NCTM Conference Blog

Regional NCTM Conference in Atlantic City is less than a week away

2011-10-12T22:39:00.012-04:00

The theme for this year's NCTM conferences is Technology & Mathematics: Get Connected! If you are speaking at the conference your session description is now listed on NCTM's conference website and in the PDF version of the final program book. If you are like me someone who likes to update their description and add relevant links before the conference to better inform and connect with conference attendees – you’re aware that it can't be done on the NCTM listing. For that reason CLIME (the Council for Technology in Math Education) an affiliate of NCTM puts together a website where you can! Go to the site technology-themed sessions and review your listing there. Then let me know by email if you want to change anything, share more info or add some reference links. I will make the changes for you immediately.

With the increased use of laptops and hand-held devices (i.e. smartphones) at NCTM conferences more attendees will be able to get the latest information before and during the conference to help them make better informed decisions as to which sessions to attend. I hope to see you at the conference.

Thanks - Ihor

Ihor Charischak

Council for Technology in Math Education - CLIME

NCTM affiliate group since 1988

Web: clime.org | Blog: climeconnections.blogspot.com | Twitter: @climeguy

Manipulatives and ELL (Session 605)

2011-04-17T08:34:00.001-04:00

I really enjoyed Bill Jasper’s session on Concept and Vocabulary Acquisition. Though the importance of enabling ELL students was a thread through his presentation, he didn’t include this in his title, because his theme was that the same techniques that are useful for ELL students actually bring significant benefit to all students. He made a very good case for this position, with lots of examples, pages of basic principles and specific suggestions, and even manipulatives that he passed out to the audience. The emphasis on manipulatives was important to his theme of acquiring vocabulary and concepts because students’ use of manipulatives gives them concrete experiences to write and reflect about in the process of developing conceptual understanding.

I particularly liked his story about Ramon. At the end of his first day of summer school (after failing math), his math teacher asked the class to write about what they had learned that day. He told her “I don’t write English.” She encouraged him, he repeated that he didn’t write English, so she told him to write in Spanish. He was still reluctant, but she persisted until he had written several sentences in Spanish. She then told him to translate his sentences into English. After several iterations of Ramon’s reluctance and the teacher’s encouragement, she managed to get him to write down the English translations of as many of the Spanish words as he could. This continued, day after day, until Ramon realized that he was doing twice the work of the other students at the end of each class, and decided just to write the English translations. By the end of summer school, he not only passed the math course, but his teacher’s refusal to let him off the hook resulted in a huge leap in his skills in writing English.

Near the end of Bill’s presentation, he showed some Sketchpad projects several of his students had done in their geometry classes, and it was delightful to see how he’d used these projects to get them to write in detail, right next to each construction, the mathematical observations that they had made from these constructions and their reflections about the construction and about the mathematics.

Bill also encouraged his audience to join Todos (www.todos-math.org), the NCTM affiliate that works on issues related to equity for all students, with a special emphasis on Hispanic/Latino students.

Geometry Software Showdown (Session 179)

2011-04-17T07:48:00.002-04:00

Having spent the last twenty years of my career working on The Geometer’s Sketchpad, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the substance of Jeff Hall’s presentation comparing Sketchpad and GeoGebra. But I will say that I came out of the session reflecting on two related issues that I consider much more important than a feature-by-feature comparison.

How do we bring the benefits of general-purpose interactive mathematics tools into as many classrooms as possible? Even when computers are readily available, it’s a challenge for many teachers to adopt the technology. How can others who see the value (whether fellow teachers, department chairs, or supervisors) support those who are reluctant, convince them that the use of such software is not an optional enrichment activity, but is essential to developing students’ mathematical reasoning? What features of the software itself help or hinder this effort?
Related, how can we use such tools most effectively in developing students’ reasoning and sense-making, and how can we encourage students to incorporate the tools into their own mathematical repertoire, to turn to the tools on their own when they want to investigate a mathematical question? How can we best use them to stimulate students’ curiosity and to encourage them to write about and reflect upon the math?

Jeff’s session wasn’t designed to address either of these questions directly; I’m raising a different issue than the one he undertook.

But I do think these are the most important issues, and at the same time more difficult to address. Nobody has the answers, but I would certainly love to attend a session next year presented by someone with experience acting as a change agent, describing both successes and difficulties in related to these related issues. How can we best encourage reluctant teachers to use such tools and to use them most effectively in developing students’ reasoning and sense making? Any takers?

Closing Session: To Boldly Go…

2011-04-14T11:09:00.000-04:00

This year’s closing session is actually titled “The Art of Geometry” but when you survey the work of speaker Bathsheba Grossman, you realize that there is more here than just Art and Geometry. Grossman is pushing boundaries just about everywhere she goes.

She modestly acknowledges that she has studied more math than most artists (BS Mathematics, Yale University, summa cum laude.) Her further education shows that she has also studied more art than most mathematicians -- a stone carving workshop in Italy, study at the New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Pennsylvania.

Her list of past exhibitions traces a path across the country, around the world, and through venues and themes that sound like technical science fiction. It’s a journal of the artist’s twists and turns of curiosity, research, and resolution.

Visit www.bathsheba.com and you will find a richness and diversity of content that is not often seen on an artist’s website. Or a manufacturer’s website. Or an art gallery’s website. Explore thoroughly. The site features not only sculpture, jewelry, laser-etched glass, and hardware, but also very clear descriptions of the technical processes she uses: 3-D Printing (now that’s right out of Star Trek) and Laser Etching in Glass.

This promises to be a Closing Session and speaker worth hanging around for. You will leave our Annual Meeting with stimulating images floating in your head and a wonderful sense of “What if …?”

Saturday, April 16, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Be there or be a Borromean Ring.

Research Presession 132: Research on Technology in Mathematics Education: Current Efforts and Future Directions

2011-04-14T08:01:00.000-04:00

My last post was long, and I’ll try to be much more concise here. This session was particularly interesting to me, both in connection with my ongoing work with Sketchpad and with my current work on the NSF Dynamic Number project.

Steve Hegedus set the stage by using a beautifully composed slide show speculating about how technological change affects what his son (now 6) should learn in school, through the lens of what skills and qualities might be needed for his son to live a successful and satisfying life between now and his retirement in about 2070.

Nathalie Sinclair followed up with a presentation that involved classroom video to emphasize how teachers can use dynamic mathematics software to stimulate student conjecturing and to present students with cognitive opportunities not available using other media.

John Olive finished with a video interview of students exploring “scooting tick marks” (from the Dynamic Number project) to deepen their understanding of fractions, illustrating how a sketch initially used for one specific task becomes a generally useful tool for the student.

My overall takeaway from the session was that it brought home (a) the enormous potential that educational technology has to change what and how we teach, (b) the importance of research to help us figure out when and how to use technology effectively, and (c) the urgency to do so both wisely and quickly at a time when technology is rapidly changing both the world outside our classrooms and the future in which our students will live.

