This 229-page book shares a year-long story of how a fifth-grade teacher worked to make her mathematics program meaningful to her students.

The purpose of this book is to help teachers better understand the development of mathematical power in their students by portraying a classroom in which the teacher's intent was to align instruction with mathematics education reform goals. By examining this particular classroom's year of mathematics learning, the author hopes to "help teacher educators better understand the day-to-day issues classroom teachers face" and "contribute to a better understanding of how the... mathematics reform movement plays out day by day in the classroom" (p. xiv). The stated audience of this book is teachers and teacher educators. One reviewer notes that Board of Education members and parents might also be appropriate audiences, as they must understand the concepts of curriculum reform in order to support it in their schools.

Mathematical Power is a rich, descriptive work that furthers understanding of how theories of reform might look in the classroom. Four areas in which this application of theory are described are curriculum content restructuring, empowerment of students through collaborative and independent mathematical projects, change in the role of the teacher from knowledge-giver to facilitator, and incorporation of assessment into instruction. These descriptions are intertwined with the author's perspectives and interpretations, supported by various forms of classroom-based evidence, such as samples of student work and classroom dialogue transcripts.

The author spent a year in a fifth grade classroom where she worked with the classroom teacher in developing an innovative curriculum for mathematics instruction. The NCTM Standards were used to guide mathematics curriculum and instruction, and reform literature and research were used to support a constructivist approach in the classroom. While this book focuses on only one classroom, other teachers engaged in reform, especially those working to move to constructivist practice, would find parallels in their classrooms.

The issue of equity is central to the author's assertion that "mathematics is for all children. All children have the right to a mathematics education that engages them with important mathematical ideas, requires thinking, and develops understanding" (p. 4). More specifically, equity issues as faced in a fifth grade classroom are evident throughout the book and could lead to discussion of how empowering classroom experiences can create diverse, equitable learning environments for students.

Reviewers noted that Mathematical Power is a pedagogically sound, thought-provoking examination of instructional planning and teaching, written in a clear and understandable way.

Although this book is an excellent professional development resource, it is not designed to be a step-by-step guide for a professional development experience for a group of teachers. It is a reflective account of the implementation of reform in one classroom, thus lending itself to use as a group discussion tool or for individual study by teachers, teacher educators, parents, board members, and other stakeholders in the education of students.

An extended use of this resource in professional development that focuses on school change would be to examine the California educational reforms in this classroom story in light of subsequent public reactions to the reforms, as well as to the Standards themselves.

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