Online Professional Development Sessions

Finishing the Year with the #MTBoS

Year in the Life

As the year comes to a close, so ends the steady stream of this year’s Day in the Life posts from bloggers around the #MTBoS. The posts are part of a project spearheaded by Tina Cardone who started tossing this idea around in early August of 2016. This was wrapped up in a post last week, The Year In The Life of a Teacher. Tina writes that “The next step is to figure out the story we want to tell and the best way to tell it.” If you have any ideas, head on over to Tina’s post and leave some ideas in the comments.

For people who are #stillinschool, students’ struggles are certainly becoming all too real, especially as they are preparing for end of the year assessments. Reading Dylan Kane’s recent post shows a bad habit that I know I am guilty of in the face of students struggling. The post, Responding to Student Struggle, is a response to an Ilana Horn talk that was full of insight. Dylan writes about a finding from a study that teachers who struggle can lower the cognitive demand of the tasks. This was something that I’ve caught myself doing this year. This bad habit comes in part from focusing on shortcomings, and from thinking of student deficits as something that can’t be overcome. “One solution Lani offers”, Dylan writes, “is teacher education and ongoing professional development that focus on ability, bias, and an asset-orientation to counter deficit thinking.” Certainly reading Dylan’s post and watching Lani’s talk would be a good start.

Written by Carl Oliver (@carloliwitter)

Targeting Math at Target

Over the past 3 years Brian Bushart has helped moderate and churn the Kool-Aid over #ElemMathChat. From there, he’s shared his amazing Numberless Word Problem Sets and now he’s got me hooked on his shopping inspirations. If you’re a fan of Notice and Wonder or Estimation 180, then Brian’s visual inspirations are right up your alley.

How many globe string lights are in the box?

Written by Graham Fletcher (@gfletchy)

GMD Podcast

We all know Global Math Department talks are full of great information about math education. When the session ends, it can be hard to get in front of a computer to go back and re-watch old talks. Going back to previous episodes to gather that information is about to get much easier. You can now listen to select recordings of Global Math Department Conferences on the Global Math Department Podcast. You can find GMD talks on iTunes and Google Play (and in a few days Stitcher). Conferences will be posted roughly every other week, with the emphasis on talks which lend themselves well to the audio format. A number of posts from this year are up and more will be posted throughout the summer. If there are any recordings you want included let me know, @carloliwitter.

Join Our Team!

The @GlobalMathDept is looking for volunteers to help create great online PD for math teachers. We’re currently seeking hosts, bookers, and writers for the 2017-18 school year. Check out this flyer for more details about each volunteer opportunity.

Ready to sign up? Fill out this form to let us know which position(s) you’d like to volunteer for.

Online Professional Development Sessions

The #MTBoS Never Sleeps

The Value of Feedback

So much goes into providing students with meaningful feedback. But how much do we as teachers work to receive meaningful feedback from our students. I can honestly say it’s rare that I think about receiving feedback on how I can be a better teacher from my students. I’ve asked for feedback about lessons and activities. I’ve even gone as far as asking for feedback on instructional strategies.

Lisa Bejarano has thought of something many of us have not. In her original post, “End of School Year Survey”, the Crazy Math Teacher Lady embedded an extensive survey for students to complete. The survey was filled with comments about Mrs. B. It shows the level of ownership she takes over her teaching. It shows her value in reflecting.

And because she has updated the survey, it just reinforced the notion that amazing teachers are always reflective. As you view her survey, you may find yourself somewhere on this spectrum, far left- “why would I do that?” and far right- “dammit I’m doing that!”

Written by Jenise Sexton (@MrsJeniseSexton)

A Most Wonderful Time to be a Math Teacher

I’ll say it again – this is the most exciting time to be a math teacher, thanks to the combination of GeoGebra, Desmos, and Twitter. Someone creates, then shares on Twitter, then others run with the ball. Or with the “amazeball” as it turns out! Here’s what I mean:

Vincent Pantaloni (@panlepan) created these instructions on how to create an animated gif of a GeoGebra and here is a collection of his GeoGebra gifs on Twitter. I then saw some gifs made by Tim Brezinski (@dynamic_math) and Steve Phelps (@giohio).  

Next I see crossover between GeoGebra and Desmos. Steve Phelps (@giohio) is a GeoGebrainiac who has now made his “first marbleslide activity with @Desmos. Plinko!?! I can’t wait to see how else Steve will use Desmos.

