CMC - South 2016

We'll look at several released Smarter Balanced test items and the associated performance data in order to see how this information can be used to improve instruction. Additionally, we'll look at annotated student work on recently released performance tasks to help teachers understand what constitutes acceptable responses that focus on problem solving, communicating reasoning, and modeling.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580446

I have been blessed with an ever growing data base of more than 1000 K–12 mathematics classroom observations since 2010. This session is an opportunity to capture and share some of what I've observed and learned. We will use specific examples to look at such issues as on-going cumulative review, homework, worksheets, saying vs. showing, formative assessment, questioning, and tasks that either numb or energize our neurons—all of which can be transported to every classroom in which mathematics is taught.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580498

Questioning has become one of the biggest challenges of teachers everywhere as they rise to the challenge of transforming their classrooms into communities of mathematicians. The CCSS Standards of Mathematical Practice require that children engage in problem solving with tenacity and confidence and that teachers foster a climate conducive to the generating of mathematics rather than the explanation of it. Teachers have been told that they have a new role—one of a facilitator, rather than a teller. But being a facilitator is not sufficient; we are also mentors. Precisely how to question in ways that engage learners to go deeper into the mathematics at hand will be the focus of this presentation. Digital video will be used to study it in action and participants will leave with a “Landscape of Teacher Change on Conferring and Questioning” to monitor their own growth and development.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580500

Number Talks develop numerical reasoning skills for students and teachers alike and are a powerful vehicle for bringing the Standards for Mathematical Practice to life in elementary through post-secondary classrooms. This session will engage participants as learners while highlighting critical aspects that make Number Talks a safe space for the having of mathematical ideas.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580604

What do the most powerful digital math tasks have in common? What teacher moves allow students to get the most out of any lesson? In this session, we’ll consider answers to these questions and use the Desmos Activity Builder as a lens for exploring the intersection of computers, teaching, and math.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580606

How do adult interactions in school impact student interactions in schools? What do robust academic discussions sound like among teachers and among students? How do we cultivate rich, engaging inquiries at the administrative and the teacher and the student levels in any given school or district? How do we address problems in school and how do those habits impact how we engage with mathematics problems? What does culture have to do with learning and how do we cultivate the culture we all want to live in? In this talk I will share my thinking about how to develop the kind of dialogue needed to actually improve learning. We will explore "learning communities" and the role of each player in the community to both learn and contribute to the collective and individual knowledge in the community. What habits of discourse need to be cultivated so that all of us, no matter age or rank, can engage productively in dialogue that furthers learning, innovation, problem solving, and collaboration?

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580651

In a safe class with a teacher they respect, students will reason, rationalize, disagree, compare, and improve. Those environments don’t occur by accident; they’re the product of a specific focus on empowering student voice. Let’s discuss effective and ineffective questions for all grades, model openness for diverse methods, and celebrate guesses and incorrect answers.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580652

What can teachers in the elementary grades do to prepare their students to be successful in algebra? What can teachers in middle school and high school do to take advantage of those early investments and teach algebra successfully? In this talk, I'll share ideas about the progression from arithmetic to algebra, the central pillar of any college- and career-ready mathematics curriculum.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580697

A lot of emphasis has been placed on mathematical modeling in the last few years. Explanation of mathematical reasoning is an equally important activity in mathematics and students should grow in their ability to explain their reasoning over their years in school. In this talk we investigate different ways to elicit mathematical reasoning from students at various grade levels and the standards for what constitutes a full explanation of reasoning at various grade bands on the Smarter Balanced exam.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580703

Teachers and teacher leaders must focus on both equity and excellence. This requires a paradigm shift to a leadership pedagogy, where equity and excellence are at the center of all efforts. This pedagogy includes the following knowledge, beliefs, and actions: mathematics content knowledge, equity, advocacy, and outcomes focused.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580699

We often offer students shortcuts, strategies, and skills before students understand their origin, their value, and the millions of hours of work they’ve saved mathematicians throughout history. We’ll look at techniques for putting students in a position to need these challenging skills so they feel like power, not punishment.

EVALUATION POLL CODE: 580746