ABSTRACT
You have decided to join the teaching profession at a time when there is a great need for highly qualifi ed, well-prepared mathematics teachers. Expectations of teachers in the 21st century are very different from what they were as little as a generation ago. The purpose of this chapter is to give you a vision of what high-quality teaching looks like and the issues you must consider to teach that way. A description of instructional practice in mathematics, the complexities of teaching, the challenges of facilitating student-centered teaching, refl ective practice, and professional development sets the stage for the remaining chapters in this book.