Speaking of GeoGebrainiacs, and people who are fluent in both GeoGebra and Desmos, Andrew Knauft (@aknauft) heard my call for help on Twitter about making a Desmos activity on vectors, and made this. Now I get to figure out how to make a marbleslide game using his vectors!

Hope I don’t drop the amazeball!

Written by Audrey McLaren (@a_mcsquared)

Join Our Team!

The @GlobalMathDept is looking for volunteers to help create great online PD for math teachers. We’re currently seeking hosts, bookers, and writers for the 2017-18 school year. Check out this flyer for more details about each volunteer opportunity.

Ready to sign up? Fill out this form to let us know which position(s) you’d like to volunteer for.

Online Professional Development Sessions

Research-based Strategies that Build Procedural Fluency: Procedural fluency is more than knowing facts and performing algorithms well! Recent research provides excellent insights into what we can do in our teaching to build procedural fluency (and conceptual understanding). This hour will focus on these instructional strategies, tools, and ideas. Presented by Jenny Bay-Williams. RSVP and join us by clicking here. 9 PM EST!

Last week: Making the Most of Mistakes
Presented by Peg Cagle (@pegcagle)

We need to do more than normalize errors in our classrooms – we need to leverage them! Examine ways to capitalize on student mistakes to drive instruction, deepen homework and frame quizzes/tests as assessments of and as learning, leading to greater student agency and lower risk aversion. To listen to the recording, click here.

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Have A Piece of Desmos

Last week, Desmos released an activity to help support Geometry teachers. The Sector Area activity focuses on the sector area of a circle, starting with student intuition and working its way to students making generalizations about sector area in circles. Brilliant!

If this is a sample of what’s to come from Desmos regarding more geometry focused activities, I’m super excited. In case you might have missed it, they currently have a beta geometry tool for all of us to try out and provide feedback on.

Euclid’s Head Scratcher

Fawn found another head scratcher for us. And in typical fashion, she tested it out on her students and reports back to us to delight in. She found Euclid’s Algorithm and presented various stages to her students so they could look for patterns and structure. Students made beautiful conjectures and demonstrated high engagement and interest. Bookmark this post. I’m sure you’ll return to it many times, just like I have done so.

~by Andrew Stadel (@mr_stadel)

Online Professional Development Sessions

Last week at Global Math Steve Wyborney shared ways to promote mathematical discourse using animated illustrations.  Click here to check out his session.

Word From the #MTBoS

No one reading this is perfect, we all know that. At the same time, it is easy for us to mask our flaws when we are around other professionals. I certainly feel this way, and I was reminded of it when I was reading Annie Perkins post #Lessonfail and Self Doubt. Annie tells a full story of a conversation that began in the chat room of Tracy Zager’s Global Math Department talk, #lessonclose. This would go on to make the full rounds on the #MTBoS as it spilled over into a Twitter conversation, and then became a blog post, to which others replied with their own blog posts.

Some of the notable posts that followed were from Ilona Vashchyshyn, Annie Forest, and Madison Knowe. One thing Madison speaks about is the need to use her blog as a place to show off all sides of her professional life, not just the highlight reel. “From here on, this blog is not a place to show off myself, it’s a place to be known in all my professional shortcomings and inquires.” While it may be hard to imagine yourself wanting to write about your own #lessonfail, perhaps it is worth it to think that teachers who are in the place that Annie was are hoping for “..a bit more of, “I’ve been there, too.”

Written by Carl Oliver (@carloliwitter)

It’s the end of the year, and many of us are reflecting on the year – things we wish we had done better, or looking forward, things we want to do next year.  For many of us, myself included, this process may involve (in part) some metaphorical (I hope!) self-flagellation.  But people are writing hopefully about these practices, and in the interest of letting yourself off the hook just a bit, and having a more balanced perspective towards your future school years, here are a few good reads.
 
In Things We’re Going to Need You To Stop Saying, part 5 the Curmudgeon (self-names) debunks several blanket statements that may fit into 140 characters (ahem), statements that are ultimately harmful to good teaching.  Examples include:
If your exam questions only use integers then they aren’t Real World^(tm) Questions.
If your exam questions require a calculator, then you’re asking the wrong questions.
 
Curmudgeon points out that the learning curve requires questions with all types of input, which anyone who has designed a lesson with scaffolding well knows.
 

Telanna, over at Chasing Number Sense jumped feet first into a fray of student feedback.  Responding to a call to action from in a course with Kaneka Turner, Telanna collected data from 50 3rd graders on their experiences in math class and their perceptions of themselves as math students.  

