This Week in Math Ed: January 6, 2017

Happy New Year! Here's the first TWiME of 2017, full of arguments for number sense, upcoming NCTM chats, and a lot of new research. If you want to see what I thought was the best of 2016, I found 30 noteworthy posts from the year's worth of TWiME in 2016.

Math Ed Said

December 30: Cory Turner of NPR writes, "Teachers Are Stressed, And That Should Stress Us All." Teachers are indicating stress levels similar to those of doctors. Thankfully, there are ways of relieving the stress.

Shared by: Lisa Choate, Nita Cochran, Shelby Aaberg, Chris Mueller, Sahar Khatri, Erika Bullock

December 31: David Radcliffe asks and answers, "Why is 2017 an interesting number?" There's a lot more going on with 2017 than being prime.

Shared by: Rebecca Gasper, Sara VanDerWerf, Mark McCourt, James Tanton, David Radcliffe

January 1: Keith Devlin wrote "All the mathematical methods I learned in my university math degree became obsolete in my lifetime" for the Huffington Post. This article is a mini-celebration of number sense, and the kind of understanding humans need to thrive with calculating machines.

Shared by: Mark Ellis, Kate Fisher, Joshua Bowman, Shauna Hedgepeth, Zack Miller, Tom Snarsky, Nerissa Gerodias, Judy Keeney, Keith Devlin

January 2: Sixteen more people shared Keith Devlin's post that became popular on New Year's Day, but an equal number were sharing "Labels Work Every Time" from the Desmos blog.

Shared by: Joshua Bowman, Nerissa Gerodias, Bryn Humberstone, Bridget Dunbar, Nolan Doyle, Jesse McNulty, Dan Anderson, Ben Rouse, Julia Finneyfrock, Aimee Shackleton, Audrey McLaren, Elizabeth Statmore, Desmos.com, Dan Meyer, Eddi Vulić, John Golden

January 3: In NCTM's Teaching Children Mathematics blog, Zak Champagne wrote, "2016: The year in review." He lists ten highlights from 2016 that had implications for elementary math education.

Shared by: Andrew Gael, Math Coach Rivera, Mike Flynn, TCM - NCTM, Cathy Yenca, Megan M. Allen, Zak Champagne

January 4: BEAM is short for "Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics" and they are seeking applicants for their summer programs. Some of those listed on the "shared by" list below have worked with BEAM and had positive things to say about the experience.

Shared by: Bethany SansingHeltn, David Keller, Dan Meyer, Michael Pershan, Jennifer Lawler, Kate Nowak

January 5: Keith Devlin's post "All The Methods I Learned In My Mathematics Degree Became Obsolete In My Lifetime" stayed popular throughout the week and was again most-shared on the 5th.

Shared by: Math Coach Rivera, Denis Sheeran, Ruth Knop, Jo Boaler, Jocelyn Dagenais, Matthew Oldridge, Beth Curran, Museum of Math, Jen Silverman, Keith Devlin

Around the Math Ed Web

Hidden Figures movie poster

Hidden Figures hit theaters nationwide this week and the reactions I've seen in my circles has been nothing but positive. I anticipated as much, so earlier in the week I assembled a list of Hidden Figures resources that could be useful to teachers and students. Annie Perkins has a similar list. I saw the movie Thursday night and I'm about halfway through the book. Not mentioned in the movie is that many of the "colored computers" had been math teachers prior to working in research, as teaching was generally the best job available for an African American woman with training in mathematics.

The Joint Math Meetings were this past week. I admit that I don't follow the JMM closely, but I know there were a number of math ed presentations. You can learn more from the JMM website or the #JMM2017 hashtag.

