This Week at the Global Math Department

Edited By Chase Orton @mathgeek76
View this email in your browser
Tweet
Forward

Online Professional Development Sessions

Jump-start Number Sense and Reasoning in 10 Minutes
Presented by John SanGiovanni
Do your students struggle with reasoning about numbers? Are they challenged to think about the reasonableness of their solutions? Are you looking for practical, high-quality tasks to engage students and ignite discussion? In this session, participants learn about dynamic, doable activities engage students in reasoning and discussion. A collection of ready-for-use resources will be provided and explored so that pursuit of number sense becomes a daily routine. These resources naturally complement each and every lesson in any K-2, 3-5, or 6-8 mathematics class regardless of the “core” program.

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

Last week, Ranjani Krishnan presented “Teacher Cloning.” If you missed it, you can catch the recording here.

The #MTBoS Never Sleeps

In Preparation for Next Year

While the end of the school year is a time to reflect, I’m also inspired by the potential of the next school year. In particular, I have been thinking about how I might develop students’ identities as mathematicians and how this relates to their futures.

“I’m preparing you for college” is a phrase Patricia Vandenberg (@VbergMath) confessed she would use to defend some of her class policies. In a tweet, she asked math professors to share what they’d truly like to see in their math students.

Responses varied, but some common themes were (1) teach students how to take ownership of their learning through organization and engagement, (2) encourage students to take risks and embrace ambiguity, and (3) instead of using this phrase, meet students where they are.

Christelle Rocha
@Maestra_Rocha

Year-end Survey Options

If you are looking for some ideas for a year-end survey, Deidre O’Connor (@historywithmsoc) posted this tweet and has a thread loaded with great suggestions that are general enough for any subject and any grade level.

By Amber Thienel
@amberthienel

Notes from an Inspired Editor
Adding to the suggestions of the authors above, Matt Vaudrey has written quite a bit about Teacher Report Cards. It’s brilliant stuff and a wonderful way to build culture at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. How would your classroom culture changed if you considered doing a Teacher Report Card after the first month of school? Would your students open up more? Would the autonomy and authority shift in the classroom?

Here are onetwo, and three short (less than 5 minute reads) blog posts from Matt’s site. Dive in! And let us know what you think.

Chase Orton

GMD is Looking for Presenters!

Do you know someone who you think should lead a GMD Webinar?

Did you see something amazing at a recent conference that needs to be shared?

At Global Math we are proud of our Webinars!  We appreciate all of our presenters and look forward to bringing you the best “PD Iin Your Pajamas” on the internet.  We’re always on the lookout for fresh faces and new ideas.

Please use this recommendation form to let us know who/what should be shared next!  We will take your recommendations and reach out to try to make it happen!

Stay nerdy my friends! Got something you think should go into the GMD Newsletter, hit me up on Twitter at @mathgeek76.

Follow us on Twitter
Visit our Website
Copyright © 2019 Global Math Department, All rights reserved.
“Thanks for opting in to receive the weekly newsletter from the Global Math Department.”

Our mailing address is:

Global Math Department

The Internet

Clarks SummitPA 18411

Add us to your address book

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

This Week at the Global Math Department

Edited By Chase Orton @mathgeek76
View this email in your browser
Tweet
Forward

Online Professional Development Sessions

Google in the Math Classroom
Presented by Mandi Tolen
When people think of Google Apps, they think about typing papers and making presentations, not math. Google apps, extensions, and other Google tools can help make your classroom a rich learning environment. This session will be full of activities, ideas, and resources to help you differentiate, engage your students, and get them creating, communicating, and thinking.

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

The #MTBoS Never Sleeps

Food For Thought on Accelerating & Tracking Students

In a recent NCTM (@nctm) article in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School (@MTMS_at_NCTM), Sarah B. Bush (@sarahbbush) talks about ways middle schools can support the position in Catalyzing Change in High School Mathematics(2018). Her article, NCTM’s Catalyzing Change in High School Mathematics: Our Role in the Middle” is in the March 2019 issue.