THEN, she worked with them to dig a little deeper into that data in order to gain insight into her practice in the classroom.  Talk about facing oneself as a teacher fearlessly!  I love the way she ended her post:  “I am glad I did not just end my year with the assumption that I know what is going on through my students’ heads as they enter and leave my math classes. I still wonder what I did wrong, what I need to change next year so that my students have this realization about the nature of math as a subject earlier than May.”
 

I think Don Steward gets written about in this newsletter at least every quarter; I myself have contributed several posts about his website.  Is there no end to the man’s brilliance?  This came up in my feed this morning:
                                    
Of course, this exercise came with well-scaffolded examples of increasing difficulty, and it’s a great Open Middle type of problem.  Thanks, Don!
 

Food for thought:  an article in the Atlantic at the end of April, How Does Race Affect a Student’s Math Education? discusses the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) ways in which ‘whiteness’ influences the way students of color, and particularly black students, are taught math.  It’s an interesting and important read, as is the paper it references “A Framework for Understanding Whiteness in Mathematics Education”.  We’ve got the whole summer to reflect on how we can transform our classrooms into equitable spaces.

Cheers –
Wendy Menard
@wmukluk

Written by Graham Fletcher (@gfletchy)

Online Professional Development Sessions

The #MTBoS Never Sleeps

The Math Missus and More!

I just found out, via Jocelyn Dagenais (@jocedage) about a wonderful new Canadian series on the CBCNL YouTube channel, called “The Math Missus”. Catchy title, no? It deals with the myth that there is such a thing as a “math person” – that you’ve either got it or you don’t. I still struggle with the question myself, even as a math teacher, so it helps to hear from the experts. Bonus that they’re from my country of Canada!

John Golden (@mathhombre) shared this post by Harry O’Malley (@harrytomalley) about how simulations are a better way to represent data than traditional graphs. It seems related to (but I’m not sure) my recent thoughts about how I can get my students to model a function’s rate of change as opposed to the shape of its curve. At any rate, it really struck a note.

I once wrote a post on my own blog about being an explainaholic. Michael Pershan’s post about going beyond the beyond in our explanations (@mpershan) offered me some some intervention – specifically how to get better at explaining. And of course, Michael explains explaining very well!

Written by Audrey McLaren (@a_mcsquared)

Online Professional Development Sessions

#LessonClose: Math coach Tracy Zager sees a pattern in lessons: teachers often put far more energy into planning and implementing the open of the lesson than they do for the close. The open is essential for engagement, motivation, and access, but the close is where students have the opportunity to take a broader perspective on their learning, make new connections, cement understanding, and generate new questions. In this session, we’ll explore different purposes, techniques, and formats for lesson closes. We’ll also discuss different strategies for dealing with the main obstacle to thoughtful closes: limited time.9 PM EST!

Last week we took a break. Make sure to join us for the webinar tonight.

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4 Students, 1 Question, 1 Wish

A recent blog post by Joe Schwartz reminds me how important it is to both learn about and care for our students as much as possible. In his post, 4 Students, 1 Question, 1 Wish, Joe details his teaching relationship with 4 students, their personality traits, and their math thinking around one single question.

Imagine knowing as much as Joe about all of our students so we can teach to the student. Imagine writing a blog post about 4 of your students each week detailing your experience and journey both of you are on. Imagine finding out as much as possible about four of your students and then being able to teach them math better as result. I find Joe’s post inspiring, refreshing, and encouraging. Thanks Joe!

~by Andrew Stadel (@mr_stadel)

Online Professional Development Sessions

Word From the Blogosphere

Where I Started

The first blog I ever read (and first treasure trove I came across) was Math Teacher Mambo by Shireen Dadmehr.  So wonderful were her resources, and so generously shared, that I made a separate folder on my computer for them. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Shireen in person – we have been at PCMI during different summers – but I’ve always been a huge fan of her creativity and energy.  So like many readers and friends, I am sure, I was saddened by the loss of her husband a year and a half ago, and wished that I did know her in person, and could lend any kind of comfort and support that might help.
 
But I should have known that the spirit and ardor that Shireen communicates through her blog would help her get through this most worst of times.  She has shared some of her journey with us in Things I’ve “Learned” From Being a Widow.  In her typical articulate fashion, she communicates some of the larger life lessons that loss teaches us (I’ll let you go read about them yourself), and then..on to the math.  With her signature creativity and thoroughness, she writes about (and shares) three great activities she created for her Algebra 1 class.  Shireen remains a blogging icon for me – I continue to add her resources to that folder of mine.
 