(Full disclosure: Professors Sinclair and Olive used Sketchpad for their work with students, and Prof. Olive is the evaluator for the Dynamic Number NSF project.)

(Shameless plug: I will be showing our Geometric Functions work from the Dynamic Number project in session 373 on Friday morning. Many Dynamic Number activities are freely available at www.kcptech.com/dynamicnumber.)

Maybe It Only LOOKS That Way

2011-04-13T11:00:00.001-04:00

Opening Session
Wednesday, April 13,
5:30 – 7pm

Just a quick reminder about the Opening Session and why you'll want to be there.

Jeffrey Travis, director of the IMAX 3-D movie Flatland: The Movie will be showing clips from the movie and discussing the power of storytelling in mathematics and in geometry in particular.

Right this way through the doors of perception.
There will be 3-D glasses involved.

2011-04-12T22:00:00.001-04:00

Illuminations is always up and running on the web, but now you can take one of its most popular online activities with you when you’re on the go. Illuminations just released its new, free Android app, Okta’s Rescue.

In this new app, Okta and his friends need your help. Help rescue them by transporting them to a safe ocean. How fast can you transport the Oktas? Use your counting skills to save as many as you can before the timer runs out.

This app was developed for children in grades preK–2 by Illuminations. It is also available as an online activity along with many other free math resources for children at http://illuminations.nctm.org.

Improving Instruction: an Alternative to Conventional Wisdom

2011-04-12T16:33:00.004-04:00

With all the talk these days about how to improve teaching, and with political attacks on teachers that take a variety of forms, James Hiebert and Anne Morris from the University of Delaware presented a fascinating proposal today, at the NCTM Research Presession, for how we can best go about improving instruction.

Entitling their session “Improving Teachers or Teaching: Alternatives for Improving Classroom Instruction,” Morris and Hiebert argued for a radical change in the education of both preservice and inservice teachers.

I’ll try to summarize their argument, but it’s better if you can read it in their own words. The most recent article they’ve written appears in the January/February 2011 issue of Educational Researcher: http://www.aera.net/uploadedFiles/Publications/Journals/Educational_Researcher/4001/05-14_02EDR11.pdf

As I understand it, their proposal is that teacher education needs to be firmly grounded in the collective planning, execution, and reflection of specific lessons. Their presentation and article is from the viewpoint of teacher educators; I’ll try to rephrase it from the teacher’s viewpoint, and I’ll try to shorten it enough for a blog post without doing it too much of a disservice.

As inservice and preservice teachers, it’s not so important for us to become involved in discussion and reading about teaching strategies and trying to obtain directly the whole complex of knowledge and skills that we need to teach well. Instead we should focus on how to teach specific lessons well, and do so in a structured, intensive, collective way. Our objective should be to create a product – a lesson plan – with more elements, more detail, more careful analysis and thinking — than any lesson plan we’re likely familiar with. This plan would contain very specific learning goals, discussion of instructional strategy, likely student misconceptions and plans for responding to them, contingency plans for adapting to unexpected occurrences, and so forth. These lesson plans would not be solely our responsibility as individual teachers; their creation should involve curriculum designers, educational researchers, and teacher educators as well as involving us as the practitioners.

But our part in the process would be key, as the experts who are the closest to our students, who are directly responsible for their learning. And further, they say, our involvement in creating, using, and refining such detailed and extensive lesson plans should be a collective involvement, in which we work with colleagues both in our own schools and in other schools. Working together with colleagues in our schools and in other schools and districts, we should become part of a larger effort to create a library of such lesson plans, in a way that allows us all to benefit from the effort of each other.

This is an ambitious proposal, and there are lots of practical difficulties in its way. And I assure you that I have not done it justice in this too-brief description.

Let me close by mentioning several aspects of it that I found very appealing.

First, the approach concentrates on what we as teachers understand is the most important part of the process, the place where learning occurs: our direct communication and interaction with our students. It validate the importance of what we do in our classrooms.

Second, the approach says that rather than talking about good and bad teachers, we should talk about good and bad lessons. This insight, that it’s not who we are but what we do, is very reassuring. When I teach a bad lesson, it doesn’t mean I’m a bad teacher, it just means that I should learn from what happened so that the next time I teach that lesson I can do it better.

Third, shared responsibility for lessons plan gives me resources I wouldn’t have otherwise, and the opportunity to share successes, failures, and insights with colleagues.

Fourth, implementing it would require a change in the culture of schools and teaching that would help to make the school environment a more satisfying place to work.

Fifth, it directly contradicts the too-common view among some politicians and some school administrators that the problem is bad teachers, and that we just need to use some sort of data-driven teacher evaluation system in order to replace our bad teachers with better ones.

Such a radical revision of teacher education will take a long time, and will both require and induce changes in school culture and in our society as a whole. Morris and Hiebert don’t expect any of this to happen quickly – Jim Hiebert mentioned a 30 to 40 year time frame for developing a comprehensive bank of annotated lesson plans. My conclusion is that theirs is a vision that can guide us in our efforts to change both our own teaching (by engaging in shared creation and refinement of annotated lesson plans) and our entire educational system (by working with other teachers, teacher educators, and others to promote these ideas).

An interesting and exciting start for my time in Indianapolis!

-Scott

(After teaching in Philadelphia public schools for 18 years, I now work at KCP Technologies, mostly developing Sketchpad activities for students in grade 2 through early algebra. I also work as an adjunct instructor teaching Advanced Secondary Math Methods at the University of Pennsylvania.)

Books, and Authors, and Posters-Oh My!

2011-04-10T10:55:00.005-04:00

We hope you’ve made time in your schedule to check out the NCTM Bookstore at the Annual Meeting (open on Wednesday!). With over 25 new publications (and some new products as well!), this year’s Bookstore is packed with great materials for your classroom.

Bonus this year—you can meet your favorite authors and editors! Wednesday through Friday, authors will be in the Bookstore throughout the day to answer your questions or sign a book for you to take back to your school (gift idea for your coworker or principal who couldn’t attend?). View the schedule.

Here are a few of our publications series this year:

Focus in High School Mathematics Series

NCTM published two new companion books to Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making.

Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making in Geometry examines the four key elements of reasoning and sense making in geometry—conjecturing about geometric shapes, construction and evaluation of geometric arguments, multiple geometric approaches, and geometric connections and modeling. Each chapter provides tasks, classroom scenarios, and examples of possible lines of student reasoning. The book can serve as a starting point for some and a resource for all about reasoning and sense making in geometry.

Focus in High School Mathematics: Fostering Reasoning and Sense Making for All Students focuses on the crucial issue of making reasoning and sense making a part of the daily mathematical experience of all high school students. Chapters of the book deal with the equity issue from the perspective of equity for low-performing students, gifted students, students of different racial, socioeconomic, and linguistic status, and students with a variety of disabilities.

