2:25-3:10

Diamond 1: Circle, Triangle, Graph, Identity  -- Join us as we take a historical look at trigonometric functions. Bring your laptop and use GeoGebra to construct the graphs of trigonometric functions from the unit circle. Then, see how many basic trigonometric identities we can derive directly from the geometric construction of the trigonometric ratios. Walk away with a different perspective on how we can teach trigonometry. (9-12)

Diamond 3: Games Made Easy in the Math Classroom  -- Playing games in your math classroom can boost student engagement and also help build confidence in your math students. Come see how I use games in my classroom and how easy it can be for you to incorporate without taking a lot of extra time. (3-12)

Diamond 6: Overview of the ACT Test’s Math Section: Design, Research, and Insights  --Presented by an ACT content specialist, this session will provide an overview of the ACT and PreACT test’s math section. Learn how the design, reporting categories, and blueprint of the ACT and PreACT math test's align with what students are already being taught. Participants will gain insights from cognitive lab research that can help students, as well as a better understanding of this test section and the research behind it, to help students improve both their ACT scores and their college and career readiness. (6-12)

Diamond 8: "I Only Ever Learned How to Get the Correct Answer": Teaching the Why Behind Fraction Operations  --"I only ever learned how to get the correct answer." That sentence, written by a preservice elementary teacher on the first day of a fraction operations unit, captures a challenge familiar to anyone who has taught mathematics: students who have memorized procedures without ever building the conceptual networks that make those procedures meaningful. Brain research shows that rote procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding are encoded, retrieved, and transferred differently. In a mathematics classroom, only conceptual understanding produces teachers (and students) who can explain, adapt, and problem-solve. In this session, participants will explore findings from a six-session fraction operations unit organized around four dimensions of mathematical knowledge: computation, explanation, visual representation, and contextualization. Using pre- and post-assessment data and written student reflections collected before, during, and after the unit, we'll examine what shifts when instruction intentionally targets conceptual understanding rather than procedural fluency, and what doesn't shift, even when procedures are strong. Attendees will leave with a replicable four-dimensional assessment tool applicable to any fraction operation, practical strategies for making metacognition an explicit instructional move, and evidence-based language for discussing with students (and parents) why understanding the why matters more than memorizing the how. Whether you work with elementary students, secondary students, or future teachers, the principles in this session apply wherever procedural habits have outpaced conceptual understanding. (Pre-Service)