Sat Nov 7th

The Purpose and Power of Math Storytelling

Math Storytelling is far more than an accessory when it comes to learning math. As a learning tool, it is purposeful, visually powerful, and offers a way to connect all levels of learners to concepts in an emotionally compelling way. Math stories allow children to question, explore and engage in meaningful conversations about math with their friends. Explore how rich stories can stimulate wonder, combat anxiety and energize your standards-based instruction.

Build a Bridge with Just in Time Instruction

Every year classroom teachers have to design instruction that meets grade-level standards in addition to filling the foundational knowledge gaps their students have. Focusing on designing Just in Time instruction this year will help streamline lessons so students get the information they need to access grade-level content in the limited amount of time given virtual and hybrid learning and also set students up for success in the future by preventing additional knowledge gaps. This presentation will define what Just in Time instruction is and important considerations to keep in mind as you plan mathematics instruction that can build a bridge for students with unfinished learning.

Professional Noticing in Secondary Mathematics

In response to emergency distance learning we identified an increased need to determine the skills and concepts students have mastered. However, we didn’t have precise tools to identify and name student thinking for secondary mathematics. Over the summer we developed resources to do so. In this session, we will outline how to think in mathematical learning trajectories and craft diagnostic tools. By the end of the session, teachers will understand how to think about student readiness through an asset based lens, and apply that knowledge to provide responsive and differentiated instruction.

Building Custom Activities in Desmos - A Primer to the Computation Layer

You’ve created some exciting lessons in the Desmos Activity Builder, but you find yourself wanting more customization than what the builder permits. You’re ready to take the plunge into learning the Desmos Computation Layer (CL), the programming tool that teachers everywhere have used to create custom activities for their students. In this session, we’ll explore some CL basics to understand its syntax and build some starting activities. Attendants should already be familiar with the Desmos Activity Builder, though prior programming knowledge is not required.

Unleashing Your Virtual Teaching Power

You are a successful teacher in a face to face classroom, and now you have to put some or all of your instruction online. You already have the teaching skills you need to continue to be successful, you just need to unleash your virtual teaching power! This session will include tips for transforming from a stressed “COVID-19 Crisis School Teacher” to a confident “Blended Digital Learning Teacher".

Subtracting Anxiety by Adding Confidence

More than any other subject, math produces anxiety and avoidance in students. Mathematics anxiety has been causally connected to many negative outcomes including: a person’s poor mathematics performance level and poor mathematics self-efficacy or a person’s perceptions of his or her abilities when dealing with mathematics. This professional learning opportunity will focus on creating Mathematical Mindsets (Boaler, 2016) while replacing math anxiety with student self-confidence.

Prioritizing Standards

Laying the groundwork for the work. In this session participants will walk through a protocol that helps them carefully selected a subset of the total list of the grade-specific and course-specific standards. These are the standards that students must know and be able to do by the end of each school year in order to be prepared to enter the next grade level or course. Priority standards inform where teachers spend the majority of the time, what is assessed, data-driven discussions and remediation or enrichment. This clarity around grade level or course specific standards is especially important as students are coming to school with more significant gaps in understanding for the 2020-2021 school year. It is the start to all pedagogical work and educational decision making for teachers and administrators. Most importantly, this clarity is formed by doing the work of prioritizing and cannot be substituted by being given a preselected list

Activities for a Third Year Alternative to Algebra 2

Do you have students who are not ready to take Algebra 2? In our school we created a course called College Prep Math that is not simply a 'non-Regents' version of Algebra 2. The course is a hybrid of Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and allows us to do many things: prepare students for A2 if they want; prepare them for our community college College Algebra course; or simply act as their third and final high school math credit. Since it is 'locally developed' we have built in topics that lend themselves to 'real life mathematics' in an effort to make Mathematics more enjoyable for lower achieving students. Join us to learn about the topics covered and the structure of the course, and hopefully leave with some activities that you can use with your students.

Escape Room Fun: Digital Math Breakouts

Relieve some stress and have some fun! Using resources from BreakoutEDU.com, participants will experience digital math breakouts (participants can select which ones they want to try). During digital breakouts, players solve puzzles online to figure out combinations to digital locks. No hardware is required for digital breakouts - only Internet access is needed, so you will be able to turnkey these breakouts with students immediately.

Building Bridges Between Disciplines

Have you thought about incorporating interdisciplinary work into your classroom but don't know where to begin? Are you looking for ways to build connections to help students internalize and apply mathematical concepts? Come to this session for some ideas that can be used at any grade level.

Math Inquiry Lab: A Vehicle of Differentiated Student Engagement Grades 3-5

This detailed presentation will provide the structure and tools to fellow teachers/coaches in order to operate a differentiated Math Inquiry Lab in their respective schools through a multitude of hands-on learning opportunities geared to help students construct meaning at their optimal level of understanding. It will assist teachers in creating an environment wherein students engage in math discourse, discover mathematical patterns, and increase their understanding of mathematical concepts.

Introduction to GeoGebra

Come explore the entire GeoGebra platform! Actively experience how GeoGebra's apps and resources naturally foster active, student-centered, discovery learning, meaningful remediation, and ongoing formative assessment. See how easy it is to create your own resources, copy and edit other resources, and assign GeoGebra tasks within Google Classroom (and other LMS's). Come learn how GeoGebra's new Graphing Calculator specifically meets all Regents standards.

How to start your own NYS Math Honor Society

Are you looking to start your own NYS Math Honor Society? Information will be given about the application, materials available and our scholarship! Current chapter advisers are welcome to come to share ideas and give support!

Does the BLM Movement Belong in our Math Classes?

