Presidents’
Message
Hello, Vermont Teachers of Mathematics!
We hope this newsletter finds you well. In it you
will find information about our first ever Vermont Math Fair, which was held at
UVM in March. What a fun morning we got to spend with K-12 students and
families, examining their hard work and colorful posters, and talking with them
about mathematics! We’re excited to see this tradition continue next year!
We are also excited to announce that Sue Abrams
(Montpelier High School) and Lara White (Caledonia North Supervisory Union) are
stepping up as VCTM Presidents-Elect for 2017. In October 2017, they will take
over as your new VCTM Presidents. Congratulations to Sue and Lara!
2017 has brought an exciting opportunity to Math
Education in Vermont, as VCTM has subsumed or absorbed the Vermont Math
Leadership Council. Moving forward, VCTM will commit to offer resources and
support to not just Vermont’s Teachers of Mathematics, but also include a focus
on Vermont’s Mathematics Teacher Leaders. If you were a VMLC member, welcome
aboard!
VCTM is looking for a few good Board Members! Are
you willing to join us in our mission to build a math educators community and
engage student learning throughout Vermont? We have openings for a few zone
representatives and newsletter editor. We are already planning for our Fall
2017 Conference, and would appreciate help with that as well! For more
information about these positions and what it means to be on the board, please
contact us—we’ll give you the straight scoop about commitment and payoffs!
A few opportunities to keep you busy and
mathematically active this summer:
· Jo Boaler’s “How to Learn Math: For Students” is a self-paced
online course that is now available for FREE!
https://lagunita.stanford.edu/courses/Education/EDUC115-S/Spring2014/about
· The Associations of Mathematics Teachers in New York, New
Jersey, and New England are banding together again for the New Cubed 2017
Summer Conference at Siena College (more information on this below) http://www.amtnys.org/Sub%20Pages/Conferences/Summer%20Conference.html
· Lesley University is offering a summer institute for
teachers, “Exploring the Standards for Mathematical Practice”. http://www.lesley.edu/center-for-math-achievement-summer-institute-2017/
· For Fans of “The Grapes of Math”, Greg Tang will be in New
Hampshire in August! http://gregtangmath.com/newengland
Happy Spring,
Christine Latulippe (Norwich University) and Kate
McCann (U-32 High School)
VCTM Co-Presidents
vctmpresident@gmail.com
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VCTM Fall Conference Information
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VCTM Fall Conference Information
VCTM's fall
conference promises to be a great day! Monday Oct. 16, 2017 at St Michael's College. Regular
registration is $125, but register before Sept. 29, 2017 and save $10!!!
Do you have
a great idea, or a lesson that went well, or implementation strategies that are
working for those PBGRs or PLPs? Or maybe, you've done some work in equity and
access you're interested in sharing? Or something else that you'd like to
share? Apply to speak at the conference by clicking here.
If you have
any questions, email Conference Committee Chair Katie Westby: kwestby@wsesu.org
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ATMNE in Massachusetts this fall-mark your
calendars now!!
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VCTM First Statewide Math Fair
Burlington, Vermont: On Saturday March 25, the Vermont Council of Teachers of Mathematics held its first annual Math Fair for K-12 student. The event was hosted by the University of Vermont Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Votey Hall. 32 projects were judged by 4 teams of two. Judges included UVM faculty, classroom teachers, pre-service teachers and interested people from the STEM industry. This year’s winners in each of the 5 divisions were as follows,
Grades K-2: 1st Place Nora McCann and Indy Roberts representing Carrie Blodgett’s 2nd grade class at Union Elementary,
Grades 3-4: 1st Place Kiley Lajeunesse and Haileigh Demers from Milton Elementary, 2nd Place Brianne Gallas from Milton Elementary, and 3rd Place Alexis Troville from Milton Elementary.
Grades 5-6: 1st Place Emmett Jarvis from Main Street Middle School, 2nd Place Ellie Zimmerman and Astrid Young from Stowe Middle School, and 3rd Place Omar Moran and Ayden Honnon from Milton Elementary. Honorable Mentions in Grades 5-6 were awarded to Sierra Martin and Evelyn Groeling from Milton Elementary and Diya Kulkarni from Main Street Middle School
Grades 7-8: First Place Sophia Hussak from Barstow Memorial School, 2nd Place Lexi Farwell and Ellie Tracy from Barstow Memorial School, 3rd Place Kasi McCann from Main Street Middle School
Grades 9-12: First Place Victoria Chang from South Burlington High School, 2nd Place Taylor “Zoso” Christiana from U-32 High School, 3rd Place Wyona Powell from and Melanie Storm from Brattleboro Union High School
The Vermont Council of Teachers of Mathematics would like to publically thank our sponsors for this event: The National Life Group and Costco Wholesale. Your generous donations made this even possible and led to its success.
The Vermont Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a math educator’s community facilitating conversation and sharing resources around best practices to engage student learning. The rationale for the math fair project includes generating excitement around math, providing low stakes competition, reaching a wide audience, creating a public outlet for math while building community involvement and providing a big opportunity for High School students to attain evidence to demonstrate proficiency in transferable skills and math proficiency through a flexible pathway. If you’d like to know more about VCTM or the Math Fair visit our website at https://vctm.wildapricot.org/ or reach us by email at vctmpresident@gmail.com.
Project by Mrs. Blodgett’s Class, MSMS
Representatives: Nora McCann and Indy Roberts
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Report from the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics by Patty Kelly
NCSM Annual Meeting April 3 – April 5, 2017, San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas was the
site of the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics 49th
Annual Conference. The conference contained 5 strands of professional
development workshops, including leadership, coaching, motivation, equity and
social justice, and assessment.
The keynote address by
DESMOS CEO, Eli Luberoff discussed “Knocking Down Barriers with Technology.”
While demonstrating engaging activities using the Marble slides application
from DESMOS, Luberoff kicked off the conference with an interactive and
exciting opportunity to reflect on today’s math teaching.
Other key presentations
included Jo Boaler’s presentation on “The Mindset Revolution: Teaching
Mathematics for a Growth Mindset,” and Graham Fletcher sharing his bank of
elementary 3-Act Tasks, and learning to “Be less helpful” with Dan Meyer. Steve
Leinwand’s lively presentation on “Ten Instructional Tweaks Every Math Leader
Needs to Advocate for and Be Able to Model,” was presented twice, due to
popular demand. Many of these presentation slides, as well as other valuable
resources from the conference can be found at: https://www.mathedleadership.org/events/conferences/TX/downloads.html
Dr. Timothy Kanold,
author of Heart!: Fully Forming Your Professional Life as a Teacher and
Leader, received the NCSM Ross Taylor/Glenn Gilbert National Leadership
Award for his outstanding contributions to the field of education and NCSM. Dr.
Kanold also presented on, “Heartprint: Transforming the Way We Teach and Lead!”
The NCSM Eastern Meeting
included representatives from various affiliates across the Eastern region of
the United States. Several affiliates highlighted local conferences, including
NCSM’s Summer Leadership Academy in Bangor, Maine July 24-26. The Associations
of Mathematics of Teachers of New York, New Jersey, and New England are also
hosting a joint conference, New Cubed, at Siena College July 9-12. As well, our
own Vermont Math Leadership Council, now merged with VCTM, received our
affiliate status with NCSM.
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Report from the National Council of Teachers of Math Annual
Conference by Patty Kelly
NCTM Annual Meeting April 6-8, 2017 San Antonio, Texas
This year’s National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Conference was held in San Antonio,
Texas April 6-8. Main topics included access and equity, assessment,
professionalism, and tools and technology.
Keynote speaker, Jordan Ellenberg,
is an author and professor of mathematics at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. His talk centered around, “How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of
Mathematical Thinking.” This topic was central to many workshops throughout the
conference, focusing on student and educator growth in the context of deep
mathematical teaching and learning.
During the Delegate
Assembly NCTM representatives outlined their foundational priorities of:
·
access, equity &
empowerment
·
advocacy
·
curriculum, instruction
& assessment
·
professional development
·
research
·
technology
Many resources and
professional development opportunities addressing NCTM’s foundational
priorities can be found at nctm.org. The Delegate Assembly also discussed
issues, such as NCTM’s stance on the “rush to calculus,” developing more
affordable options for members to attend annual conferences, mechanisms for
having affiliate concerns about national mathematics education issues heard by
NCTM, and adding a “Parent Tab” on NCTM’s website to provide information and
guidance around math education.
Some of the upcoming NCTM professional development
activities include:
Summer Institutes in Baltimore, MD:
·
Facilitating Discourse,
July 17-19
·
Supporting Productive
Struggle, July 20-22
Affiliate Leaders Conference in Baltimore, MD:
·
July 22-24, Registration
deadline June 23, 2017
One of the most powerful
opportunities during the NCTM was Shadow Con, an evening event open to all NCTM
participants in which several speakers discuss topics of high interest in the
field of education. Hosted by Zachary Champagne, Dan Meyer, and Michael Flynn,
each speaker will then facilitate a free on-line course. The presentations and
links to sign up for the fall courses can be found here: http://www.nctm.org/shadowcon17/
Please look for more
information in upcoming VCTM newsletters regarding next year’s Annual
Conference in Washington, D.C. April 25-28, 2018.
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Fifth
Annual Summer Institute - Exploring the Standards for Mathematical Practice
What: Three
days of mathematics professional development for K-12 educators. Attend one,
two, or all three days. Mathematics educators from New England, New York,
and New Jersey will give workshops in topics ranging from repeated reasoning to
spreadsheets to teaching money through board games—and more See daily schedule below.
Keynotes
Joyful
Mathematics: How to Increase Students' Interest and EngagementMatthew Beyranevand, K-12 Mathematics and Science Department Coordinator for the Chelmsford, MA, public schools.
Unlocking the Power of Problem Based Learning to Support the Standards for Mathematical Practice
Mike Flynn, Director of Mathematics Leadership Programs at Mount Holyoke College.
Spark Curiosity...and Explore the Beauty and Harmony of Numbers
Tracy Manousaridis, Mathematics Curriculum Specialist for Weston, MA, public schools.
Register
now for one, two, or three days.
Registration includes materials, light breakfast, and lunch.
Registration includes materials, light breakfast, and lunch.
Cost:
$350 for three days; $240 for two days; $120 for one day. Save $50 by
registering by June 15.
Where: University Hall, 1815
Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140
How: Registration Required; Cost: Three days $350, two days $240, one day $120
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New Cubed Summer Conference
Things are
in high gear for the 2nd New Cubed summer conference. The conference, a
collaborative event of the Associations of Mathematics Teachers of New York,
New Jersey, and New England will be held at Siena College starting July 9.
We hope you
can join us for the conference this year. We are in the last stages of
completing another outstanding program. As soon as it is ready we will share it
with you. Once again we are constructing a program that has narrow grade band
workshops at (almost) every session time.
Please let your elementary level colleagues
know about the conference by talking with them and sharing the attached flyer
and last year's program. New Cubed may be the only conference that has PreK-K,
grade 1-2, grade 3-4, grade 5-6, and grade 7-8 workshops throughout the conference.
There may be a couple of times when we stretch this narrow grade band feature.
For instance, we are planning on a special workshop about using Rubik's cubes
to teach math to young children. This workshop will be offered for grades K-4
and then again for grades 5-9.
Registration
is open!! Visit amtnys.org to register. Once again we have a reasonable registration
fee of $250 for the three day conference. This registration fee includes either
a new membership in your state mathematics teachers organization or a one year
extension of your current membership. Thanks to our exhibitors and sponsors,
lunches and coffee breaks are also provided as part of registration. If you can
find a three day conference for less than $250 please share this with me. For
those staying on campus with us, we will be using student housing that has
cooling (AC), rooms that feature private bathrooms, and free parking. The
approximately $250 housing fee also includes the welcoming bar-b-que on Sunday
evening, the banquet dinner on Tuesday evening, and breakfast every
morning.
On Monday
evening we are running two social event options. We have a charter bus to take
conference participants to beautiful Lake George for a dinner cruise and
another bus to take participants to a concert at the famous Tanglewood music
center in the nearby Berkshires.
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