The book is written to enhance the preparation of elementary teacher candidates by offering teaching ideas conducive to the development of deep understanding of concepts fundamental to the mathematics curriculum they are to teach. It intends to show how the diversity of teaching methods stems from the knowledge of mathematics content and how the appreciation of this diversity opens a window to the teaching of extended content.

The book includes material that the author would have shared with teacher candidates should there have been more instructional time than a 3 credit hour master's level course, "Elementary Mathematics: Content and Methods", provides. Thus the book can supplement a basic textbook for such a course by extending content and diversifying methods.

Also, the book can support graduate level mathematics education programs which have problem-solving seminars/courses in their curriculum. The book is well-informed with (available in English) the mathematical standards and recommendations for teachers from Australia, Canada, Chile, England, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States.