NCTM now has articles for all their chats this month:

• #TCMchat on January 11: "Facilitating Mathematical Discourse," a blog series by Zack Hill
• #MTMSchat on January 18: "The Cake Contest," an MTMS article by Colleen Haberern
• #MTchat on January 25: "Mathematical Modeling in the High School Curriculum," an MT article by Maria L. Hernández, Rachel Levy, Mathew D. Felton-Koestler, and Rose Mary Zbiek

Here's what's recent and upcoming from the Global Math Department:

• January 3: Creativity and Curiosity in the Math Classroom with Zachary Herrmann
• January 10: Diving into the Desmos Dashboard by Adam Poetzel

Research Notes

The Journal for Research in Mathematics Education is out with their first issue of 2017:

• Improving the Impact of Educational Research by Jinfa Cai, Anne Morris, Stephen Hwang, Charles Hohensee, Victoria Robison, and James Hiebert, University of Delaware
• Toward a Framework for Research Linking Equitable Teaching With the Standards for Mathematical Practice by Tonya Bartell, Michigan State University; Anita Wager, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Ann Edwards, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Dan Battey, Rutgers University; Mary Foote, Queens College; and Joi Spencer, University of San Diego
• Mathematical Thinking and Learning Through Robotics Play for Children With Critical Illness: The Case of Amelia by Megan Nickels, University of Central Florida; and Craig J. Cullen, Illinois State University
• Psychological Imprisonment or Intellectual Freedom? A Longitudinal Study of Contrasting School Mathematics Approaches and Their Impact on Adults' Lives by Jo Boaler, Stanford University; and Sarah Kate Selling, University of Utah
• Book Review: Reconsidering Affect in Mathematics Education by Reviewed by Amanda Jansen, Joseph DiNapoli, and Kristin McKenney, University of Delaware
• Book Review: Roots and Sprouts: Cultivating Research on Mathematical Problem Posing by Reviewed by Edward A. Silver and Kwame Yankson, University of Michigan

The February 2017 issue of Educational Studies in Mathematics is here:

• Explicating mathematical concept and mathematical conception as theoretical constructs for mathematics education research by Martin A. Simon, New York University
• Secondary-to-tertiary comparison through the lens of ways of doing mathematics in relation to functions: a study in collaboration with teachers by Claudia Corriveau, Université Laval
• Professional competencies of (prospective) mathematics teachers—cognitive versus situated approaches (Erratum) by Gabriele Kaiser, University of Hamburg; Sigrid Blömeke, University of Oslo; Johannes König, University of Cologne; Andreas Busse, University of Hamburg; Martina Döhrmann, University of Vechta; and Jessica Hoth, University of Vechta
• Students' individual schematization pathways - empirical reconstructions for the case of part-of-part determination for fractions by Matthias Glade, University Duisburg-Essen; and Susanne Prediger, TU Dortmund University
• Asymmetry in student achievement on multiple-choice and constructed-response items in reversible mathematics processes by Christopher J. Sangwin, University of Edinburgh; and Ian Jones, Loughborough University
• Students' understanding of the structure of deductive proof by Mikio Miyazaki, Shinshu University; Taro Fujita, University of Exeter; and Keith Jones, University of Southampton

A couple articles have been added to the March 2017 issue of The Journal of Mathematical Behavior:

• Inspecting the foundations of claims about cognitive demand and student learning: A citation analysis of Stein and Lane (1996) by Samuel Otten, Corey Webel, and Zandra de Araujo, University of Missouri
• Dylan's units coordinating across contexts by Steven Boyce, Portland State University; and Anderson Norton, Virginia Tech

New in AERA Open:

• Using Theory and Measurement to Sharpen Conceptualizations of Mathematics Teaching in the Common Core Era by Mary Kay Stein, Richard Correnti, Debra Moore, Jennifer Lin Russell, and Katelynn Kelly, University of Pittsburgh

Here's one last issue for the Journal of Statistics Education for 2016:

• Student Performance in Curricula Centered on Simulation-Based Inference by Beth Chance, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo; Jimmy Wong, Food and Drug Administration; and Nathan Tintle, Dordt College
• A Survey of Statistical Capstone Projects by Susan E. Martonosi and Talithia D. Williams, Harvey Mudd College
• Play It Again: Teaching Statistics With Monte Carlo Simulation by Matthew J. Sigal and R. Philip Chalmers, York University
• Interview With Richard De Veaux by Allan Rossman, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo; and Richard De Veaux, Williams College

The first issue of the open access journal Numeracy is out:

• A Madison-Numeracy Citation Index (2008-2015): Implementing a Vision for a Quantitatively Literate World by Nathan D. Grawe, Carleton College; and H. L. Vacher, University of South Florida
• Providing Open-Access Know How for Directors of Quantitative and Mathematics Support Centers by Michael Schuckers, St. Lawrence University; Mary B. O'Neill; Hamilton College; and Grace Coulombe, Bates College
• Fostering Scientific and Numerate Practices in Journalism to Support Rapid Public Learning by Louise Yarnall, SRI International; and Michael Andrew Ranney, University of California, Berkeley
• How Random Noise and a Graphical Convention Subverted Behavioral Scientists' Explanations of Self-Assessment Data: Numeracy Underlies Better Alternatives by Edward Nuhfer, California State University; Steven Fleisher, California State University - Channel Islands; Christopher Cogan, Ventura College; Karl Wirth, Macalester College; and Eric Gaze, Bowdoin College
• The Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment 2: Demographic, Academic and Attitudinal Variables as Predictors of Quantitative Ability by Katherine Follette, Stanford University; Sanlyn Buxner, Erin Dokter, Donald McCarthy, Beau Bezino, Laci Brock, and Edward Prather, University of Arizona
• A Twenty-Year Look at “Computational Geology,” an Evolving, In-Discipline Course in Quantitative Literacy at the University of South Florida by Victor J. Ricchezza and H. L. Vacher, University of South Florida
• Quantitative Literacy for the Future Flourishing of our Students: A Guiding Aim for Mathematics Education by Samuel L. Tunstall, Michigan State University
• Review of QMaSC: A Handbook for Directors of Quantitative and Mathematics Support Centers edited by Grace Coulombe, Mary B. O'Neill, and Michael Schuckers (2016) by Vera Frith, University of Cape Town
• Connecting Numbers with Emotion: Review of Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data by Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic (2015) by Samuel L. Tunstall, Michigan State University
• Harnessing the Power of Emotion for Social Change: Review of Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data by Scott Slovic and Paul Slovic (2015) by Anne M. W. Kelly, Dakota Wesleyan University
• Parts of the Whole: Error Estimation for Science Students by Dorothy Wallace, Dartmouth College

Math Ed in the News

• Column: Start math education early (Times-News)
• John Hood: North Carolina has a math problem (Greensboro News & Record)

Math Ed in Colorado

Colorado Math Leaders

A CML meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 11 from 9:00 to noon in Pueblo. CML has had inconsistent attendance so far this school year (perhaps a result of inconsistent scheduling), so stay tuned to the CML mailing list if there are any last-minute changes.

Rocky Mountain Math Teachers' Circle

The Rocky Mountain Math Circle is meeting this Saturday from 8:30 to noon in Denver. See the RMMTC website for more information and to RSVP.

Also, mark your calendars for two summer workshops:

• Southwest Colorado and Rocky Mountain Math Teachers' Circle workshop in Durango, June 12-16
• Rocky Mountain Math Teachers' Circle in Denver, June 19-23

Online Standards Review System Extended Until Feb. 17

As CDE continues to develop its plan to guide the upcoming standards review and revision process, the department is actively seeking feedback on the Colorado Academic Standards from all interested parties. In November, CDE launched an online standards review system which enables all Coloradoans to provide specific feedback on each and every expectation within all 10 content areas of the Colorado Academic Standards. To provide sufficient time for meaningful feedback, the department has extended the timeline to provide feedback to Friday, February 17, 2017.

The results of the feedback received through the online system 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 Colorado Academic Standards on or before July 1, 2018 and every six years thereafter.

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 online standards feedback system can be found at http://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/casreview.

PAEMST 2017

The nominations are now open for PAEMST awards for 7-12 math teachers to be awarded in 2017.

Math on the "Planes"

Registration for next February's conference is open. The focus will be Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions for K-5 math students, with Dr. Karen Karp as the workshop leader. CCLD encourages you to apply for a Mikkelson Mathematics and Science Teachers Scholarship to cover the costs, as MOTP attendees from outside the metro area are eligible for travel, lodging, and registration reimbursement.

PARCC Released Items

PARCC has released a new set of items for grades 3-8. These are items that have been used on operational test multiple times and were slated for retirement, and the set of items approximates the content coverage of a typical test. High school items should be released in early 2017.