She writes about de-tracking students because this practice leads to the success of more students: “We can all agree that students should not be denied access to the instruction needed to become mathematically literate and that students should not have qualitatively different mathematics learning experiences.”

When I saw Robert Kaplinsky’s (@robertkaplinskytweet asking why we do not accelerate students through English Language Arts (ELA) like we do with math, I immediately made a connection that I invite you to contribute to.

Dig deep into the thread because the conversation gets really interesting. For example, check out Patricia’s (@TeacherPrepTech) tweets about students having an emotional response to the speed of math class.

And don’t forget to check out Sarah B. Bush’s full article in the March issue of MTMS. Let’s continue this conversation.

By Amber Thienel (@amberthienel)

Family Math Night

A couple weeks ago, my middle school hosted a Family Math Night. It was really special to see students and their families participating in math games, creating math art, and exploring mathematical ideas. If your school has never put together a Family Math Night, FamilyMathNight.com has tips on how to get started, and a twitter search of “Family Math Night” will leave you with plenty more ideas for stations.

What stood out to me the most was that every person involved with Family Math Night knew that each station had to be fun and accessible. As a result, there was a clear contrast of what was a valid and welcomed mathematical activity in Family Math Night versus the mathematical activities our curriculum. For example, if creating tessellations and estimating quantities are valid activities for Family Math Night, there must be potential for math play, art and estimation as a regular part of our daily instruction. I immediately thought of Kassia Wedekind’s talk at ShadowCon 2017 on math play, and Sara VanDerWerf’s play tables as strong starting points.

I also noticed students and their families looked confused at some stations, often asking, “that’s it?” It seemed like the difficulty of math in the activity wasn’t clear and they were looking for the catch. How could we have made connections to our curriculum and the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice, so that students and their families can have more conversations around math beyond our classrooms and in their homes and communities?

We know math is everywhere, and mathematical agency starts with helping our students and families understand that.

Christelle Rocha (@Maestra_Rocha)

Notes from an Inspired Editor
Part of my joy serving as an editor is reading deeply about what our team of writers bring to the table and making connections between ideas.

Like Christelle, I’ve been thinking a lot about our conversations as math educators with the non-teaching public (like Family Math Nights) and how we can make them better. I think we (math educators) can do more to reframe our work with parents (and other non-math-educators) by redefining what it means to do math.

I found this tweet by Mark Trushkowsky about #sidewalkmath, a project by Brian(@_b_p):

The thread is well-worth checking out. I appreciate the efforts folks are making to shift the dialogue about what it means to be a “math person” by bringing more math conversations into public spaces. I gave a talk recently about this topic to a (non-math-educator) conference about creativity. It’s my case for why and how we move the conversation forward. You can see a screencast of the talk here.

What do you do to shift the dialogue about what it means to do math with the general, non-teaching public? What works? What doesn’t? Participate in the conversation here.

Chase Orton

GMD is Looking for Presenters!

Do you know someone who you think should lead a GMD Webinar?

Did you see something amazing at a recent conference that needs to be shared?

At Global Math we are proud of our Webinars!  We appreciate all of our presenters and look forward to bringing you the best “PD Iin Your Pajamas” on the internet.  We’re always on the lookout for fresh faces and new ideas.

Please use this recommendation form to let us know who/what should be shared next!  We will take your recommendations and reach out to try to make it happen!

Stay nerdy my friends! Got something you think should go into the GMD Newsletter, hit me up on Twitter at @mathgeek76.

Follow us on Twitter
Visit our Website
Copyright © 2019 Global Math Department, All rights reserved.
“Thanks for opting in to receive the weekly newsletter from the Global Math Department.”

Our mailing address is:

Global Math Department

The Internet

Clarks SummitPA 18411

Add us to your address book

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

This Week at the Global Math Department

Edited By Chase Orton @mathgeek76
View this email in your browser
Tweet
Forward

Online Professional Development Sessions

Engagement: Just 3 Acts Away
Presented by Felicia Casto
What do a majority of math classes lack? Engagement! Come join us for conversations on how to incorporate real world 3 Act Tasks and feel like a true mathematician. Hear from teachers and students how 3 Act Tasks bring joy and excitement to math classes. We will also discuss how to create these engaging three act tasks that are accessible to all learners.

