Lawrence Martinek

Lawrence F. Martinek (Larry) (born November 24, 1948) is a Los Angeles-based mathematics educator and creator of the curriculum and educational style that later became known as the Mathnasium Method.

Teaching career

In 1973, Martinek graduated from California State University, Northridge with a degree in Mathematics and a minor in Physics. He earned a California Standard Secondary teaching credential and began teaching mathematics in the Los Angeles area in 1974. Over the next thirty years, he worked as a teacher, curriculum designer, teacher trainer, and educational consultant for the Los Angeles Unified School District and public and private schools in the area.

In 2000 and 2001 he served on the California Mathematics Standards Commission, helping to set the cut-points for levels of proficiency on the California STAR student tests. He has self-published several volumes of mathematics materials, and in 2010 wrote several mathematics workbooks for Gifted and Talented students for McGraw-Hill Children’s Publishing.

The Mathnasium Method

Martinek began developing the Mathnasium Method early in his teaching career by writing his own supplemental materials to school curriculum. In 1985 he produced his first book, Math Tips for Parents, a guide for parents and teachers based on his own experiences and his work with his mathematically precocious son, Nic. In the book, Martinek argues that students build confidence and mastery in mathematics through successful encounter and interaction with carefully selected materials. He emphasizes that an approach combining oral, visual, mental and written modalities helps children to develop Number Sense. Martinek and his son continued to develop and add to the curriculum over the next fifteen years.

In April 2002, Martinek became Chief Instructional Officer of Mathnasium LLC. The curriculum teaches math through a combination of mental, oral, visual, tactile, and written approaches. The Mathnasium Method covers pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade Mathematics and is used in Mathnasium Learning Centers worldwide.

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