Mathematics teachers often struggle with ways to make Mathematics engaging for all students. This struggle has been amplified by the recent implementation of distance learning due to the COVID-19 quarantines and the contrasting Black Lives Matters public protests all over the world. This workshop will facilitate an honest dialogue about the integration of social justice and mathematics. The facilitator will provide an example Statistics project titled, “Did slavery end or evolve?” and participants will have the opportunity to address common concerns such as loss of rigor, lack of planning time, and curriculum pacing. Together, all attendees will work on finding practical solutions to creating relevant, real-world problems for students.

Update on Educational Issues

Updated information on key provisions of legislation and New York State regulations affecting educators will be presented. This information will include NSYUT COVID-19 resources and tools and other critical information to the teaching profession. Additional subjects will be discussed based on the interest of the participants.

Out of the Box Math

Are you looking for a way to engage students in mathematical thinking that is different from the normal routine? This session will look at some interesting ways for students to practice math skills and demonstrate their understanding using common but engaging materials.

Creating Collaborative Virtual Classrooms

Collaboration is possible in remote classrooms! Participants will experience a team building activity and solve a middle school math problem using strategies that support collaboration in virtual and socially distanced classrooms. Participants will use team roles and study team strategies, and see how the Standards for Mathematical Practices are tied into and highlighted by these strategies.

Meeting the Needs of All Learners in an Introductory Computer Science Classroom

Through an NSF grant, Siena College has developed and implemented a full year introductory computer science course for high school credit called Discovering Computer Science (DCS). This course is for students in grades 9-12 with little or no computer science experience. NY is implementing K-12 standards for learning in computer science and digital fluency for all students, as well as computer science certification. This presentation reviews the Universal Design for Learning framework as applied to computer science education and demonstrates how these principles are incorporated in DCS.

How to Interview for Success!

Do you feel anxious on interviews or feel not prepared? I can show you how to prepare for an interview to put yourself at the front of the pack. We discuss pre-interview preparation, what to do, say and ask during an interview, and steps afterwards. This applies to any district for any level!

FEATURED SESSION

Opportunities and Challenges of Moving Forward: Mathematics Learning in the Era of COVID-19

Teachers are resilient, creative, and committed to teaching mathematics and supporting student learning, even in the midst of COVID-19. Decision making has been challenging and yet there are so many opportunities that have arisen to ensure equitable structures are in place for teaching and learning mathematics, effective teaching practices are utilized, and that each and every student, teacher, and family is supported. Join us as we discuss opportunities and challenges we are facing and what we are learning about teaching and learning mathematics. This will be a time to share your stories, concerns, hopes, and questions.

Experience First, Formalize Later

“Experience First, Formalize Later” (EFFL) focuses on building understanding before formal definitions and formulas. In this session we explore this strategy as a way to encourage students to collaborate and communicate about Calculus and Statistics in ways that lead to deep conceptual understanding. Walk away with “Calc Medic” and “Stats Medic” lesson ideas that can be immediately implemented in any Calculus or Statistics (AP or on Level) classroom.

*****CANCELLED****

Putting Student Thinking at the Center: 3 Shifts for Meaningful Assessment

Assessment practices often reflect a deficit view, focusing on what students do NOT know. This session introduces three shifts in assessment practice that instead focus on what students DO know. With a strategy that works online as well as in face-to-face, learn strategies for reading student work for assessment, for providing feedback, and planning for future instruction.

Bringing in Cultural Responsiveness in a Mathematics Classroom

This session will be a discussion on cultural responsiveness in the mathematics classroom. We will be sharing tools, resources and strategies.

Using DeltaMath for Distance Learning

DeltaMath has long been a free tool used to give automatic and detailed feedback to students for math practice on over 1400 different math problem types. Given the current health crisis, this immediate feedback is more important than ever. This session will cover the basics of creating assignments and viewing student results. We will also discuss the newer features of DeltaMath Plus that give the teachers a lot more flexibility in creating assignments: attaching videos to assignments, creating an online test and writing your own questions on DeltaMath.

The Multiplication Course by Steve Wyborney: A YouTube Series for Students in Grades 3-8... and for the Teachers and Parents, too!

The Multiplication Course is a resource which is entirely free on YouTube. Organized into 12 chapters, using series playlists, the course is designed to provide a rich multiplication experience for students while also being a very helpful resource for educators and parents. The course is visually inviting, includes rich multiplication thinking, involves 3-dimensional drawing, and includes many hands-on activities. It's all provided through YouTube and can be used in school, at home, or in hybrid scenarios.

Please note: This presentation will be pre-recorded but Steve will be live on hand to facilitate any discussion and answer any of your questions.

Assessing Student Spatial Awareness With GeoGebra 3D and Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is a new technology that can now be found on most phones and tablets. We will use GeoGebra 3D Calculator to build models of physical solids using coordinate and transformational geometry. We will then use AR on our devices to test the accuracy of our virtual models by superimposing them over the real ones in our environment.

Harder and More Unpredictable? From Math A to Common Core Algebra

After analyzing algebra items from the Math A, Integrated Algebra, and Common Core Algebra, find out what are the essential differences have been among these tests in terms of reading and mathematical representations.

Using Google Tools in the Mathematics Classroom

In this session we will explore how teachers can use Google Apps to support learning in the mathematics classroom remotely as well as in person. We will be looking at the apps and resources provided by G Suite, and will explore how they can increase participation and make teachers more productive in communicating with students.

Talk Number 2 Me: Mathematics & Mindfulness

Emotional Intelligence is the linchpin to engendering formidable mathematical learning! EQ builds students' identities as doers of mathematics and helps them master the Standards of Mathematical Practice 1 & 3. Trauma-informed mindfulness practices strengthen students' identities as sense-makers, cultivate their mathematical agency and ownership.