New last year, the Essential Understanding series is now a best-selling series that continues to grow! The Essential Understanding series addresses topics crucial to student development but often difficult to teach. Each book in the series (sixteen titles planned) gives an overview of the topic, highlights the differences between what teachers and students need to know, examines the big ideas and related essential understandings, reconsiders the ideas presented in light of connections with other mathematical ideas, and includes questions for readers’ reflection. Check out the new topics this year:

Developing Essential Understanding of-

• Multiplication and Division for Teaching Mathematics in Grades 3-5

• Algebraic Thinking in Grades 3-5

• Addition and Subtraction for Teaching Mathematics in Prekindergarten-Grade 2

• Functions for Teaching Mathematics in Grades 9-12

• Rational Numbers for Teaching Mathematics in Grades 3-5

• Number and Numeration for Teaching Mathematics in Prekindergarten-Grade 2

• Ratios, Proportions, and Proportional Reasoning for Teaching Mathematics in Grade 6-8

Worried about how to implement the Common Core State Standards? NCTM released Making It Happen: A Guide to Interpreting and Implementing Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The 136-page online interactive document connects the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) to NCTM’s:

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics,
Curriculum Focal Points for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 Mathematics: A Quest for Coherence,
Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making, and
Essential Understanding Series.

Building on the Council’s 30-year track record of success in the development of standards for school mathematics, Making It Happen supports teachers, districts, and states in implementing CCSSM. Making It Happen serves as a resource guide for helping educators adopt and enact a shared position on standards, pedagogical processes, and content foci. Online appendixes from the publication will continue to be updated as new NCTM resources become available.

These are just a few of the publications to check out at the bookstore! We also have a few new products to help decorate your classroom. NCTM has new “Math is All Around Us” and “I Heart” posters (16 in all) for you to choose from. Take a sneak peak!

Don't forget there's a 25% conference discount at the bookstore, so take advantage!

Almost There!

2011-04-08T12:59:00.003-04:00

Greetings everyone! This is my first blog post, so I feel a brief introduction is in order. My name is David Musselwhite and I'm a 12th grade math teacher in Detroit Public Schools. This is my first year teaching high school, and my first year as a member of NCTM. Needless to say, this will be my first conference, and I'm beyond excited! Meeting other passionate educators, being enlightened by presenters from all over the country, and testing out innovative products will re-invigorate my teaching practice for the final push to the end of the school year. So I wish everyone safe travels to Indianapolis, and I'll see you in a few days! (Feel free to say hello -- I won't know anybody there!)

There’s an App for Indy!

2011-04-07T15:17:00.013-04:00

Get all the Annual Meeting information at your finger tips with NCTM’s new conference app for Blackberries, iPhones, iPads, and Androids! Launched for the Indy conference this app will allow you to keep your hands and bags free for all those conference goodies and your mind at ease to enjoy the conference.

Look what this the app can do:

Program Scheduling

Search sessions and view the grade band, location, length, and description.
Want to see a certain speaker, but can’t remember the session number? Search by a speaker’s last name to view presentations he or she is giving.
Once you’ve searched the program, build your schedule and save it in the app! Never again worry about where you’re going next.

Exhibits

Use the Exhibitors icon to browse and read about the exhibits. Bookmark booths that you want to visit.
Schedule times to visit the Exhibit Hall and add these times to your conference schedule.

My Profile

Network easily by creating a “virtual business card” to share with other app users.
Share your conference schedule with app friends.
Enter your Twitter account to tweet through the app. You’ll also be able to follow NCTM’s Twitter feed.

Program Changes

Stay up-to-date with the latest program changes, sent twice a day to your phone.
Don’t be caught off guard if a session in your conference schedule is cancelled. You’ll find it marked “cancelled” in your own schedule as well as in the listings under Events and Speakers.

Visit Indy

Have fun after conference hours! Get information about Indianapolis, such as restaurants, attractions, and more.
Interact with Google Maps to get directions to your Indy destination.

Find out more about the new conference app at www.nctm.org/confapp.

Advice From an Old Hand

2011-04-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

Always mount from the left
Sing to the cattle at night and they won’t stampede
A wet ‘kerchief can save you during a dust storm
Your horse is your best friend

Dagnabbit! Wrong list.

Although we’ve been trying to prepare you for the Annual Meeting, if you’ve never attended, it’s hard to know what to expect. We hear your cries -- "More details, please!"

Last year morrowmath wrote a series of informative and useful blog posts on his personal preparations. His posts were so good, we want to repeat them here.

Preparing to Go

Themes

What is my main goal this year? At my first national conference I went to every graphing calculator session I could and came away with so many new skills. One year I attended every session that mentioned the word proportion, because I was interested in better ways of teaching proportional reasoning. Last year I was interested in anything having to do with teacher coaching. But this year my goal is to learn about implementing reform in schools and whole divisions.

It's funny how the different focus each year has shaped my career.

What is your theme this year? (morrowmath, 2010)

Planning

I have my conference notebook ready. I used to lose all of my session notes, or they'd get separated from the business cards of the presenters. Now I always bring a spiral notebook, glue stick, and tape in my bag so that nothing slips away during the day. It's a conference Interactive Notebook!! At night in the hotel room, I add more notes of things that have occurred to me since the session. Don't forget to leave space for the Title Page and Table of Contents in the front! (morrowmath, 2010)

More fun than a Sticky Note

Here’s a suggestion for capturing those moments in a workshop or presentation when you think “That’s perfect for my class!” Bring an envelope of postcard stamps (28¢—we know, it’s hard to keep up) and those unsolicited return address labels. (Yes, even the ones where your name is misspelled or you’re listed as Mr. Susan Jones; those work fine.) Stop at your hotel gift shop and stock up on postcards. As you run across a gem, put it on a postcard and mail it to yourself. You’ll enjoy receiving them and maybe you’ll start a file that you add to with every annual and regional meeting you attend.

Another postcard idea is to send one to your class with a thought about how you’re enjoying this time spent on professional development. It can create a natural teaching moment where you demonstrate the professionalism of teaching and your personal pride in your profession. Who knows? It could also plant the seed that grows a future math teacher or two.

As always – let us know what you do to prepare. What tips can you offer to get as much out of the conference as possible?

Get more with your registration!

2011-04-05T09:07:00.002-04:00

Get more bang for your buck with free sessions at the Research Presession and National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) Annual Meeting.

New this year for the Research Presession’s Opening Session, all NCSM attendees are invited to join this session for free. Magdalene Lampert from the University of Michigan will present "Maintaining Ambitious Teaching: Constraints, Affordances of Schools, Professional Education, Policy" from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Sagamore 4 at the Convention Center.

