Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching

Mathematical Mindsets completely transformed how I teach math. Jo Boaler gives both research-backed insights and practical classroom strategies that challenge the fixed mindset so many students carry. This book helped me move beyond drill-and-kill instruction and toward open, creative tasks that build confidence and deep understanding. My students are more willing to take risks and actually enjoy math now! Whether you're a new teacher or a veteran, this is essential reading. It should be part of every school’s professional development library.

A must-read for parents, teachers, and anyone involved in schools and education policy, especially as it relates to math! It's impressive how well the book addresses all these different audiences. There's not a lot of education jargon, and Boaler has plenty of relevant anecdotes to illustrate her ideas, making the book completely accessible to non-educators. There is is a good overview of the recent math education and mindset literature, without going too far into the arcane world of education research. At the same time, everything is well cited, so anyone who wants to delve into the details can flip to the references and find what they need. As a math teacher, I can say that this book really fills a void. In one readable and well-integrated volume, Boaler takes on such diverse topics as how people learn math; the importance of mindset and how it relates to math; how best to serve students at many different levels of math achievement; what math has to do with educational equity, and more. Parents of students who are struggling in math will welcome learning about the research on math phobia and will find that Boaler provides much practical advice on how to change course. Parents of high-achieving math students need to read this book since it provides an important counterpoint to the default of channeling "gifted" students into accelerated math tracks, often without ever giving them a chance to explore math beyond an algorithmic level. You'll have a much better idea of what you might want to advocate for in order to serve your child well through their educational career. Anyone interested in advancing educational equity will find that Boaler has much to say about how the teaching of math has historically contributed to inequity, and how it needs to be part of the way forward. Teachers and administrators interested in de-tracking their math programs will want to read this book because it not only provides important rationales for creating heterogeneous classrooms but also explains the comprehensive changes in pedagogy that are necessary for all students to be empowered and challenged.

I bought this book about two weeks ago and just finished it. I was thoroughly impressed with the book. I study computer science but also many other fields of mathematics, and plan on going into teaching at a university. The contents of this book are geared more towards children but I believe the concepts apply almost everywhere. These are the kinds of ideas that are needed to change education in the U.S. around. From personal experience I can say that universities are stuck in a similar rut where people get left behind because they aren't quick enough or not great at taking tests in an hour time. I have had a class similar to ones described in the book as the "model" class and I can say that I learned significantly more and was much more involved in the class. It also seemed that some of my fellow students were too, as they started the class out thinking it would just be boring, but since we were involved almost every class period, they often enjoyed the class and pushed for learning more. Thus i can only say that this book should be read by anyone who is passionate about education or just wants to teach a class at work. It will show new ideas that are vital to learning instead of number crunching. I feel that it (aside from a few grammatical errors) was well written and the citing of sources was nice to see, with a large bibliography to back the claims up. Overall it is a good read, and a relatively quick one.

Interesting to read and apply with elementary students. Lots of bonuses because she gives links to her website and video channel. I wish there were more reference details when she discusses a study so I could find it. I have learned to read the background research because I want to know that the background research was valid.

Had to buy it for a class I took. Seems like an informative book--but I don't know, because I didn't read through it once. The textbook-scam continues...

This is a great book for parents. I wonder to know if a translation to Spanish will come soon. Thank you.

A very insightful book that changes the paradigm of math teaching from rote and procedure based to one of creativity, collaboration, connection and visualization. This is a must read for all parents and teachers endeavoring to inculcate a love for mathematics and helping their children/students to understand the conceptual underpinnings of mathematics. This will stand in very good stead for the children not only in math but for all other aspects of problem solving

Though only part way through this exciting book I am hugely one over by Jo Boaler's incites into maths and maths teaching. Like many I didn't much excel at maths at school and certainly didn't enjoy it. But ever since I have had a sneaky suspicion that maths might be a great deal sexier than I had once given it credit. This book proves my suspicions correct! It's refreshing to say the least to know that making conceptual and calculation mistakes is such a positive experience for the brain and learning. This is just one of the many empowering messages contained in the book. As a one time primary teacher I was trained to help kids to 'embed' their learning but in all honesty never really understood how to actually apply this to maths teaching. Now I am inspired to return to my own maths learning and see where this takes me and I have already got some concrete tips on how to approach maths from the outset with my young children. I had been slightly dreading bringing maths to my children (we are home schooling initially) and feeling unworthy of the task, but no more! Thanks Jo for giving me a whole new way to look at Maths. I think this book is for anyone, but especially those who feel they might have missed something when they see excited, secret scribbling in response to the number 421 on countdown.

A fantastic book for professional development in math teaching, with state of the art ideas backed by research and with practical suggestions for application in the classroom. Quite revolutionary.