southwest Pennsylvania to his school leadership experience on Chicago's North Shore, Dan has marveled at the singular nature of the path we call education. Despite advancements in science and technology, little has occurred in our schools to enhance the dynamic balance between what children bring to the classroom in the form of their own DNA and what they take from that same classroom as a result of their interaction with teachers and peers.

Now as president of his own consulting firm, Triple-C-21, LLC, Dan is dedicated to creating an entrepreneurial experience for adolescents like his granddaughter, Izze, who believes she can play a significant role in improving the quality of life on this planet. Dan believes that Izze, his grandson, Andrew, and all those young people with similar dreams and aspirations can learn how to manage their own learning through critical thinking and a heightened sense of self efficacy. He says his persistence is inspired by the Rocky Mountains that greet him each morning outside his Colorado home. He may be weathered and worn rough by opposing forces, but he will continue to dance in the spaces between the notes for as long as he hears young people creating new music. Math and the Middle School Dance is his gift to his grandchildren and his challenge to them and to their peers to rekindle America's entrepreneurial spirit.