In exchange, all Research Presession attendees are invited to NCSM's session, "Understanding the Influence of the Common Core Standards in Mathematics: What Do We Need to Know and When Do We Need to Know It?" on Wednesday from 2:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Grand Ballroom 6.

Arriving early to the NCTM Annual Meeting and need something to do? Don’t forget, any NCSM and NCTM attendee can attend the Research Presession for free on Wednesday! Wednesday's sessions will focus on linking research to practice. Check out the program book!

Get Interactive at the Research Presession

2011-04-04T09:00:00.004-04:00

The Research Presession looks a little different this year, a little more interactive. Our Individual Paper sessions and Roundtable Discussions have been combined to create a new session type—Interactive Paper sessions.

Attend an Interactive Paper session and you’ll get to hear two to four different research papers in one session! The sessions are grouped around a common theme, such as professional development, early learning, or technology. For example, on Tuesday, session #48, focuses on equity and preservice teachers, with papers titled, “Developing an Equity Pedagogy for School Mathematics,” “Identifying and Defining Equitable Mathematics Instruction,” and “Understanding a Beginning Teacher’s Sensitivity to Students and Mathematics.”

Each paper will present a brief overview presentation to the entire audience then engage in two roundtable rotations to stimulate discussion with small groups of audience members.

If you didn’t get to ask all your questions in the discussion rotations, not to worry, the session will conclude with remarks from a discussant selected by the program planning committee and questions from the audience.

There are 18 Interactive Papers sessions throughout the conference, that’s over 50 paper presentations! Pick your favorites to attend, but don’t forget about our Research Symposiums and Work Sessions as well. Poster Sessions are Monday and Tuesday night (another 50 papers you have access to!). With so much to choose from, which sessions will you attend?

View the online planner for more information on Interactive Papers sessions and the Research Presession program.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...

2011-03-31T08:42:00.014-04:00

Whether you travel by plane, train, or automobile, we hope your travels to Indy are smoother than Steve Martin’s were, so here is some useful information about the local airport and NCTM hotels.

The Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is the closest airport, less than a half hour from the Indiana Convention Center. As you travel through the airport, be sure to admire their art work along the way. The airport’s art program began in 2005 as part of their larger airport redesign. Currently there are 36 permanent pieces, as well as temporary exhibits on display.

Need a ride once you’ve collected your luggage? The airport's Ground Transportation Center (GTC) is located on Level 1 of the Parking Garage. The GTC is a one-stop shop for rental cars, taxi service, shuttle service, public transportation (IndyGo), and hotel courtesy vehicles.

Staying at a headquarters hotel? You may not even have to leave your hotel to attend sessions! The JW Marriott and the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown will host sessions throughout the conference, including the Delegate Assembly (session #4) and NCTM Board member David Masunaga’s presentation, “314 Days until Pi Day!” (session #118). These hotels will also be a great place to network with fellow attendees and educators. Don’t forget to pick up the Daily News, our conference newspaper, each morning, as it will be in the lobby of these headquarters hotels (and throughout the Convention Center).

Fun Fact: The JW Marriott just opened its doors February 4 this year.

If you haven’t booked your hotel yet, it’s not too late (the deadline is April 3!) Check out available NCTM hotels now! A bonus for booking within NCTM’s headquarters hotels is that you get free shuttle service to and from the convention center or you’re already within walking distance!

Another bonus to NCTM headquarters hotels are their close proximity to the many local downtown attractions. Located directly behind the Convention Center is Lucas Oil Stadium, home to the 2007 Super Bowl Champions.

Fun Fact: Next year the Super Bowl will take place at the Stadium!

Also nearby is White River State Park, which has something for everyone—a museum, zoo, IMAX theater—you name it, it’s probably there!

The Indiana State Capitol is just down the street from the Convention Center as well. Indiana is one of the few states in the nation that has all three branches of government operating out of the historic state capitol building. Its current building was completed in 1888.

Come Early, Stay Late, See Indy

2011-03-28T08:00:00.068-04:00

You can’t see and do it all at the NCTM 2011 Annual Meeting. With a gazillion presentations, hands-on workshops, exhibitors, exhibitor workshops, and the New Teacher and Learn↔Reflect Strands, you have to pick and choose.

We recommend spending a little quality time with the Online Planner. Planning now will help you take advantage of the opportunities most important to you.

If you can manage to arrive early or stay on a day or two after the meeting, you’ll find a similar abundance of interesting things to do in Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Museum of Art – FREE Admission

One of the 10 largest general art museums in the U.S. -- more than 50,000 works
Includes gardens designed by the Olmstead Brothers and a contemporary sculpture park. (Both should be spectacular in mid-April.)

Children’s Museum – Largest children’s museum in the world

Planetarium, Theater, Carousel, hands-on play areas for 5 and under
The only Barbie™ museum exhibit in the U.S.
Dinosphere — one of the largest displays of real juvenile and family dinosaur fossils
Fireworks of Glass — 43-foot tall permanent sculpture of blown glass by Dale Chihuly.

Indianapolis Zoo – Over 350 animal species on nearly 70 acres.

“Touch a shark” tank
The world’s only underwater dolphin viewing dome
See animals in natural habitats in the Forests, Deserts, and (African) Plains Biomes

Other attractions to consider:

Go ahead, have a little fun. How could you help it?

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to Speak

2011-03-23T10:28:00.003-04:00

It was a late addition to the schedule, but if you can fit it in you’ll want to catch U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speaking on Friday, April 15, from 11:00 a.m.–12:00 noon in Hall F of the Convention Center.

Not a man to mince words, former Harvard basketball star Duncan recently incited a flurry of debate when he stated in his Washington Post Op/Ed article that “10 of the 68 men’s teams in the NCAA tournament are not on track to graduate half of their players,” citing a “litany of excuses.”

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from the nation’s number one advocate for education as he summarizes the Department of Education’s priorities and its blueprint for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind), as well as the need for programs like Race to the Top. (See Race to the Top Has Unique Role to Play in Reforming Schools for the Future by Arne Duncan; posted 9/29/10.)

Trivia:

The agency's official acronym is ED (and not DOE, which refers to the United States Department of Energy).
The Department of Education was formed in 1867, lost cabinet status the next year, and didn’t regain it again until 1979. At that time, President Jimmy Carter divided the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) into the Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The Secretary of Education is 16th in line for Presidential succession.

"The Third Dimension is Real!"

2011-03-23T08:00:00.005-04:00

…but what if it weren’t, or you couldn’t see it? Come to the Opening Session (Wednesday, April 13, 5:30 – 7pm) and spend some time in Flatland, a 2-D world. Jeffrey Travis, director of the IMAX 3-D movie Flatland: The Movie will be showing clips from the movie and discussing the power of storytelling in mathematics and in geometry in particular.

