Fall is learning season for teachers!







Fall is learning season for teachers!



Edited By Carl Oliver @carloliwitter

View this email in your browser

Tweet
Forward

Online Professional Development Sessions

Last week, NCTM President-Elect Matt Larson(!) presented An Update on Initiatives from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. This is an exciting time for NCTM and to be a member of NCTM! The Council is taking on a number of new initiatives to enhance its support of quality teaching and learning. This session will provide a brief overview of these initiatives and discuss ways you can become involved in NCTM.

The recording will be posted here.

This week, Amy Lucenta and Grace Kelemanik present:
On-Ramps to Mathematical Thinking for Students with Learning Disabilities Through the Standards for Mathematical Practice.
The standards for mathematical practice describe avenues of thinking that seem daunting for all students, particularly students with learning disabilities. However, as it turns out, the SMPs actually offer access and opportunity to students with learning disabilities. Join us to explore the avenues of thinking and learn strategies to develop them in all students.

Great Blogging Action

It’s Political

I sort of fell down on the job this cycle, and am scrambling for my contribution to the newsletter.   I went to my WordPress reader; even though I receive many of these posts by email, I hoped to find a recurrent and relevant theme to guide my blog-reading recommendation. I was not disappointed –   the MTBoS is truly the gift that keeps on giving.  Several posts addressing educational issues and policy caught my eye.

 
The first post that caught my eye, and one you should definitely read is Matt Vaudrey’s Taxes and Nobility in Education.  Matt addresses the pro-con Teachers Pay Teachers debate, and carefully considers both sides, noting that Teachers Pay Teachers vendors are hard-working and creative people, such as yourselves, dear readers.  What side does the incomparable Mr. Vaudrey land on?  Go read.
 
I recently began following the blog Saving School Math by Howard Phillips, and he linked to a September article in The Atlantic, entitled The Coddling of the American Mind.  This lengthy and provocative article analyzes – in depth, as the The Atlantic usually does – the deleterious effect of ultra-sensitivity to microaggressions may be having on American college campuses.  I gave this article a quick read first time through, and it raised many questions in my own mind, such as how this might be playing out in my own school and classroom, and why, if we are becoming so sensitive and trying to create uber safe spaces, is gun violence in schools horrifyingly on the rise.  I’m sure you will have questions of your own; this article provides A LOT to think about.
 
If you are looking for more big classroom issues to think about, try Picture Yourself as a Stereotypical Male over at the MIT Admissions website (this was another hyperlink from Howard Phillips’s blog), or a discussion about introducing race into classroom conversations over atCrawling Out of the Classroom.  This last blog is not a math teacher’s blog, but the thoughtful exploration of how a teacher overcomes her own fear of confronting the issue with her students may resonate for you on some levels; it did for me.
 
The last post I want to mention is not specifically issue-oriented, but relevant, I think – Mathy McMatherson has been writing about the goings-on in his classroom this year, with a focus on his accommodations for ELL students, and their interesting results.  Daniel Schneider (no, his real name is not Mathy) has a great opportunity this year to completely tailor his instruction to the needs of these students, and all of us who teach English Language Learners can benefit from his generosity and insight.
 
Cheers – Wendy Menard @wmukluk
_____________________


Creating a “twitter” Storm in your Classroom
I love what twitter, specifically MTBoS, has done for my teaching practice. Everyone in my department has heard me countless of times talk about it. Each week my lessons and teaching has been inspired by someone within the MTBoS or larger twitter community. I’ve considered having students getting involved, but since I work with students under 13, having them sign up is not an option. I’ve thought up creating a class account, but I have struggled to work out the logistics that doesn’t involve students posting post-its on my mailbox which I then have to type up. Annie Forest (@mrsforest)shares how she set up a class account which requires setting up a google form! Why didn’t I ever think of that! This seems like a great way to have students reflect on the class in addition to being a great way to engage students in order to make them invested. Annie suggests in order for this to be authentic its important to share tweets that show that math is a struggle for some students or that there are some students who don’t like it. Make sure to check out her blog to start your own twitter storm in your classroom!

Hot on Twitter: Fall Conference Season!!!

Frightening and powerful suggestion from (via ) to reflect on our questioning.

Last weekend the Atlantic City NCTM regional, and the Northwest Math Conference marked one of a number of interesting conferences for math educators. Go check out the hashtag #nwmc15 to learn about what happened with last weekend at the NWMC, and look out for upcoming NCTM regionals in Minneapolis (11/11-13) and Nashville (11/18-20) who should be using the same hashtag as Atlantic City, #nctmregionals. Most importantly, if you’re going to these or any other event offering opportunities for growth and great conversation, please put it on twitter, on your blog or where ever you can share your learning with others.

 

Hey , the resources from my sessions. Solving Eq’s with a number line coming soon!

 

Global Math Department Needs Your Help!

The Global Math Department is looking for individuals who are interested in planning the Tuesday night webinars hosted on Big Marker. GMD bookers contact potential speakers regarding speaking opportunities, and provide them with details on planning sessions. If you are interested in being more involved with the Global Math Department, contact Heather at heather.m.kohn@gmail.com or Dylan at dkane47@gmail.com.