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

Did you miss last week’s webinar? Click here to watch “How to Expose It: Contemporary Mathematics at the High School Level.”

The #MTBoS Never Sleeps

Is It Harmful or Helptul?

#MTBoS is a community that is filled with diverse knowledge, skills, and resources. Among the resources are rich tasks, the most celebrated being those that involve real world application and mathematical reasoning.

To add to the archive of tasks, recently Robert Kaplinksy posted:

The image of Nelly in a math task was strange on my feed, so I paused to read the tweet, only to feel confused about why we might need to #SaveNelly. I didn’t think much of it, so I scrolled on. Until Hema Khodai replied:


With a single tweet, Hema challenged #mtbos to consider and oppose stereotypes in the tasks we create. While these stereotypes may be subtle, Hema reminds us that we have a responsibility to be critical of the images and notions we normalize in our classrooms of communities that have been historically marginalized.

Christelle Rocha (@Maestra_Rocha)

Rethinking Grading
I work with some wonderful math teachers all over California, and I admire their perseverance and courage. One of the things that I think gets in our way of our good teaching is our attachment to traditional assessments of learning as the primary driving force behind assigning students grades.

I sent out this Tweet to see what folks had to say.


Check out the thread for full details, but here’s what I loved most about my journey down this worm hole of learning.

Rhonda Hewer recommended Aleda Klassen‘s blog “Pedagogical Patterning.” It’s an insightful resource for many reasons and you should check it out. In particular, I dig this post about how we can better listen to our students. She builds upon Max Rey-Riek‘s Ignite Talk from a few years ago title “2 > 4.

Dave Martin writes about his experience removing grades from his high school calculus class in this blog post. He made this stand a few years ago: “I will only assess in a way that increases learning; if my assessment isn’t increasing learning then the assessment needs to change.” Read the post to find out more.

Sunil Singh offers this post on Medium making an argument for how abolishing our traditional notion of grading is the first step to better assessment in mathematics.

If you want to get your academic groove on, Anna Blinstein offers this insightful research article entitled “Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently).

Geoff Krall gave a brilliant ShadowCon talk about this topic not long ago. Give it a watch and let us know what you think.

Again, check out the thread to see what everyone else said. Thank you to those who helped us further our thinking.

Stay nerdy my friends!

Chase Orton
@mathgeek76

[Editors Note: Please forgive me for a thin newsletter this week. As an editor, I missed my own reminders to my writers. My apologies to them.]

GMD is Looking for Presenters!

Do you know someone who you think should lead a GMD Webinar?

Did you see something amazing at a recent conference that needs to be shared?

At Global Math we are proud of our Webinars!  We appreciate all of our presenters and look forward to bringing you the best “PD Iin Your Pajamas” on the internet.  We’re always on the lookout for fresh faces and new ideas.

Please use this recommendation form to let us know who/what should be shared next!  We will take your recommendations and reach out to try to make it happen!

Stay nerdy my friends! Got something you think should go into the GMD Newsletter, hit me up on Twitter at @mathgeek76.

Follow us on Twitter
Visit our Website
Copyright © 2019 Global Math Department, All rights reserved.
“Thanks for opting in to receive the weekly newsletter from the Global Math Department.”

Our mailing address is:

Global Math Department

The Internet

Clarks SummitPA 18411

Add us to your address book

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

This Week at the Global Math Department

Edited By Chase Orton @mathgeek76
View this email in your browser
Tweet
Forward

Online Professional Development Sessions

STEM Content Knowledge and Affect in the K-16 Classroom
Presented by Evelyn Laffey
National discourse on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) urges educators to attend to the growing demand for a STEM-literate populace. But, what is “STEM-literacy,” and how do we, as educators, cultivate opportunities for students to enhance their STEM-literacy, as well as their STEM content knowledge and affect? In this session, I will share action research (conducted at the university and high school levels) that aims to understand the impact of engineering modules on students’ cognition and affect. I will share the framework for STEM-literacy and affect, as well as the data collection tools and analysis methods that can be adapted for use in your classroom.

