This Week in Math Ed: January 4, 2019

I'm back! I'll remember 2018 for finishing two enormous projects: The revision of the Colorado Academic Standards (where I had a hand in all 12 content areas, not just mathematics) and the completion of my dissertation and my Ph.D. It really became necessary to set aside this blog (and a whole lot of other things) to get those done. When 2019 is over, I hope to remember it as the year life resumed some sense of normalcy.

I'm going to make some tweaks to my previous TWiME format. Most notably, I'm not going to apply more editorial discretion instead of simply resharing whatever happened to be the most popular link on Twitter each day. Sometimes what is popular isn't what's best, and what we see on the internet is already controlled by enough half-baked algorithms without me, a human, trying to act like a half-baked algorithm myself. If you want raw data about what's popular, you can look the same place I look, my Nuzzel feed for my MathEd Twitter list. I think I'll also allow myself more flexibility week-to-week instead of thinking I need a certain amount of research, news, events, etc. in each post. With that said, let's get on to it, shall we?

Math Ed Said

As a preservice teacher, my advisor, Bonnie Litwiller, told us to read decimal numbers properly, i.e., read "5.43" as "five and forty-three hundredths." I'm a stickler about a lot of mathematical language, but I wasn't sold on this one. Sara Van Der Werf's post, "Small Change, Big Difference part 1. Why you should eliminate ‘POINT’ from your vocabulary" made me rethink my position about this because it makes such a compelling argument for how our language helps students build their understanding of place value and the base-10 number system.

George Woodbury read a lot of books last year and summarized the best in the post "Top 5 Education Books I Read Last Year". George seems to like reading about student learning and most of the books on this list were new to me.

Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr have a podcast? When did this start? Less than a month ago, it turns out, so if you're just finding out now, like me, you haven't missed very much. It's called "Making Math Moments that Matter" and the first few episodes have focused on curiousity, sensemaking, and mentoring.

Get Involved

On Tuesday, January 8, Sara Vaughn, Martin Joyce, Morgan Stipe, and Jen Arberg will lead the Global Math Department with a discussion of their experiences with the Open Up Resources 6-8 math curriculum.

Dr. Robert Berry, NCTM President
Dr. Robert Berry, President of NCTM, will hold a President's Message webinar on Wednesday, January 9 at 7pm EST. Register now to attend. While you're at it, check out NCTM's webinar archives to see what else you might have missed.

The first #TCMchat of 2019 will be Wednesday, January 9 at 9pm EST. The topic will be the article "'Sliding' into an Equitable Lesson" by Kelley Buchheister, Christa Jackson, and Cynthia Taylor.
The application deadline for the Teacher Leadership Program at the IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) is Tuesday, January 15. This is a professional development program best suited for teachers of grades 5-12. Teachers of lower grades may apply but should be aware of the emphasis on mathematics in the program. Applicants to TLP must spend at least 50% of their time as classroom teachers. You'll need a resume and reference letters, so don't put off your application until the last minute! To learn more, you can go to the website and you may want to review this Global Math Department session from last month.

The PAEMST application cycle is open! Outstanding grade 7-12 teachers of mathematics, science, computer science, technology, and engineering can be nominated any time before March 1, 2019. Those teachers accepting their nomination have until May 1, 2019 to submit a completed application.

Are you interested in becoming a reviewer for EdReports.org? If so, you can apply now on their website.

Math Ed in Colorado

Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day with the Buffs and a basketball game on Thursday, January 10th! CU Boulder alums and friends of the School of Education are invited to a pre-game reception and can get discounted tickets to the basketball game.

Math on the "Planes" is coming February 22-23! This year's facilitator is Steve Leinwand and the event will be held in Adams 12. You can register on the CCLD website and those needing a scholarship to cover registration costs are encouraged to apply through the Mikkelson Mathematics and Science Scholarship Fund. The deadline for scholarship applications is January 18, 2019.