Follow us on Twitter
Visit our Website

Copyright © 2015 Global Math Department, All rights reserved.

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp



Coming to you live from Global Math Department…it’s NCTM!







Coming to you live from Global Math Department…it's NCTM!



Edited By Brian Bushart @bstockus

View this email in your browser

Tweet
Forward

Online Professional Development Sessions

This is an exciting time for NCTM and to be a member of NCTM! The Council is taking on a number of new initiatives to enhance its support of quality teaching and learning. This session will provide a brief overview of these initiatives and discuss ways you can become involved in NCTM.

To join the meeting when it starts at 9pm Eastern (or RSVP if it’s before 9pm), click here.

Last week at Global Math Matt Baker presented on Socratic Seminars in the Math Classroom. 
Click here to watch the recording.

If You Build It, The Math Will Come

Moving Forward with Desmos Activity Builder

It’s about three months now since the launch, at Twitter Math Camp, of the wonderful Desmos Activity Builder (which I will hereafter call DAB). I’ve been using it, while keenly watching for tweets or blog posts from others who are using it. I’m at the point where I need to read about things like: tips for making activities, how things actually played out in class, best during-class practices, following up etc., etc. I guess I should blog about that myself, but in the meantime, here are a few posts by people who already have. (Click the author’s name to be taken to their respective post.)

 

Colleen Young (@ColleenYoung) detailed the basics of using the DAB to create and deploy activities:  

Julie Reulbach (@jreulbach) described how her linear systems activity worked in class, specifically how it allowed for different levels of review amongst her students: 

Mary Bourassa (@MaryBourassa) shared her sequence of quadratic activities, which I know I’m going to model my Absolute Value lab after (especially the pretty tables!) 

Meg Craig (@mathymeg07) showed us her and Sheri Walker’s (@sheriwalker72) transformations activity, plus some fabulous time-saver work-arounds until The Truly Awesome Desmos Team creates a copy-slide feature:  

Kate Nowak (@k8nowak) cranked things up a notch by adding a teacher-notes component to her activity (hmmm another item on the to-do list of the The Truly Awesome Desmos Team?):

Lisa Winer (@lisaq314) talksedabout using DAB as a formative assessment tool:  

Shelley Carranza (@stcarranza) reflected and made excellent suggestions after experiencing the DAB in several teachers’ classes:



As usual, the #mtbos, which includes The Truly Awesome Desmos Team, does not disappoint. It keeps us all moving forward together.

Written by Audrey McLaren (@a_mcsquared)

The Power of Patterns

When I was in grade school, the aspect of algebra I hated most was algebraic sequences.  I never understood how to determine the next step within the pattern and really got confused when I needed to identify the rule. So when I see blog posts or presentations in regards to visual and algebraic patterns, I am intrigued by how they may help me improve my understanding.



Had my teachers used visual patterns every week in the way @PumphreysMath discussed in his most recent post, I’m sure I would not feel so intimidated by such patterns. In “Why you should use VisualPatterns.org, every week” Pumphrey shares how he guides students’ thinking with a self-made cheat sheet. He has found there are added benefits of using visualpatterns.org such as the connections students are able to make to other concepts such as solving equations, factoring and finding slope.

Written by Jenise Sexton (@MrsJeniseSexton)

Do You Super Group?

Dylan Kane at Five Twelve Thirteen has a nice post about visible random grouping. He shares his method for quickly assigning students to random groups using a program called Super Grouper. In the comments, Lisa Winer links to her own post about the topic, where the lists the many researched benefits of visible random grouping. Namely:

  • Students become more agreeable to work in any group they are placed in

  • There is an elimination of social barriers

  • Mobility of knowledge between students increases

  • Reliance on the teacher for answers decreases

  • Engagement on classroom tasks increase

  • Students become more enthusiastic about math class

She also links to her own preferred tool, Flippity.

Written by Kent Haines (@MrAKHaines)

Global Math Department Needs Your Help!

The Global Math Department is looking for individuals who are interested in planning the Tuesday night webinars hosted on Big Marker. GMD bookers contact potential speakers regarding speaking opportunities, and provide them with details on planning sessions. If you are interested in being more involved with the Global Math Department, contact Heather at heather.m.kohn@gmail.com or Dylan at dkane47@gmail.com.

Follow us on Twitter
Visit our Website

Copyright © 2015 Global Math Department, All rights reserved.

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp



This week at the Global Math Department







This week at the Global Math Department



Edited By Ashli Black @mythagon

View this email in your browser

Tweet
Forward

Online Professional Development Sessions

Tonight Matt Baker presents on Socratic seminars. The session will focus on introducing the idea of Socratic Seminars in the math class through examples that his school has used in the past and review structures and norms that have been successful at his school across disciplines. There will also be discussion of some of the challenges in transferring this structure from a humanities course to a math course.

To join the meeting when it starts at 9pm Eastern (or RSVP if it’s before 9pm), click here.

Last week at Global Math Nancy Butler Wolf presented on Strategies for Success: Bringing Mathematical Modeling into Your Classroom. 
Click here to watch the recording.

