Fall is learning season for teachers!







Fall is learning season for teachers!



Edited By Carl Oliver @carloliwitter

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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
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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.

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