The theme of this year’s Annual Meeting is “Geometry: Constructing and Transforming Perspectives” and what could be more transformative than the recognition of an additional dimension? In the classic novel Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, written by Edwin Abbott Abbott (Edwin Abbott2 ) and published in 1884, we meet a citizen of this 2-D world (Arthur Square, voiced by Martin Sheen in the movie.) A godlike sphere raises Arthur from his planar existence and he moves from fear and disbelief to awe at, and in, the third dimension. The mental journey from lines and points to solids, cylinders, cones, pyramids, pentahedrons, hexahedrons, dodecahedrons, spheres and more is magical. Transforming indeed.

Plan to catch this session and start the Annual Meeting with a little mental yoga. Get limber and get ready for all the new ideas and solutions to be found in the 650+ presentations being offered this year. Who knows - what seems impossible may suddenly seem possible. It all starts right here.

Written from my squaricle at NCTM HQ.

23 Days and Counting

2011-03-21T08:00:00.001-04:00

It’s getting to be that time again – time for the NCTM Annual Meeting & Exposition. Teachers, administrators, math coaches and specialists, curriculum planners, teacher educators, new teachers and those learning to be teachers will be convening in Indianapolis April 13-16. (Some will come even earlier to take part in the Research Presession.) With more than 650 presentations this year, all are sure to take away valuable learning, experiences, and contacts.

So why Indianapolis? Well, Indiana is the “Crossroads of America.” In horse and wagon days, Terra Haute was prominently located on the National Road, which became US Hwy. 40 in 1926. At about that time, a major north-south US Hwy. (Rte. 41) was commissioned, running from Chicago to Miami. Those two important roads intersected in downtown Terre Haute.

The state and Indianapolis itself now claim this distinction because of the 13 interstates in Indiana, five of which intersect the Indianapolis beltway.

Want more options? The Indianapolis International Airport (“Come here first. Get there fast.”) serves nine airlines and is less than a half-hour drive from the Indiana Convention Center. The Amtrak Station (“We’ll get you there”)is literally across the street.

However you choose to make your way to the Annual Meeting, we certainly hope you’ll be there. (Still time to register…) Watch this blog for highlights, tips, the presenters, what to expect – anything we can think of to make your experience richer and more enjoyable.

Trivia: The state’s motto “Crossroads of America” was officially adopted by the General Assembly on March 2, 1937. Coincidentally (and only coincidentally), this was the same year that Blues legend Robert Johnson released the 78 rpm record “Cross Road Blues.”

The Fun Starts on Monday!

2011-03-09T10:09:00.006-05:00

Most may think all the fun starts on Wednesday of conference week, but there's actually lots of activity going on throughout the week of the Annual Meeting. The NCTM Research Presession starts Monday, April 11 and runs through Wednesday April 13.

This year, the Research Presession has an added bonus on Monday with poster sessions from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Come view and discuss over 25 research projects and papers with fellow educators and researchers.

Follow up the poster sessions with the Research Presession's Opening Session. Magdalene Lampert from the University of Michigan will present "Maintaining Ambitious Teaching: Constraints, Affordances of Schools, Professional Education, Policy" from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This talk will report on research investigating what resources might make ambitious mathematics teaching the norm in U.S. schools, and what stands in the way. Lampert will examine intellectual, social, and material resources that could be common tools and language for a teaching practice, and illustrate the roles that these can play.

To top off Monday night, join fellow attendees for a light reception from 8:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Sagamore Ballroom Lobby.

That's how our week will start. What will you attend first during week of the Annual Meeting and Research Presession?

Get Ready, Get Set...for Indianapolis!

2011-02-24T13:05:00.007-05:00

We're gearing up for Indianapolis! Are you ready? Have you registered or viewed the program yet?

Here are a few links to help you along the way:

NCTM Annual Meeting homepage: www.nctm.org/indy

Registration.

View the program with the online planner!

Housing information.

Want to find out the latest in math education research? Check out the Research Presession.

Technology Themed Sessions are now posted

2011-02-14T19:12:00.002-05:00

Looking forward to NCTM

2011-02-04T20:09:00.002-05:00

I booked my hotel today in Indianapolis. Have you? I know it's late, but budget constraints made it a long path to travel approval. However, our supervisor recognizes the value of developing our professional skills and knowledge, and the benefits it brings to our school division.
One teacher attending over a dozen exciting and meaningful sessions can be the most inexpensive investment in professional development of the year. When you're in sessions, think of how you can bring your new-found knowledge back to your school, to a local NCTM affiliate conference, or to a professional development day in your school division. Be the leader your division needs and you may find a way to finance your travel.
See you there!

NCTM 2011 meeting Heads Up: Where are the bloggers?

2010-12-14T12:40:00.002-05:00

Hi,

Never too early to think about the NCTM 2011 Annual Conference. This time its in Indianapolis. I hope you are planning to go. It will be exciting. Here's a link to my latest blog previewing the conference.

Best wishes,

Ihor

NCTM & NCSM conferences - Debrief session in Elluminate

2010-05-01T14:00:00.009-04:00

12:45 EST.
Hi there. I'm currently writing this as I'm flying home to White Plains, NY via Atlanta, GA. First time for me on a flight using Wifi. Very exciting!

I'm inviting everyone who attended, participated in it in any way or is interested in the NCSM and/or the NCTM meeting in San Diego to join our Elluminate session this Wednesday, May 5th, 6:30pm (EST). If you have written about the conference in any form please share your URL with us - even if you can't make the Wednesday session. (Post a comment to this entry with your information.)

Early returns on where to find comments about the conferences:

NCTM Conference Blog. which you are currently reading.

On Twitter (http://twitter.com search for the hashtag #nctm10 and read all the short comments that were made during the conference.

Dan Meyer is blogging about both conferences in great detail. See http://blog.mrmeyer.com/

to be continued...

Math, iPad, and Reflections

2010-04-27T14:27:00.002-04:00

Greetings from not so sunny Plymouth, New Hampshire. The weather is eerily like it was last week in San Diego. Fortunately the weather inside was good, and the sessions were thought provoking. I had hoped to post my thoughts last week, but ran into an issue trying to post from my iPad. On a side note, I brought the iPad to SD but no laptop as an experiment to see if I could do the work I wanted using it. The experiment was a success, except of course I could not post to this blog for reasons unknown. If anyone reading this is interested I can share more thoughts/experiences about the iPad.

SMART boards, or Interactive White Boards as they should be known since Smart is only one company that makes them, were on my mind going to the conference. They are on my mind because I see schools locally spending a lot of money on them. I went to a good session on them, but left with more questions than answers. I do like the ease by which notes can be captured, that is one clear advantage. But beyond that the examples I saw made use of existing resources on the web. If that is so, how is this different from a computer and a projector? The presenters I heard touted the interactive experience for the students. They modeled this in the presentation by having attendees come up and work examples. As I sat there I wondered about the other students in the class, what are they doing while one student is working through difficulties on the IWB? Teachers need to address this issue.

