General Award Info

The Rosenthal Prize recognizes and promotes hands-on math teaching in upper elementary and middle school classrooms. The prize is issued annually and carries a cash award of $25,000!

The Rosenthal Prize for Innovation and Inspiration in Math Teaching has four goals:

• To recognize and reward exceptional math educators around the world who employ innovation(s) appropriate to the upper elementary or middle school classroom.
• To demonstrate to the education profession and the general public that innovative math teaching exists and can successfully reach the middle grades.
• To replicate the successful innovative activity of the winning teacher, distribute it to classrooms across the country, and positively impact math education in the United States and beyond.
• To encourage innovation and incorporation of hands-on methods in classrooms around the world.

The Application Process

The initial application process simply involves responding to several short answer questions. After the initial application, applicants may be asked for the following:

• a description of the activity
• a letter of recommendation
• a video of the lesson implementation in the classroom (grades 4-8)
• a short essay as to how the lesson impacted the overall class or one particular student
• a detailed lesson plan.