The Fall has seemingly flown by, and the VCTM Board has been busy at work looking at ways to connect the math community statewide. The first new initiative is the Rookie of the Year honorees, and other opportunities will be rolling out this spring, including a new and improved VCTM website- so stay tuned!
Inside this edition:
- Presidents' Message
- Rookie of the Year
- Presidential Award Winners
- Two Great T^3 Opportunities
- NCTM and ATMNE Conference News!
- Technology in Math Education Survey
Presidents' Message
Greetings from Washington County!
Your VCTM Board of Directors held a retreat in Randolph, VT
in November, getting lots of business taken care of and organizing ourselves
for a great future. We are so fortunate to have dedicated Board Members volunteering
their time to help build a math educators community throughout the state of
Vermont—THANK YOU! If you have interest in serving on the VCTM Board in any
capacity big or small, please let us know. Many hands make light work.
October’s 2015 Annual VCTM Conference was a huge success,
and we were excited to see many of you there, sharing time and resources with
colleagues and drinking in copious amounts of delicious mathematics! If you
would like to help out with the 2016 VCTM Conference please email the Conference
Chair, Patty Kelly at pkelly@ssdvt.org
—it’s never too early to begin planning a great event! You can also reach out
to us (vctmpresident@gmail.com) or
your Zone Representative whenever you have ideas and input about how VCTM can
better serve teachers and learners of mathematics in Vermont.
Thinking of conferences, and great opportunities for
Professional Development, have you ever considered sharing YOUR ideas with
colleagues? The 2016 ATMNE conference will be held October 20 and 21, 2016 in
Manchester, NH, with a theme of “Vote with Math! Developing Informed Citizens
through Mathematics”. ATMNE SpeakerProposals are due February 8, 2016
Remember that when you join VCTM, you automatically
become a member of the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in New England
(ATMNE). ATMNE members receive two
annual newsletters, the New England Mathematics Journal (NEMJ), invitations to
regional conferences and more. All ATMNE publications have gone GREEN so make
sure you keep your email up to date.
Happy Holidays to you and yours. Please be in touch,
Christine Latulippe (Norwich University) and Kate McCann
(U-32 High School)
VCTM co-Presidents
vctmpresident@gmail.com
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Rookie of the Year
Do you have a rising star in your school or district in the
field of mathematics who deserves recognition?
VCTM Rookie of the year is going to be presented to three outstanding
and well-deserving rising stars in math education within Vermont one in each of
the grade levels (Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8) and High School.) Awardees will be given a cash prize and
plaque, a year's membership to VCTM, and be expected to share their experiences
with the VT math community in its eNewsletter and be invited to present the
following year at the VCTM fall conference.
To qualify, the nominees must be in the first three calendar years of
their teaching (either part or
full-time), and be nominated by a VCTM member.
The nomination form has room for your nomination letter to be
cut/pasted, or if you prefer, it can be emailed in as well (details are in the
nomination form). Nominations are open
until June 1, 2016.
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Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching
Congratulations go out to Sue Abrams from Montpelier (math) and Stewart Williamson from Peoples Academy (science) as the 2013 PAEMST awardees from Vermont. After an agonizing nearly two-year wait, both were named winners in July and attended festivities in the nation's capital, including a visit to the White House and meeting President Obama! Oh yeah, they each also received a $10,000 prize as well!
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Two Great T^3 Opportunities from Jean McKenny
As a T^3 National Instructor
I have the opportunity to apply to host T^3 Training in Vermont. If you are interested in being a host school
for either a TI-84 + CE or a TI-Nspire CX training this summer contact me
immediately as I have a very short time frame (early December) for requesting
summer 1, 2, or 3 day workshops for Vermont.
These workshop descriptions are available at education.ti.com. Host schools get handhelds (calculators) for
each participating teacher as well as software for computer labs in the host
school. Contact me asap if you might be
interested.