Another issue I thought about relative to IWBs is the technological savvy needed to run them. They are easy to use, but for those teachers that are on the lower end of the computer learning curve, which there still are many, I wonder how they will do.

Time to Order Books!

2010-04-26T10:30:00.004-04:00

I was keeping a running list of books that I heard about at the conference and wanted to order when I got back. I decided to get the following two for now; I'm excited to read them!

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth, by Paul Hoffman

Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture, by Apostolos Doxiadis

Anybody have any other great, mathy books that I MUST read and share with my middle-schoolers? Leave 'em in the comments.

Tech at the Conference: A View from inside the Exhibitors booth

2010-04-25T10:11:00.005-04:00

It's over. What a trip. It was my first time exhibiting at the annual meeting. As the president of an affiliate group - Council for Technology in Math Education (CLIME) - I took advantage of an NCTM discount for renting the booth to be there. What wonderful conversations I had with people about the thrill and challenges of teaching math with technology. Here are some of my highlights both in and out the booth.

*Nick Jackiw - chief architect of Geometer's Sketchpad at Key's Sketchpad User's group meeting sharing the magic that Sketchpad 5 can do with its new features inspired by a visit with the developers of Avatar. (Hear his dynamic visualization talk.)

*Bonnie Roskes - sharing Google Sketchup at my booth. What a treat. I made a mathcast of her presentation which I'll post very soon.

*Daryl Stermon - on the local arrangements committee. Meeting him again after 14 years. He is one of the pioneers of Internet use at NCTM meetings. See his original report from the 1996 meeting in San Diego. Daryl and I dream of the day when NCTM will provide Internet/Wifi access at all sessions. (We're lobbying for it.:-)

I got to run now. More later.

Mr. Golden Sun

2010-04-24T03:00:00.002-04:00

Ok, so the appearance of the sun was so tempting. I stayed focused and attended a session on proportional reasoning. We spent a lot of time on a "work" problem, what happens when more people are added to a job. We looked at student work and tried to figure out what each was thinking. It was very challenging to get inside the kids' heads, and it made me wish I could interview them. That got me thinking about the value of interviewing children about their work. Do you think we could work that in once in awhile? Anyway, another participant caught up with me after the session and wondered aloud about that lesson. We both weren't sure if that problem was appropriate for the students who worked on it. However, something she said as we separated stayed with me all day. If you are reading this, I wish I had said: "Yes, this group of students may not have been ready for that work problem, but the math "congress" or debrief is still an essential teaching tool. Don't give up!"
I admit, I purposefully took the sunshiny route back from the Hyatt to the Convention Center and enjoyed Cathy Seely's talk on "upside down" math. Do you know all of those difficult word problems at the end of the section? Start there. Start with the problem and work toward the skills. Upside down.

How many minutes of professional enrichment are occurring at this year's NCTM Annual Meeting?

2010-04-23T14:11:00.003-04:00

After a somewhat mediocre session in the afternoon, I attended a GREAT presentation by two dynamic presenters from the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice in Brooklyn, New York at the end of the day Thursday. The title of the session was, “Ping-Pong Balls and Lipstick: Teaching Problem Solving Using Complex Estimation.”

The presentation was about using Fermi problems to build students’ estimation and problem solving skills. Fermi problems are those multi-step, somewhat outrageous, estimation questions (the famous one is something like, “How many piano tuners are there in New York City?”). The problems require multiple assumptions, estimations, and then calculations to come up with a reasonable estimate as to the answer (for example, how many people are there in New York City? How many have pianos? How often do they tune their pianos? How many pianos can a tuner tune in a year? etc.).

I’ve taught Fermi problems with my 7^th graders for the last couple of years, so I was excited to see how other teachers approached it. Their basic approach to the problems was similar to mine: Break the question down into sub-questions, make some assumptions and estimates to answer the sub-questions, and then do some calculations to answer the major question.

Some of the things I appreciated about their approach were:

They started by just talking about the proportional reasoning and unit conversion skill part of it;
They then give students a list of useful benchmarks they can use (such as: there are about 3,000 miles between New York and Los Angeles);
Then they discuss strategies for doing the calculations mentally, or at least simplifying them enough to do quickly on “the back of an envelope.”

But my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE part about it was how they first model a job interview with the sort of high-paying consulting firm that uses these types of questions to assess applicant critical thinking skills. In the beginning of the unit they role play a terrible job applicant who just makes a random guess without thinking out their solution, then a great analytical thinker who does a stellar job of talking his way through his solution. I love how this actually shows students what great analytic thinking looks like, and how it shows students that this is the type of thinking that high-paying employers are looking for.

Best of all, their end-of-unit assessment has students actually interviewed for a job in front of the class. They are presented with a Fermi question have some time to think it through, then present their solution by talking their way through their sub-questions, assumptions, estimates, and calculations. What a great assessment of critical thinking and communication skills with a connection to the “real world!”

Student Disposition toward Mathematics

2010-04-23T13:59:00.005-04:00

The big idea that’s been coming up for me as I’ve attended my first NCTM conference sessions this year is: How can I increase students’ connection with and disposition toward the mathematics that we’re learning in class? In other words, how do I get my kids to like math as much as I do? Or at least get them not to hate it?

Two sessions I attended Thursday morning got at this idea in different ways.

The first, “Making Math Come Alive by Working on Problems of Living Mathematicians,” by Jim Matthews of Siena College, challenged teachers to teach “modern” mathematics by having students work on unsolved problems such as Goldbach’s conjecture. His argument is that the math is accessible to students and can enrich standards already being taught. Why not make it interesting? Why not connect it to what real mathematicians actually do? He makes the point that students can name any number of living musicians, athletes, maybe even scientists – but can they name a living mathematician? And wouldn’t a connection of what we’re doing in the classroom to what mathematicians are doing in the “real world” increase student motivation? I suspect such an approach would also make the job of “mathematician” into a less-mysterious occupation to our kids.

The second session of my Thursday morning was, “Promote Positive Mathematical Dispositions with Games and Puzzles,” by Vicki Vierra. Ms. Vierra presented the audience with four mathematical tasks. Her argument was that rich tasks such as these will build problem-solving acumen, increase student motivation, and give all students the sense that they can participate. Two interesting class-culture emphases that I took from this session were: the attitude of, “Never Tell an Answer,” (it will ruin all the fun), and to actively combat the idea that in math, “speed is the measure of success.” As I think about the culture of my classroom, both of these ideas can go a long way in improving my students’ disposition about what math is and how they feel about it.

Jim Matthews talked about making more math classes pass the “dinner-table” test – getting kids to want to talk about the math they are doing in class with their parents at home. I was happy to come away with some ideas from each of these sessions that pass this test.

