About the Author

Rick Billstein is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Montana. He is currently working half time in the Mathematics Department teaching courses for future teachers and half time on the Show-Me Project, a NSF-funded project supporting dissemination and implementation of standards-based middle grades mathematics curricula. He has worked in mathematics teacher education at the University of Montana for 30 years and his current research is in the areas of curriculum development and mathematics teacher education. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics and has served and chaired the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Instructional Issues Advisory Committee. Dr. Billstein has co-authored 18 books including eight editions of A Problem Solving Approach to Mathematics for Elementary Teachers . He typically does about 25 regional and national presentations per year and has traveled to Thailand to work with the international schools there. He also presented at the Fourth International Conference on Mathematics Education in Chicago and served as an organizer and presenter for the ICME-9 conference in Tokyo.

Shlomo Libeskind is a professor in the mathematics department at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. He is responsible for the "pre-college" teaching major in the department and has continuously been teaching and advising preservice and inservice teachers. Dr. Libeskind has extensive writing experience (books, articles, and workshop materials) as well as experience in directing mathematics education projects. Libeskind is an active member of Oregon Mathematics Council (OMEC) and has been involved in reviewing materials for the state of Oregon's new standards for college admission.

Johnny W. Lott began his teaching career in the public schools of DeKalb County, Georgia, outside Atlanta. There he taught mathematics in grades 8-12. He also taught one year at the Westminster Schools, grades 9-12, and one year in the Pelican, Alaska, school, grades 6-12. In addition, he has taught part-time in grade schools in Montana and at Georgia State University and The University of Montana. Johnny has been co-author of several books and has written numerous articles and other essays in the "Arithmetic Teacher", "Teaching Children Mathematics", "the Mathematics Teacher", "School Science and Mathematics", "Student Math Notes", and "Mathematics Education Dialogues". He has been the Project Manager for the "Figure This!" publications and website developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and was project co-director of the State Systemic Initiative for Montana Mathematics and Science (SIMMS) Project. He has served on many NCTM committees and has been a member of its Board of Directors. In the Department of Mathematical Sciences at The University of Montana, Dr. Lott is a full professor and has served as department chair. His doctorate is in mathematics education from Georgia State University. Dr. Lott's hobbies include quilting, reading, and writing short stories. In April 2002, Dr. Lott will become President of NCTM.

FROM THE PUBLISHER