I’ve written about Resourceaholic before, because she ALWAYS FINDS THE BEST STUFF!  And her April 10 post was no different – she had a link to these Access Maths revision resources that are very inviting.  Just look at these:   

Finally, I have a video for you: Chris Emdin’s Keynote at SXSWedu.  If you were, like me, not lucky enough to attend in person, do not despair.  Listening to him speak, even on my computer over a month after the speech had been delivered, was more than inspiring – a wake up call to all of us who need to make sure ALL of our students are being heard and well-served.  It’s a powerful must-see – go watch it NOW!
 

Cheers –
Wendy Menard
@wmukluk

Spring is here! As the tulips and daisies pop, so does the need to review some of the work from this year. By using the colors Red, Amber, and Green Julie Morgan describes an elegant way to offer differentiated support for students seeking to master solving trig functions in the post Solving Trig Equations Red Amber Green. Dane Ehlert describes a technology infused review activity in his post, Student-Created Review. Using Google slides, each student developed a guide to the major concepts from that year and included an image. Students often used Autodraw to create something cool (h/t Cathy Yenca).
 
As the students are reflecting on their work, so is Mark Chubb. His recent post Unintented Messages looks back at the various educational initiatives which are recently becoming popular as if they were the topic of a drug commercial, specifically the side effects. He writes, “…in education, we tend to discuss the benefits of any program or practice without thinking through how this might affect our students’ well-being in other areas.” The post describes some interesting side effects from things like ability tracking, and calling on the simplest ideas first in class discussion.

In a heartwarming tale of her life-long experience with math, Alison Krasnow describes the up-and-down path that led to her current position as an educator and a Desmos fellow. She describes a recent rebirth as she writes, “Starting in Park City and again when I did Math For America and again now within the #mtbos community, I have found my people.” If you want some warm and fuzzies, check out 44 Reflects On 17.

Written by Carl Oliver (@carloliwitter)

As the NCTM annual conference wraps up, it’s time to start thinking about next year. If you’ve ever thought about presenting at a local, state, or national conference then do yourself a favor and check it out Robert Kaplinsky’s and Dan Meyer’s recent posts.
 
At this year’s annual conference they gave a presentation on presentations and have done us the favor of summarizing their thoughts in a series of posts. They’ve also reached out and sought advice from 14 speakers who have this presentation thing dialed in.
 

 
After a 6-month blogging hiatus (probably due to prepping for ShadowCon), Kassia Omohundro Wedekind shared a 2 part series on building data routines in the elementary grades. Stemming from the numberless word problem work of Brian Bushart and Regina Payne, mixed with the notice and wonder work of Annie Fetter, Kassia shares how she’s turning data into storytelling.

Written by Graham Fletcher (@gfletchy)

Online Professional Development Sessions

The Word from the #MTBoS

Functions are an important part of Algebra and require a lot of abstract thinking on the part of students who may be used to the concreteness arithmetic from earlier grades. Kent Haines decided to put together a blog post that details the activities that he uses. The post, Functions Are Finally Clicking, walks through the activities he does in the beginning days of the unit and the kind of thinking he is trying to foster along the way. “My students have a better understanding of the meaning of a function,” Kent says as he describes his success, “and I have laid the groundwork for some great upcoming work with slope and linear functions.” Before the unit begins, Kent plays a lot of “Guess My Rule”, a game which Michael Pershan expanded on in the post What’s My Function, Rule, or Formula?. Michael’s post is definitely required reading if you’re preparing to use the game. The unit kicks off in earnest with the Function Carnival Desmos activity, followed by a Shell Centre activity on interpreting graphs, and also uses a card sort from Sarah at Math Equals Love. The entire post is interesting for people who teach functions, but it is also valuable to see how a teacher stitches together the various activities that are passed around in the #MTBoS.

Written by Carl Oliver (@carloliwitter)

Every time I visit Steve Wyborney’s blog I’m reminded of how much fun math can be when we just play. Last week, Steve posted his most recent free resource Splat! Part-whole thinking plays a huge roll in the development of students’ number sense and Splat goes right after it.

How many dots are under the Splat?

Big shout out to Steve for sharing all his lessons in a downloadable PowerPoint. While visiting, be sure to check out the links at the bottom of the post to find more of his interactive gems. Steve says that he’s “on a learning mission” and I’m thankful he’s taking us all along.  
 
Written by Graham Fletcher (@gfletchy)