Challenges

2010-04-22T21:42:00.002-04:00

There's a young instructional coach who has been in many of the same sessions I have attended all week. I've been watching this teacher because I've seen him/her change in just three days. I can see that he/she is is looking at student work differently, looking at "right" answers differently, and is expanding his/her understanding of good, rich mathematical instruction. That's why we are here!

Inspiring young teachers

2010-04-22T21:36:00.002-04:00

I attended a session today on mathematical discourse (#181) and was inspired to see video clips of inspiring young teachers leading such young students in the art of mathematical discussion. Thanks for the inspiration you provided to all of us today. And thank you to their adviser for giving them tools that all of us can use!

Action!

2010-04-22T21:31:00.002-04:00

The lobby of the Marriott is full of people who are definitely energized about being here in San Diego. Earlier in the day I saw them energized about attending sessions.
There were hundreds of people crowded into the room to hear Steven Leinwand and kick off the Learn <-> Reflect focus today. Steve doesn't mince words and he described the status of math education in a searingly honest way. I could tell that some people were energized by his talk, but that others found him more controversial. But, he gets the people talking. If you liked him, check out his books, including Sensible Mathematics. The feedback at the end of the sharing session at the end of the day was very positive. I imagine you will read more about it in the daily newspaper, so take a look!

2010-04-22T18:58:00.001-04:00

Thursday p.m. I met a student teacher in a California public high school this afternoon. He teaches four classes “because my master teachers don’t want to teach” he said; three algebra classes and one geometry class. The algebra classes are big, 35 or so students, there are lots of discipline problems, and he is lucky if six or seven students do the homework. They have difficulty, he said, solving simple linear equations like, 5 – x = 10. How discouraging that must be. On the other hand, his geometry students are conscientious and are prepared for class each day. Despite the challenges he is eager to continue teaching.

Day 2 Thursday

2010-04-22T15:41:00.001-04:00

I woke up here in beautiful San Diego to cold and rain but now, a few hours later, sunshine. The convention Center is a mob of math teachers from all over the world. Folks are balancing coffee cups, muffins, and cell phones as they look through the program book for interesting talks. I am starting my day in a gigantic room that is only sparsely filled five minutes before the talk begins.

I had a nice chat with a youngish teacher from Ohio who is catching up on grading papers as she waits for a talk to begin. She says that the older she gets the more “old school” she gets, meaning less “fluff” and more basic factual info. We talk about homework for a few minutes. It turns out to be a big issue at her school; do we assign more or less? Her school is also discussing what used to be called “mastery learning.” She is skeptical. She thinks that too many students use this as an excuse to not move ahead. After teaching for probably ten or twelve years, she is more cynical than I would have guessed.

Wonderful talk with a young teacher who is so enthusiastic about teaching that it cheers me no end. He told me that he no longer assigns homework in most of his classes and finds no loss in learning and understanding. Interesting! His students do the work in class and he walks around helping them. He believes in this method. We talked about a range of school issues – grades, projects, scheduling of classes, etc. – and he clearly loves his students and being a teacher. He gives one lots of optimism for the future of math teaching.

I am wandering around looking for free WiFi so that I can post this blog but I am not having much luck. I am told that it is available at one of the cyber cafes in the Convention Center but not throughout the building. Nor is there access in the Marriot, where I am now headed, or in the Hyatt. It seems to me that NCTM could invest a few dollars so that us hard-working math teachers can stay connected.

Are you excited yet!?

2010-04-21T20:19:00.002-04:00

I am! Before I start, let me remind you to bring your jacket. It's unseasonably cool her right now, but we're hoping for a big weather turnaround. When you are at the convention center, it's really easy to duck out onto the terrace, soak up some sun, and watch the barges come through San Diego bay. I did that today between ocean rain showers!
Tomorrow I am going to participate in the Learn<-> Reflect sessions. If you are using the online planning guide, there is a whole heading under "Attribute" so you can locate all of the sessions. If you are in the paper catalog, look for the blue and orange L<->R logo next to the sessions. Just attend the Kickoff session #69 at 9:30 in Convention Center 6A, any of the labeled L<->R sessions, and finally the Reflection Session #307 at 3:30 in Convention Center 6D. See you there!

Day 1

2010-04-21T15:13:00.003-04:00

Tues. evening. I am packing my bags and getting excited about going to the NCTM conference in San Diego tomorrow. I’m sure that I will attend several talks that will be interesting, challenging, and useful in my teaching but that isn’t what I am most looking forward to. First and foremost, I want to chat with other teachers. I want to find out how their teaching is similar or different from mine, what their students are like, and what they do that’s special in their classes. And I will share with them what I do. Person to person interaction seems to me to be the best part of going to conferences.

These three days will also give me a chance to get better acquainted with the two colleagues I will be traveling with. One is in his first year at my school and the other is in his second. Shared dinners, taxi rides, and walks to and from the Convention Center will give us the time to chat about all sorts of things.

Of course, beautiful San Diego is a draw, too.

Wed. afternoon. Off to the airport.

Hey Members - Take Advantage of Us!

2010-04-21T12:15:00.001-04:00

As an NCTM member are you taking advantage of ALL the benefits that will help you every day … at school, with your students, and in your profession?

Visit the Member Showcase and let us show you ways to take advantage of us.

First, we would like to give you some grade-band-specific activities that you can start using in your classroom right away, and we’ll also show you how to access online lesson plans, interactive resources, and a problems database—a member-only benefit. Plus, pick up FREE sample journals, personalized news releases (a nice way to let everyone know you were here), a membership certificate and ribbon, assorted giveaways—and more.

Take a few minutes to chat with NCTM journal editors Thursday and Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. They’ll be on-hand to answer questions, present ideas on how to use the NCTM school journals in the classroom, and help you navigate the journal article submission process.

NCTM staff will be available to help you take full advantage of your membership, answer questions, explain benefits, and discuss upcoming conferences and professional development opportunities. We’ll also tell you about the numerous grants available only to NCTM members through the Mathematics Education Trust (MET). You can’t miss us—we’re in the lobby just outside of Exhibit Hall B.

Preparing to go!

2010-04-21T02:22:00.003-04:00

Don't wait until Thursday morning to look at the program for the first time! There is so much in it!! Get out the sticky notes, flags, and highlighters. First I circle sessions that appear interesting. Then I go back over them and decide which ones best suit my theme(s) for the conference. I am always sure to have one or two extra choices since sessions do fill up. There are strict limits on participants in the rooms, by requirement of the fire marshal, so you will not get in if it's full.
Also, check out the map of the area. The Hyatt is on the North side of the complex. The Marina Marriott is in the middle, and the Convention Center is on the south end. You won't be able to make it from the Hyatt to the end of the convention center in two minutes. If you do make that trip, be sure to go on the promenade along San Diego Bay. You'll at least enjoy the walk.
Wait until you see the Exhibit Hall! It's not like any Exhibit Hall I've ever seen anywhere!

