To Open a Cube (2003)

Running time: 49 minutes

Price: $40.00 (All profits from the sale of this tape further the collaboration between Dr. Takahashi and San Mateo - Foster City School District's lesson study groups.)

  • Description: A public research lesson taught by Akihiko Takahashi to fifth-graders in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, California, and attended by 100 U.S. educators. The lesson abridged is followed by highlights of the lesson colloquium.
    In this fifth-grade mathematics lesson, students solve a challenging, open-ended problem by using their own prior knowledge, their investigations, and classmates’ findings.

  • Mathematical highlights include:

    • Problem-solving skills and habits of mind

    • Understanding three-dimensional geometric objects


    Pedagogical highlights:

    • Eliciting students’ prior knowledge

    • Handling mistakes

    • Wording the “hatsumon” (key question) for maximum student engagement.

  • About the Instructor: Akihiko Takahashi was an elementary teacher in Japan for 19 years before becoming an educator of mathematics teachers. During his elementary teaching career, he was nationally active in mathematics lesson study and mentored 200 pre-service teachers. In 2002, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; his dissertation research focused on internet use in mathematics education. He is currently an assistant professor of mathematics education at DePaul University in Chicago.