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I have taught courses and written materials focused
on mathematics methods, research, manipulative materials, remedial
instruction, and the psychology of mathematical conceptual development.
I have conducted research dealing with mathematical learning and
concept development. I am interested in the relationship between
theoretically based instructional activities, particularly those
that utilize manipulative materials, and the nature of the resulting
student conceptual development.
My research interests have focused on middle grades
mathematics and in particular on the teaching and learning of rational
number concepts. I have been co-principal investigator (1979–present)
of the Rational Number Project, an NSF-supported effort designed
to gain information about the cognitive structures children use
to learn rational number concepts and to investigate the role of
rational number concepts in the development of proportional reasoning
skills. The current and sixth project is designed to develop middle-grade
teacher enhancement materials that integrate mathematical, psychological,
and pedagogical content knowledge. These materials were implemented
with a group of middle grade teachers as they used new NSF mathematical
curricula with their students. The
Rational Number Project is the longest lasting cooperative multi-university
research project in the history of mathematics education, boasting
several books and over 80 publications.
In the area of teacher development, I received another
NSF grant in 1997. The Minneapolis and St. Paul Merging to Achieve
Standards Project involves 24 Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan
area K–12 school districts. Our goal is to have over 1100 teachers,
representing all or nearly all grade 7–12 mathematics teachers in
these districts, teaching a standards-based curriculum to very diverse
populations of students by 2001. We want to create a critical mass
and an infrastructure for the development of a systemic implementation
of standards based mathematics curricula in other school districts
in the Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area and beyond.
Selected publications
Cramer, K., Behr, M., Post, T., & Lesh, R. (1997).
Rational Number Project: Fraction lessons for the middle grades
— level 1. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Co.
Cramer, K., Behr, M., Post, T., & Lesh, R. (1997).
Rational Number Project: Fraction lessons for the middle grades
— level 2. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Co.
Post, T., Ellis, A., Humphreys, A., & Buggey,
J. (1995). Interdisciplinary approaches to curriculum: A thematic
approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill (Prentice Hall).
Post, T. (Ed.) (1992). Teaching mathematics
in grades K-8: Research-based methods (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn
and Bacon.
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