The NCSM eNews is published monthly. Please consider forwarding this eNews to a colleague-let's get everyone involved in the conversation!
What's New at NCSM: Collective Call to Action
Join us for the Collective Call to Action's next book discussion and webinar (July - August) which will be facilitated by the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE).
Continue your readings and reflection over the summer with educators from around the country and possibly the world as we continue our work From Awareness to Action: Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education.
The readings and reflection questions provide a focus as you study, reflect, and contemplate the action(s) you will take as you continue your equity walk. Each month’s reading is now for two months followed by a webinar. We look forward to our year of learning together.
View the list of articles and books for the 2018-2019 learning and visit the MyNCTM community to join the online discussion forum.
TODOS Conference
The TODOS: Mathematics for ALL, 2018 conference is June 21 - 23, 2018 in Scottsdale, AZ. The theme is It's ALL about ALL Students Learning Quality Mathematics: Advocating for Equity and Social Justice. Keynote speaker is Dr. Maria del Rosario Zavala.
Registration information can be found HERE.
Statistics Workshop Registration Open for MWM
The American Statistical Association (ASA) wants to invite you to attend a Meeting Within a Meeting (MWM) Statistics Workshop for Middle and High School Mathematics and Science Teachers, which will take place on July 31–August 1, 2018 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The workshop is offered by ASA and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Joint Committee on Curriculum in Statistics and Probability in conjunction with the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) 2018 in Vancouver, BC, Canada, though registration for JSM is not required.
The workshop programs (grades 5-8 and 9-12) are posted online. Registration is just $50, and the ASA will refund $50 to the first 30 teachers/supervisors who register and attend. Teacher educators, supervisors, and pre-service teachers are also welcome. Registration will be open until July 16 or until the course fills, but a limited number of scholarships and reimbursements are available, so act quickly and register soon. The MWM program is posted online.
Registration is just $50, and the ASA will refund $25 to the first 30 teachers/supervisors who register and attend. Teacher educators and pre-service teachers are also welcome. Registration will be open until July 16 or until the course fills, but a limited number of scholarships and reimbursements are available, so act quickly and register soon!
Learn more and register HERE.
Extend your NCSM Summer Leadership Academy with ANOTHER CONFERENCE OPPORTUNITY: Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics, August 2-3
For those interested in extending your mathematics learning and networking experience, you will want to check out the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference which will be held on August 2-3 at the University of Denver, about 15 minutes away from where the NCSM Summer Leadership Academy is located. Two conferences in one week! What a wonderful opportunity!
The CCTM conference program includes a presession workshop with Julie Aguirre (co-author of The Impact of Identity on K-8 Mathematics: Rethinking Equity-Based Practices) on Thursday, August 2; a keynote with Andrew Stadel (creator of estimation 180) on Friday, August 3; and featured speakers including Robert Q. Berry III, Eugenia Cheng, Doug Clements and Julie Sarama, and others.
You can check out the Conference Program and register for the conference HERE.
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Encourage others to subscribe. Forward this issue to your friends and colleagues who work in or have an interest in mathematics education leadership - or have them click here where they can subscribe themselves.
eNews Editor
Pat Baltzley is pleased to be NCSM's eNews Editor. Please feel free to contact Pat with news, feedback, or suggestions.
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Message from the NCSM President, Connie Schrock
What Are You Going to Learn This Summer?
It is almost officially Summer! Many of us are out of school. Some of you have already started working in summer school programs. Others are living through the last few tough days of the school year. So now what? We need a little time to relax and recharge. This down time can be used productively to read about new and different ideas and to reflect on the educational system in which we work. We use this time to begin the search for ways to improve our work so that next year is even better.
This summer I have been working through David Sousa’s How the Brain Learns Mathematics with one of my summer classes. One of the topics that has caught the attention of many teachers in my class is using a Layered Curriculum. The Layered Curriculum comes from Dr. Kathie Nunley’s work and fits Sousa's ideas of a brain friendly environment.
One of the key components is student choice - having the power to choose can be extremely motivational. It can provide freedom that students rarely experience in a mathematics classroom and is a natural way to differentiate. Some of the choices can be as simple as different options for homework or allowing students to select two of four different problems. Students could also have some choices in how they learn.
The second critical component is accountability. Students get credit for learning the material, not just completing the assignment. The final component seeks to promote higher level thinking by layering the curriculum. You start at a foundation level C where the work included is the basic skills and information. In layer B, students apply the information in multiple settings and the final layer involves analysis.
This information has been around more than fifteen years yet it was something new for my teachers to think about in connection to the brain and learning. Each teacher has discussed what they might do with it or how they could modify the approach to better help their students learn. The bottom line for all of us is "What strategies, new or old, will help my students learn more?" As leaders, we work in different capacities but we still focus on the goal of increased student learning.
No matter what you choose to do this summer, make sure it helps you relax, renew and reach your goals. NCSM has many opportunities that you will notice in this email. Take advantage of as many as you can in your search for ways to help provide more mathematics for each and every learner.
Our NCSM Summer Newsletter is Out!
For some of us, switching away from paper to an online format for a newsletter gets some getting used to. Where’s that copy to tuck in my suitcase and read on my vacation? Where’s that copy to stack on the pile of things to read in my office? Before, you didn’t need to DO anything—the NCSM Newsletter came in the mail, and when it did, you could read it cover to cover. But now?
Like many organizations, the NCSM Board voted to update our Newsletter to an online format, where we could have an all-color magazine look—even having the pages turn with a press of the finger! A different time, a different routine.
Go to the NCSM website and log into your My NCSM account. Clicking on NCSM Newsletters gets you into Periodicals, E-News, Journals, Monographs, and Newsletters. Your Summer Newsletter awaits.
Your specialized members-only content includes:
Happy reading your new stack of online issues! With your devices you can even take these issues on vacation!
There is Still Time to Register for the NCSM Summer Leadership Academy: "Building Mathematics Leadership: Coaching"!
Are you ready to make a real difference in the teaching and learning of mathematics? Do you realize that coaching is recognized as one of the most powerful ways to impact teacher growth and student learning?
If your district/school has a coaching program or is thinking about starting a coaching program; join NCSM and their Coaching Team for the NCSM Summer Leadership Academy at the Doubletree by Hilton Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village, CO (Denver area) – July 30 to August 1, 2018.
During the academy, participants will learn about:
- Improving your own leadership as a coach and/or as a coach of leaders;Using research-based resources for coaching;
- Working with teachers to establish positive, productive, and collaborative relationships;
- Engaging teachers in reflection about teaching and learning;
- Supporting the change process to encourage a culture of life-long learning;
- Developing a strategic plan to support own and/or district goals for coaching.
More information and registration is available HERE. We are excited to be hosting this coaching theme for our Summer Leadership Academy. We hope you are, too, and that we will see you in Colorado at the end of July!
Have You Read the NCSM Position Papers?
NCSM Position Papers are designed to provide NCSM members with support regarding critical actions that lead to improved student achievement in mathematics. The papers are a product of the collaborative efforts of many individuals who offered their writing, editing and critiquing skills. These papers provide our members with answers to two questions:
- What does NCSM believe about important issues in mathematics education leadership?
- How is NCSM helping mathematics education leaders provide research-informed answers to the issues we face in our local district?
The postion papers can be found on the NCSM website under the Leadership Resources tab. The NCSM Board hopes that you will find our positions, the research and literature that support them, and the practical steps you can take to implement each position, to be of use to you and your colleagues.
There are two new postion papers that were unveiled at the 50th Annual NCSM Conference:
Please let us know your reaction to the NCSM Position Papers. You may write directly to either of these two NCSM representatives:
JOIN TODAY!
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