You are invited to submit a manuscript for possible publication in the
2007 - 2008 PCTM YEARBOOKS
FOCUSING THE MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM

School curricula across the United States have been accused of being “a mile wide and an inch deep” (Schmidt, McKnight, & Raizen, 1997).  This criticism is one factor that led the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to publish Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics in 2006.  That document represents a challenge to all of us to think about what mathematical ideas are really important and how we can focus school and college mathematics to help students to know what matters and to understand that mathematics in deep ways.

Only manuscripts pertaining to the theme Focusing the Mathematics Curriculum will be accepted for this issue. Please note that the special focus constitutes the entire Yearbook.

Examples of particular topics on which chapters might focus include, but clearly are not limited to, answers to the following questions:

• How do you make a really big mathematical idea explicit and memorable for students?
• How does focusing the curriculum enrich a school’s capacity to teach mathematics?
• What are the challenges of focusing a mathematics curriculum?
• How does focusing your curriculum affect how you assess students?
• What role does technology play in a focused curriculum?
• What is the role of the process and content standards from Principles and Standards for School Mathematics in a focused mathematics curriculum?
• How do we as mentors and instructors prepare prospective teachers to teach mathematics in a focused way?
• What are the key ideas on which a collegiate course for prospective mathematics teachers might focus?
• What are the Curriculum Focal Points and why do they matter (in Pennsylvania)?
• What does it mean to teach with the Curriculum Focal Points as a tool?
• How do you connect your curriculum to the Curriculum Focal Points?
• How do the Curriculum Focal Points relate to the Pennsylvania standards, anchors, or eligible content?
• How can the Curriculum Focal Points be a tool for professional development?

Manuscripts should be approximately 8 to 12 pages in length. They should be typewritten, double-spaced with at least one-inch margins on 8.5"x11" paper. Each figure, art, or graphic should appear on a separate page and must be camera-ready and submitted electronically as a .jpg or .tif file. References must be accurate and complete. Submit only original manuscripts that have not been published or submitted elsewhere. The author's name and affiliation should not appear anywhere in the manuscript. Send one paper copy of the original manuscript along with a separate sheet giving each author's name, address, telephone numbers, e-mail address, position and institution to:

Editors, 2007 and 2008 PCTM Yearbooks
270 Chambers
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802

Also forward to Linda Haffly at LLH3@psu.edu an e-mail attachment containing an electronic copy of the manuscript saved as a .doc Microsoft Word file. Figures, art, and graphics should be sent in separate files (.jpg or .tif). Deadline for submission of manuscripts is February 28, 2007.

The editors for the 2007 and 2008 Yearbooksare Dr. Glen Blume and Dr. Rose Mary Zbiek. If you have questions, please call (814) 865-2430 or e-mail rmz101@psu.edu.

Your good ideas can help others!  Sharing them is important.

Back yearbooks from PCTM are available! See our Back Yearbook directory.