Thurs Nov 5th

Facilitating Rich Math Tasks Remotely

Rich math tasks are designed to promote student discourse and sensemaking in the classroom. In this time of remote learning, how can we adapt our facilitation of rich tasks so students have access to interesting mathematics from home? In this session, we will talk about remote ways to facilitate problem-based lessons in a virtual space. Whether you’re able to have real-time virtual conversations or are limited to asynchronous options, we will share ways you can connect with your students, create spaces for them to share their ideas, and engage students in productive math thinking from home.

Supporting ELL Students through Mathematical Language Routines

This workshop will provide mathematical language routines that can be used in daily instruction at all grade levels. The goal is to provide guidance to math teachers for recognizing and supporting the language development process. While participating in Math Routines, attendees will learn: The importance of teaching academic vocabulary The importance of reading and understanding written math problems The importance of building background knowledge The importance of increasing student language production in the content area "

Acceleration and Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The pandemic that spread around the world like wildfire has already been extremely disruptive for education. The ripple effects will continue to be seen for the foreseeable future. Students and teachers had to quickly pivot to remote instruction with wildly varying levels of success. As teachers prepare for the coming school year, prioritizing content and anticipating gaps has been a focus, while still juggling the effects of teaching and learning remotely.

Some of our students’ education was disrupted in the middle of a compacting sequence – trying to fit 7th and 8th grade math into one year. The challenge of that compacting sequence is hard enough when we are not in the middle of a global pandemic. Do we continue to push those students in to Algebra? Has our past practice been effective? Does it make sense to continue as we always have done? Or is this the perfect time to re-evaluate our acceleration pathways and see if we can do better for our students.

Come see the data generated by out past practices and learn about our alternatives. You will have the opportunity to see the data from a district that has already tried a different pathway and found great success.

TI Tips for Regents Success

Get the most out of you TI graphing calculator. We will explore both the TI-84 Plus and TI-Nspire families to help students understand math concepts with multiple representations and more. Apply what you learn immediately into your instruction to build math confidence. All participants will receive the teacher software of their choice.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Relationship with Mathematics

Pre-service teachers' mathematical identity and critical experiences impact their performance in class and as future teachers. This session will explore the results of a research study examining elementary pre-service teachers’ letters and self-portraits depicting math learning. Implications for re-envisioning mathematics education to create positive mathematical identities will be discussed.

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The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up...The Math Classroom!

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Here we are. It's the fall after the largest unanticipated event to hit the world in decades. Schools all over the country were canceled for months at a time. What does your classroom look like? What does your instruction look like? What does your philosophy of math education look like? If it's all the same as before COVID-19 hit, then we're doing it wrong. This session will present and open for discussion ideas for what is worth keeping in a Post-Coronavirus classroom, what is necessary to throw away, and what truly brings joy to a math learning environment. Come join this conversation.

Why Math Education Must be Black and White

Many fear school math. Why? British Math was built for 1, 2, 3... based on Ancient Greek philosophy and looking to the ground 300 BCE. Yet, India's simpler Math was built for ...-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3... based on science and looking to the stars 628 CE. So, the math education ideas the British Empire spread throughout its settlements and colonies were based on ideas that were almost 1000 years out-of-date! You update your phone and computer's operating system every now and then. So, it's time to update your ideas on how math REALLY works!

Raise the Bar: Bar Modeling for Algebra

Do you love using bar modeling to solve word problems? Learn how this powerful tool helps students transition to solving equations and writing expressions in algebra. A brief introduction to bar modeling will be given for participants unfamiliar with bar modeling as a tool for solving word problems. Most of the session will focus on extending the use of bar modeling in algebra courses to introduce variables, solving equations, and writing expressions. Interactive examples will be provided from a sixth grade teacher and university mathematics educator.

Build Equity and Engagement in the Classroom with Desmos Activity Builder

Participants will use Desmos Activity Builder to transform a static worksheet into an interactive activity to promote authentic learning and the integration of the Mathematical Practice Standards. The Activity Builder is a DYI tool for creating Desmos activities. A Desmos Activity is essentially a sequence of different tasks, interactions, prompts, and questions. Come learn how to use the Activity Builder to build your own lesson from scratch. We will explore activities that engage students from Pre-Algebra to Calculus.

Playing with Square Patterns

A square is a common and ordinary shape. The square, however, provides many opportunities for algebraic-geometric explorations. In this session, you will use square tiles in patterns to model sequences, you will use the Desmos calculator to code square patterns, and you will create some square math art. This session will combine both analog and digital resources.

Great Opportunities for Math Educators Interested In Teaching Computer Science

The CS Dept at Siena has a long history of supporting the CS in high schools.. Currently, we are working with 20 high schools on three different CS courses. The 1st course is Discovering CS, a year-long course that students take for elective credit or for their third year math requirement. The 2nd is a CS concepts and Python programming class that students can take for both high school and college credit. The 3rd is a course in software development using Java. In this session you will learn about these courses and the network of educators that can support you teaching them at your school.