Great Blogging Action

What is #SwDMathChat?

 

You may be asking what does this hashtag stand for, well I have answers for you!  

 

It stands for Students with Disabilities Math Chat.  It is the twitter chat for teachers, parents, and advocates for students with disabilities.  Everyone is welcome, even if you are not a “special ed teacher.”  The next #SwDMathChat will be October 22nd at 9pm Eastern.

 

The next question you may be asking is, “Didn’t we already have a special ed math chat called something like spedmath?” Again, I am here with answers!

 

Yes, last year the twitter math chat for special education was called #spedmath, but as advocates for students with disabilities using this negative nomenclature was not the vibe we wanted to set, especially in the disability rights movement.  So in order to align with the accepted vocabulary of the disability rights movement, we have moved to the more person or identity first hashtag, #SwDMathChat.  

Here is a handy cheat sheet for keeping your own terminology more person or identity first!

written by Andrew Gael, @bkdidact

This is Hard

This “helping students think” can be hard. If you have ever encouraged your students think without telling them how to think and what to think, then you can easily relate with Cathy Yenca’s post You Don’t Teach.

Cathy has a growth mindset and is optimistic that her students will eventually understand why she’s building capacity in them. Read her post and get even more support from Kyle Pearce.

written by andrew stadel, @mr_stadel

The Myth of the Super Teacher

In 2012 at the University of Pennsylvania the Education Writers Association held a special session on Tomorrow’s Teacher: Paths to Prestige and Effectiveness. All of the talks are posted up on Vimeo and are in the 10-15 minutes range. May I suggest starting with Deborah Loewenberg Ball’s talk, Great Teachers Aren’t Born, They’re Taught?

written by ashli black, @mythagon

Global Math Department Needs Your Help!

The Global Math Department is looking for individuals who are interested in planning the Tuesday night webinars hosted on Big Marker. GMD bookers contact potential speakers regarding speaking opportunities, and provide them with details on planning sessions. If you are interested in being more involved with the Global Math Department, contact Heather at heather.m.kohn@gmail.com or Dylan at dkane47@gmail.com.

Follow us on Twitter
Visit our Website

Copyright © 2015 Global Math Department, All rights reserved.

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp



Modeling, Number Talks, and more







Modeling, Number Talks, and more



Edited By Carl Oliver @carloliwitter

View this email in your browser

Tweet
Forward

Online Professional Development Sessions

Last week, Bob Janes presented Mathematics and Music. There are a surprising number of strong connections between mathematics and music highlighted by Bob which can be adapted to fit classrooms from middle school through secondary education. 

Check out the recording here.

This week (Tuesday, September 15, 9 PM EDT) join Nancy Butler Wolf for Strategies for Success: Bringing Mathematical Modeling into Your Classroom. This session will address questions such as:

  1. What is Modeling?
  2. How does modeling differ from traditional word problems?
  3. Common questions and concerns from teachers about incorporating modeling?
  4. How to find and create great modeling tasks?
  5. What are the benefits of modeling?

Join us here to reserve your seat and attend the session.

Great Blogging Action

Last week Kristin Gray shared a simple idea that redefines the term bell-to-bell instruction.  Many of us agree that there’s not enough time in the day “to get it all done” however Kristin and group of teachers at her school introduced “Chat-n-Chew”.  The idea is simple, put 15 ideas together in a looping ppt, with a 30 second transition between slides, and let it play over lunch. 
“It was so fun to walk around and see students pointing at the screen and offering what they thought the answer would be and explaining why!”  What’s great about this idea is that it can be implemented in every school and not just for math.

Although it’s too late to officially sign up now, Kristin is also hosting a Twitter Book Study for the book Making Number Talks Matter.  The conversation will be trending under #mNTmTCH.  Feel free to crash the party and add your thoughts.  More on this below…

Written by @gfletchy (Graham Fletcher) 
 

_____________________

Hot on Twitter:

Seen on the chalkboard of a classroom I visited this week.

Today marks the second day of the Making Number Talks Matter book study. This initiative has been planned and spearheaded by Kristin Gray (@mathminds) and has interested participants from around the world. Making Number Talks Matter, the book, by Cathy Humphreys and Ruth Parker, focuses on the important practice of number talks which are is useful across all educational levels. To participate in this book study, visit the descriptional google doc or follow along with the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #mNTmTch. The conversation also extends to facebook and the teaching channel. Here was monday’s first prompt:

@mathminds is also interested in improving your NCTM conference experience: If you want to fill out a quick google survey about your experience with NCTM annual and regional conferences click here.

Global Math Department Needs Your Help!

The Global Math Department is looking for individuals who are interested in planning the Tuesday night webinars hosted on Big Marker. GMD bookers contact potential speakers regarding speaking opportunities, and provide them with details on planning sessions. If you are interested in being more involved with the Global Math Department, contact Heather at heather.m.kohn@gmail.com or Dylan at dkane47@gmail.com.

Follow us on Twitter
Visit our Website

Copyright © 2015 Global Math Department, All rights reserved.

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences 

Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp