Friday, January 8, 2016
President's Message
"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something." -Neil Gaiman
A new year always provides an opportunity to examine how this year will be different from the last. 2016 has started with a sad change for MCTM. As many of you may know, Melissa Romano-Lehman resigned as president of MCTM for personal reasons. Over the years, Melissa served MCTM as both a board member representing Region III and president of the organization. We are all grateful for her many years of dedicated service to MCTM. We all wish her well and look forward to hearing about her future successes. In the interim, the presidential duties of MCTM will be shared between the president elect and the past president.
While we are sad to lose Melissa's leadership, there are happy changes afoot as well. Over the past few years, MCTM has discussed the purpose of our organization in the professional lives of our members. MCTM provides many benefits for our members including scholarships, professional development, and grants. While we sincerely hope that all of you will take advantage of these benefits, we feel that one of our most important roles is to create a community of mathematics teachers for the state of Montana. For that reason, we are excited to announce two community building opportunities. The first will take place on January 22nd and 23rd at the Math and Science Leadership Conference in Bozeman. While the conference will include sessions on a variety of topics, the schedule also provides time for attendees to network and discuss topics of shared interest. You can register for the conference on this website https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19e1pkcDJRf7NPfFblz7U673SyQe1wCigvatAnTy-unM/viewform. We all hope to see you there.
The second exciting networking opportunity will take place at the Montana Math Meet (M3) in Butte on August 10th and 11th. This new conference will be free to all MCTM members. In the morning, attendees will participate in a longer math based sessions. Matt Roscoe from U of M will be hosting a Math Circle. There will also be a session on Math Games hosted by Angela Johnson from Butte and one on Desmos hosted by Tony Riehl from Billings. There will also be opportunities for you to share what you do with your colleagues. Both days, attendees will have about 5-10 minutes to share their favorite teaching tips. We call this session "My Favorites". Over the next few months, we will have "My Favorites" Fridays. On select Fridays we will be sharing short videos from our members via Twitter, Facebook, and the Newsletter. If you have a teaching tip you would like to submit, please create a short video and send it to hrisser@mtech.edu<mailto:hrisser@mtech.edu>. In March we will be posting a full schedule and information about registration.
Finally, we would like to encourage you to share your successes with the MCTM community. If you have a new baby, get married, get a grant, win an award.... we want to know about it. If you have news to share, you can send us a message on Facebook (Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics) , send us a Tweet (@MCTMmath), or send an email (hrisser@mtech.edu<mailto:hrisser@mtech.edu>) that we can share on the blog.
Happy New Year.... may it bring many positive changes to your lives.
Angel Zickefoose and Hilary Risser
Thursday, January 7, 2016
FREE Online Courses - Starting January 25th!
The Friday Institute at NC State is offering Massive Open Online Courses for Educators (MOOC-ED). This spring we are offering two mathematics education courses focused on Fraction Foundations (designed for grades K-5 educators) and Teaching Statistics (designed for grades 6-14 educators).
The courses will launch January 25. Registration is FREE and there is an opportunity for teachers to earn a certificate of completion. It may be a great opportunity for teachers to work in teams or PLCs to complete the course together.
You can see a more detailed description of the courses here:
Fraction Foundations: http://friday.institute/fracti
Teaching Statistics Through Data Investigations: http://friday.institute/tsdi:e
Fraction Foundations
Teach fractions concepts and skills more effectively through understanding student thinking and using research-based approaches in your classroom.
Who should take this course? Though this MOOC-Ed focuses on teaching fractions in grades 3-5, the concepts are applicable for other K-8 teachers and will help you address the needs of students who have learning differences that impact their mastery of mathematics.
Teaching Statistics through Data Investigations
Use an investigation cycle to teach statistics and help students explore data to make evidence-based claims.
Who should take this course? Teachers of statistics in grades 6-12 and in post-secondary contexts are the primary audience, but elementary teachers, teacher educators, and teachers of other disciplines that use data-based explorations extensively to make claims and inferences (e.g., science, social science) may also benefit from the course.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Math Matter Montana - FREE; with stipend provided!!
Let’s give them
something to talk about:
Student Discourse & Collaborative Grouping
Math Matters
Montana
Looking for new ways to incorporate critical thinking and
student engagement in your classroom? Teachers:
are you interested in working together to make your math class the best it has
ever been? Principals: would you like to know what you should be looking for in
an effective math classroom? Get paid and receive OPI renewal hours to participate
in a free, one-day math workshop provided by the OPI and Education Northwest. Coming soon to a location near you!
January 9th
Plains, MT
|
January 16th
Fort Benton, MT
|
January 30th
Hardin, MT
|
February 13th
Brockton, MT
|
Math Matters Montana is here to help!
·
Increase participation and get your students involved
in important mathematical conversations
·
Ensure equity for all of your students with
collaborative grouping
·
Build local collaboration teams; many hands
make light work
·
Administrator breakout session on things to
look for in an effective math classroom
|
Who should attend?
All math teachers are welcome, we
encourage school-based teams of at least two 8th – 12th
grade math teachers and a school principal.
How
will we pay for it?
$150 stipend and lunch will be provided
by Education Northwest for all participants!
When
will it occur?
Trainings are conveniently scheduled on
a Saturday from 9am to 4pm. Follow-up coaching and online learning available
at your convenience.
Don’t miss your chance! Registration is limited to 45 people in
each location.
|
About Education Northwest: Chartered
in 1966 as Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Education Northwest now
conducts nearly 200 projects annually, working with schools, districts, and
communities on comprehensive, research-based solutions to the challenges they
face. Education Northwest’s professional development providers include
nationally-renowned experts in mathematics, literacy, science and more.
Questions? Email Jake
Warner: jwarner@mt.gov
Thursday, December 17, 2015
FREE Online PD!
Start the New Year with FREE Online Professional Learning in Mathematics!
Interact with instructors and other Montana teachers
Earn 15 OPI renewal units
K-8 Teachers: January 18 – February 5 (Feb 12 for Mathematical Practices)
· Mathematical Practices (grades K-8) – space is limited!
· All about Fractions (grades 3-5)
· Ratio & Proportion (grades 6-7)
· It’s All Right: Pythagorean Concepts (grades 7-9)
HS Teachers: January 11 – 29
· Geometry: Transformations (grades 9-12) – space is limited!
Registration Opens December 28 – start atwww.STREAMmath.org
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
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