This Week in Math Ed: November 4, 2016

Math Ed Said

Fawn Nguyen
October 28: Fawn Nguyen gave us some insights into her practice with a post called "Good-Enough-for-Now Curriculum," where she discusses the resources she uses, how those resources differ in the thinking they demand of students, and what she finds is worth grading.

Shared by: Fraction Talks, Debbie Hurtado, Jennifer Blinzler, Shaunda McQueeney, Scott Leverentz, Dan Anderson, Samuel, Ilana Horn, Ilona Vashchyshyn, Kimberly Wassmuth, Andrew Gael, Laura Wagenman, Kit G, Bridget Dunbar, John Golden

October 29: Two posts rose to the top this day. First, Tom Rademacher's talks about the lack of easy answers in "My Name Is Tom. I've Been a Teacher for 10 Years and I Still Get My Ass Kicked Nearly Every Day." Second, Mark Chubb lays out the long game in "How our district improved…." Far from the typical, "I tried this for two weeks and things are better," this post takes the 10-year view of math initiatives in his district and the long-term gains they're now enjoying.

Shared by: (for Tom) Kit, Becca Phillips, Mickie Gibbs, Laura Wagenman; (for Mark) Ann Elise Record, Mark Chubb, Tyler Anderson, Margie Pearse

October 30: Sara VanDerWerf wrote about "Visualizing Exponential, Power & Logarithmic Functions." The title is pretty self-explanatory and I suggest you check out the visualizations for yourself.

Shared by: Kit G, Bryan Anderson, Jennifer Lawler, David Butler, Heather Sugrue, Sara VanDerWerf, Ashley Bingenheimer

October 31: Graham Fletcher reintroduces a time estimation task in "The One-Handed Clock in a Digital Era."

Shared by: Dana Williams, Mark Chubb, Simon Gregg, Andrew Gael, Math Coach Rivera, Ryan Dent, Charlotte Sharpe, Mike Flynn, Graham Fletcher

November 1: Nat Banting illustrates a community cross-pollination effort with "#MTBoS Connected: Fraction Talks and WODB."

Shared by: Denise Gaskins, Ilona Vashchyshyn, Jocelyn Dagenais, Simon Gregg, Nat Banting, Fraction Talks

November 2: MindShift is back with "How One School Changed Its Math Culture, Starting With Teachers." The article focuses on one D.C. school that leveraged work on growth mindsets to change students' relationships with mathematics.

Shared by: Kimberly Wassmuth, Kristin Manna, Jennifer Lawler, Regan Galvan, John Golden, Nancy Terry

November 3: 2017 NCTM Regional Conference proposals are due December 1, and several people were encouraging each other to submit. There's less than a month to go, and don't let it get lost in the holidays! In 2017 the regionals are in Orlando and Chicago.

Shared by: Annie Fetter, Lisa Bejarano, David Coffey, Megan Schmidt, David Coffey, Nicole Bridge, NCTM, Zak Champagne, Graham Fletcher

Around the Math Ed Web

Recently speaking for the Global Math Department was Karen Fuson and Steven Smith with "Children Living in Poverty Can Solve CCSS OA Word Problems." Next up is David Wees with "Teachers Learning Together: How Can Instructional Routines Help?."

Wednesday is the next #TCMchat, and the article for discussion is "Selecting and Sequencing Students' Solution Strategies" by Erin Meikle.

Congratulations to NCTM's newly elected board members Robert Q. Berry III, President-Elect; David Ebert, Director, High School Level; and three at-large directors: Linda Ruiz Davenport, DeAnn Huinker, and Daniel J. Teague. You can read more about the new board members on the NCTM website.

The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators is asking for feedback on a set of standards for math teacher preparation. The deadline to provide input is November 15.

PAEMST nominations are open and due April 1. The application process can take a while, so do it sooner rather than later!

Research Notes

The November 2016 issue of the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education is out:
Here are some recent math ed-related articles in the current issue of Teachers College Record:
The International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning is out with a third issue for 2016:
The South Africa-based journal Pythagoras published its 2nd, 3rd, and 4th articles of 2016:

Math Ed in the News

Math Ed in Colorado

Colorado Academic Standards Survey

It's the last week to complete the standards perception survey! Please reply by November 13!

CDE invites educators, educational leaders, parents, students and the general public to share their perceptions of the Colorado Academic Standards through an online survey available through Nov. 13. To participate, click here.

The results of the survey will inform the department’s planning for the upcoming review and revision of the standards, required by Senate Bill 08-212, known as Colorado’s Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K). The law requires a review and revision of the CAS on or before July 1, 2018 and every six years thereafter.

In addition to the survey on general perceptions of the standards, CDE will launch an online feedback system in November which will enable all educators and others to provide specific feedback on every expectation within the 10 content areas included in the Colorado Academic Standards.

In early 2017, CDE will provide comprehensive information about the timeline and phases of the standards review and revision process as well as information about how to become involved.

The survey and online standards feedback system can be found at http://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/casreview. General questions and comments about the review and revision process can be sent to standardsreview2018@cde.state.co.us.

Computer Science Standards Meetings

During the 2016 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed House Bill 16-1198 requiring CDE to develop academic standards for computer science for secondary students. The new law allows districts to elect to adopt these standards for their high school students. These voluntary, secondary computer science standards must be adopted by the State Board of Education by July 2018, and CDE is hosting three stakeholder meetings in October and November to engage a broad array of stakeholders to inform the development process:
  • Monday, November 14 in Denver
  • Thursday, November 17 in Grand Junction
There will also be a webinar on Monday, November 28 from 3:30 to 5:00. For more information and to register to attend any of these meetings, see the announcement on the CDE Standards and Instructional Support webpage.

COmath Calendar

During a CCTM board meeting a number of us were discussing ways to help bring Colorado math educators together. One idea was to have a centralized calendar, not just for CCTM events, but for all events of interest to math educators in Colorado. You can access it here:
  • ICS format (to use in a calendar app): https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/cctmath.org_3m8n1fjt6jtidsj52etdgaelnc%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
  • HTML format (opens in a browser; use button on lower right to add to your Google Calendar): https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=cctmath.org_3m8n1fjt6jtidsj52etdgaelnc%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Denver
If you have an event you'd like to add to the calendar, email calendar@cctmath.org to submit your request.