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

Did you miss last week’s webinar? Click here to watch “Activating Curiosity & Creativity in the Modern Mathematics Classroom.”

The #MTBoS Never Sleeps

Hello all,

My name is Christelle Rocha (@Maestra_Rocha), I’m a 7th and 8th grade math teacher in Los Angeles, California and Desmos Fellow, Cohort 3. I’m excited to join the Global Math Department and want to introduce myself by sharing my top five, all-time favorite pieces.


In Strategies versus Models: Why This is Important, Pamela Harris (@pwharris) challenges me to rethink my views of math and math instruction.

Marian Dingle (@DingleTeach) and Jose Vilson (@TheJLV) speak on my “why” for teaching math. While Marian’s powerful thread shows the individual, day-to-day impact of math education, Jose speaks on the broader implications of our work in Math as a Social Justice Lever.

As fulfilling and vital as teaching can be, Is the first-year teacher in your life crying in the car? Here are five things you should know by Roxanna Elden (@RoxannaElden) and Teaching Saves My Life Every Single Day by Christina Torres (@biblio_phile) remind me teaching is exhausting for everyone, which means self-advocacy and self-preservation are essential to continue doing the work I love.

Christelle Rocha (@Maestra_Rocha)

Podcasts for Educators

Perhaps you are like me and you have a semi-long commute to and from school everyday. Or perhaps you’re like me and you run long distances at a time. Either way I have found out that these are both perfect conditions to listen to podcasts. The podcasts about true crime or the life of Americans (see what I did there?) are the ones I usually like to fill my time. But I saw this tweet from Mike Mohammad (@Mo_physics) and realized there is an entire subculture of podcasts that focus on educators.

He pulled all the recommendations and created a blog post that you can find here. There are some great recommendations of people like Jennifer Gonzales (@cultofpedagogy) who’s blog I have been reading for years. In search of some more math specific podcasts, I found this article with recommendations like “My Favourite Theorem” (@myfavethm) which hosted Fawn Nguyen (@fawnpnguyen) on a recent episode.

What education-based podcasts am I missing out on that I really need to give a listen? Which one from these suggestions are you ready to try?

By Amber Thienel (@amberthienel)

[Editor’s Note: I love Drew Perkin’s TeachThought podcast. Check it out! Here’s an episode when he interviews Dan Meyer (@ddmeyer). Um, it gets a little heated. Well worth the listen.]

Rethinking Math Modeling
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about math modeling and facilitating some workshops with teachers. We’ve been using math modeling as an anchor through some lesson study work and it’s been fantastic.

Robert Kaplinsky has three webinars about math modeling, one each for elementary, middle, and high school teachers. They are well worth the watch and useful for workshops. Give them a watch and let him know what you think.

Dan Meyer spoke on a panel about math modeling. He said it got a bit awkward. Read his blog post to find out more. He’ll leave you thinking.

I sent out this Tweet to see what the #MTBoS community had to share about math modeling, what it looks like, and how we can teach it better in our classrooms. Click on the Tweet to find the thread.

Chase Orton
@mathgeek76

GMD is Looking for Presenters!

Do you know someone who you think should lead a GMD Webinar?

Did you see something amazing at a recent conference that needs to be shared?

At Global Math we are proud of our Webinars!  We appreciate all of our presenters and look forward to bringing you the best “PD Iin Your Pajamas” on the internet.  We’re always on the lookout for fresh faces and new ideas.

Please use this recommendation form to let us know who/what should be shared next!  We will take your recommendations and reach out to try to make it happen!

Stay nerdy my friends! Got something you think should go into the GMD Newsletter, hit me up on Twitter at @mathgeek76.

Follow us on Twitter
Visit our Website
Copyright © 2019 Global Math Department, All rights reserved.
“Thanks for opting in to receive the weekly newsletter from the Global Math Department.”

Our mailing address is:

Global Math Department

The Internet

Clarks SummitPA 18411

Add us to your address book

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp