Tessa Kaplan

Tessa Kaplan is a math specialist, curriculum developer, and classroom teacher who coauthored Thinking Together: 9 Beliefs for Building a Mathematical Community with Rozlynn Dance, published by Heinemann in 2018. In this work, Kaplan draws on her experience as a veteran elementary mathematics teacher to articulate classroom beliefs and practices that support cooperative learning, student-centered discourse, and the development of a strong mathematical community.

In Thinking Together, Kaplan and Dance focus on helping teachers create classrooms where all students feel safe to take risks, make mistakes, and explain their mathematical thinking, emphasizing that understanding and retaining math concepts depends on a caring, collaborative community of learners. Kaplan’s professional profile highlights her ongoing work as a curriculum developer and math specialist, extending the ideas of the book into practical guidance for teachers seeking to build inclusive, discussion-rich mathematics classrooms.