This year the T^3 International Conference will take place
February 26-28, 2016 in Orlando, FL. This is a wonderful conference for
mathematics and science educators. More
information about the conference can be found at education.ti.com. Because I am a T^3 National Instructor, this
year for the first time, I am able to give teachers attending a registration
discount. The regular on-site price is
$195. The early bird price is $165. If
you contact me for a registration code I can obtain a $100 price for you. Just e-mail me at jmckenny@together.net if you are
planning on attending, and I will give you the code. T^3
International is a wonderful conference and if you have never attended this
special might be just what you were waiting for.
_________________________________________________________________
NCTM and ATMNE Conference News!
VCTM held their annual
conference on October 15, 2015. Thank you to Shawn Towle, NCTM Affiliate
Services Committee Chair and Eastern 1 Representative, for attending
and presenting with VCTM's NCTM representative Patty Kelly about
NCTM's Principles to Actions toolkit. NCTM Past president, MikeShaughnessy delivered the keynote and it was, of course, excellent.
As well, just before
Halloween, the ATMNE (New England) conference took place in Portland, ME hosted
by ATOMIM and ATMNE. That conference had nearly 600 attendees who got to
experience wonderful presentations from other math teachers from throughout New
England and there were packed rooms for sessions and keynotes led by Diane
Briars, Don Balka, Greg Tang and Dan Meyer. Next years' ATMNE conference will
be hosted by NHTM (New Hampshire) and will be held in Manchester, NH
on October 20-21, 2016. Keynotes planned include Peg Smith, Tom
Reardon and NCTM President-elect Matt Larsen.
Registration is also now
open for the NCTM Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Francisco, CA. Come
join us for an amazing NCTM experience April 13-16, 2016!
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Technology in Math Education Survey
The following request is from Caroline Caswell from Rhode Island College
Being a mathematician and an educator for more than twenty-five years, I have an interest in how teachers are using technology both for the planning of mathematics instruction and delivery. To what end are teachers equipped to implement technology effectively? Do they have the physical tools and skill set necessary to be successful? As an assistant professor at Rhode Island College, I am asking you to participate in a research study about the technology practices of mathematics teachers. To answer these some of these questions, I have created a survey to assess mathematics teachers (elementary and secondary) technology practices. I have included a link to the survey. Before completing the survey, you may have some questions. The following questions and answers are provided for your as you consider whether you would like to participate in the study.
What do I have to do to participate? The tools you need to participate are: thirty minutes of time, a computer with internet access, and the link above. By taking the survey, you are agreeing to participate.
How will my responses be protected? All results will be compiled as group data only. There is no identifiable information collected, meaning the survey does not request your name or your school’s. How will I benefit from completing the survey? Although there are no tangible benefits from participating, you will add to the body of knowledge of math teacher practices. Your voice will be heard. What are the potential drawbacks to participating in the survey? The only thing you risk is time. It will take you about 15-20 minutes to complete. If you have any questions regarding the survey or it’s promulgation, please feel free to contact me, 401-829-1168.
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Technology in Math Education Survey
The following request is from Caroline Caswell from Rhode Island College
Being a mathematician and an educator for more than twenty-five years, I have an interest in how teachers are using technology both for the planning of mathematics instruction and delivery. To what end are teachers equipped to implement technology effectively? Do they have the physical tools and skill set necessary to be successful? As an assistant professor at Rhode Island College, I am asking you to participate in a research study about the technology practices of mathematics teachers. To answer these some of these questions, I have created a survey to assess mathematics teachers (elementary and secondary) technology practices. I have included a link to the survey. Before completing the survey, you may have some questions. The following questions and answers are provided for your as you consider whether you would like to participate in the study.
What do I have to do to participate? The tools you need to participate are: thirty minutes of time, a computer with internet access, and the link above. By taking the survey, you are agreeing to participate.
How will my responses be protected? All results will be compiled as group data only. There is no identifiable information collected, meaning the survey does not request your name or your school’s. How will I benefit from completing the survey? Although there are no tangible benefits from participating, you will add to the body of knowledge of math teacher practices. Your voice will be heard. What are the potential drawbacks to participating in the survey? The only thing you risk is time. It will take you about 15-20 minutes to complete. If you have any questions regarding the survey or it’s promulgation, please feel free to contact me, 401-829-1168.
