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RightStart™ Mathematics by Activities for Learning, Inc.

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About the Author

DR. JOAN A. COTTER

Joan-CroppedThe founder of Activities for Learning, Inc., holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an AMI Montessori diploma for ages 3-6, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from College of St. Thomas, Minnesota, (now University of St. Thomas) and an earned Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Minnesota.

Joan worked as an engineer at Univac (now Unisys), resigning when her children were born. She taught her three children at home before and after school and during summer vacations. To help them learn their arithmetic, she devised card games that were published in her first book, Math Card Games: 300 Games for Learning and Enjoying Math.

After starting a Montessori preschool, Joan taught in several Montessori schools and incorporated Suzuki violin and piano. She also taught mathematics in grades 6-8 and worked with children with special needs.

Program Design

Dr. Cotter designed the double-sided AL Abacus and wrote RightStart Mathematics, a comprehensive elementary and middle-school mathematics program that incorporates visualization, the AL Abacus, math card games, and drawing board tools. The RightStart curriculum is an outgrowth of her doctoral research. Dr. Cotter speaks at conferences across the US and worldwide.

Joan and her husband, Al, have three adult children, four adult grandchildren, a 8-year-old granddaughter, and a 10-year-old great-grandson. Dr. Joan A. Cotter can be reached by email at [email protected].

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What our Customers Are Saying

Thank you so much for your RightStart Math Curriculum. I have been using it for 3 years with my son and my daughter is beginning her second year. I love the strategies you use for teaching math and the lessons are fun to teach.
Jennifer Traugott
My daughter is 7 and this is our 2nd year to use RightStart Math. She is in 2nd grade and is adding and subtracting 4 digits numbers with trading like it is nothing. She also can do her multiplications. The most amazing thing is that when she is somewhere and has to spend her money she is quick to tell them how much change she needs back. I have seen a lot of teenagers and adults who cannot do thi… Read more
Jana Owens
My daughter is in 4th grade this year. Math has always been a struggle for her, as it was for her father. I discovered that she has dyslexia (which is hereditary). I didn’t realize that had any effect on math, but I found out that people with dyslexia cannot learn with rote memorization or sequential skills. This makes it harder for them to remember math facts or how to do algorithms. Before I kne… Read more
Anna Knotts

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