Research Presession

2010-04-21T02:13:00.002-04:00

Did you know you can attend the Research Pre-session in the convention center free on Wednesday when you display either the NCSM or NCTM conference badges? If you don't have the program, here are a few to get your attention:
Learning Ambitious Teaching through Cycles of Investigation and Enactment
Math Learning in Early Childhood: Paths toward Excellence and Equity - NRC
Studying Project-Based Mathematics Instruction in Middle and High School
Influences on Mathematics Textbook Selection: What Really Matters?

These aren't for everyone out there, but they could be for you!

Themes

2010-04-19T02:16:00.003-04:00

The Big Math Extravaganza from a techies perspective

2010-04-18T20:56:00.005-04:00

It's Sunday night and I can't wait for Tuesday because that's my takeoff day for the conference. Right now I'm preparing for the trip by getting all my techy gear ready so I can maximize my experience there by engaging in this amazing Web 2.0 world. Hopefully, I can take you along with me even if you are many miles away from San Diego.

Besides reading this blog, you can also follow the goings on using Twitter. Now Twitter may appear frivolous at first glance - I thought it was pretty silly myself - but then I found that in certain kinds of situations it can be very valuable. Case in point: this conference! Attendees will be sharing their experiences - sessions, vendors, places to eat, where to get free Wifi etc. Sound good? Here's what you need to get into Twitter fast lane.

=>a computer (laptop, cell phone, iphone, ipad (yes!) etc.)

=>An Internet connection. At the conference center it will cost you $12.95 a day for a connection. You can also rely on hotspots (free service) or the Cyber Cafe in the Exhibit Hall. Last year in Washington there were places where you could connect for free in the Convention Center. I'll let you know where if they exist in SD. Also, adjacent restaurants may have free Wifi. We'll get a list going once the conference starts. Hopefully sooner.

=>Go to http://Twitter.com and sign up. Once you are in you can search for the hashtag* #NCTM10. And then as if by magic tweets related to conference appear. How can you tell that they are about the conference? Somewhere in the text of the messages is embedded the hashtag #nctm10.

That should get you started. If you want more help you can tweet me directly by entering this (@climeguy What's this Twitter thing? I don't get it?) in the input box below What's happening? and I will respond.

More next time. Especially about sessions with a technology theme and Math 2.0. What's math2.0? Hint: search for #math20 with Twitter.

*A example of a hashtag is: #nctm10 (the # sign followed by a string of alphanumeric characters) More on how to use hashtags at http://twitter.pbworks.com/Hashtags

San Diego is beautiful!

2010-04-18T00:24:00.002-04:00

We arrived in San Diego this morning and the sky had a gentle ocean overcast all day. Perfect! We had lunch at a restaurant with outside seating in Seaport Village and watched the people go by. At about 2 or so, the bay in front of us filled with sailboats virtually at once. We watched their sails snapping in the breeze as they turned a tight curve around a buoy just in front of us. Just beautiful to see. After walking around Embarcadero Park South we took a water taxi from in front of the convention center, over to Coronado. After renting a double bicycle we biked much of the trail around the San Diego and Glorietta Bays, and took the Marriott hotel taxi back across San Diego Bay to the Marina Marriott.
I couldn't believe my good luck. Sitting on a beautiful promenade all while discussing the benefits of open-ended assessments in mathematics. Not everyone can appreciate that!

Who to see

2010-04-16T20:53:00.002-04:00

I admit. I ordered the $10 program ahead of time. I respect that we are trying to go GREEN, and I'll do my part by not forgetting mine at home.
Today I was scanning the list of speakers. I was looking for some people I used to work with, just to see if they are presenting and where they are now working. You'll notice that most, if not all speakers, include an email address where they can be contacted. I was also looking for some of my favorite authors. Look up your favorite resource book, textbook, or NCTM magazine authors and see if they are presenting. I went to someone's session last year simply because I found one of her articles absolutely fascinating. She didn't disappoint in person either.
My next post will be in sunny San Diego!

Planning to visit the exhibit hall

2010-04-15T19:51:00.004-04:00

Check your mail for vendor postcards arriving daily. Some vendors offer free gifts or entries in a drawing if you return the card to their booth in the exhibit hall. I'm scanning the program trying to figure out which session, or sessions, I can sacrifice in order to visit the vendors, since the hours are the same. Tough choice. Also, there are some great coupons in the back of the program, including one for the NCTM store!

Our division will soon be entering into a textbook adoption, so I am planning visits to the major textbook publishers, but I also want to spend time looking at some of the smaller companies to see what's new. I've made my 'must-see' list and am now making my textbook priority needs list.
t minus 6 days

Planning

2010-04-14T22:26:00.002-04:00

Sessions Sliced and Diced

2010-04-13T12:59:00.000-04:00

We’re only days away from the San Diego Meeting and while NCTM staff members are trotting through corridors and double checking their lists, the most important question is whether YOU have had time to focus on what you want to see and do, and who you want to connect with.

Your first and best resource is the Online Planner, where you can search for Sessions by grade band as well as 14 topics and seven types of presentations. If you’re looking for specific presenters, you can search People by affiliation, last name, even first name. (There are nine presentations led by a “Linda” in case you were wondering.) Register first to save the schedule you create for yourself. You can always poke around as a guest but you just can’t save anything. Additionally, your personalized schedule will travel with you, yet not add to the weight of your luggage. Access the internet and you can access your schedule.

Most of you should have received your badges by now. Unless you paid to have the Program Book mailed to you, your badge should include a voucher for your Program Book which you can pick up at the Registration Desk. Until you get your copy, you can browse the online Program Book PDFs. The Program Book has everything in it, and we do mean everything. Every morsel of information you could possibly want on locations, hours, sessions, workshops, services, hotels, strands, speakers, exhibitors, books, lost and found … You get the point. There’s a lot of stuff.

If you find this a tad overwhelming and would like to narrow your focus a bit, take a look at these samplings of the presentations that will be offered for each grade band, Pre-K through 12. These two-page PDFs list about 15 sessions in each grade band: PreK-2….Grades 3-5….Grades 6-8….Grades 9-12. As there will be 700 presentations offered, and sessions are also targeted to Higher Education, Preservice and In-Service, and General Interest, you can see that this is just a small sampling of what’s available.

By the way – keep that conference badge close and safe. You’ll need it not only for picking up your Program Book, but for entry to all presentations and the Exhibit Hall. If your badge stays home or is lost, there is a $10 replacement charge.

Once again, let’s ask the experienced. How do you plan your time when you come to an NCTM conference? Are you spreadsheet driven or do you play it by ear? The blog lines are open!

Ladies and Gentlemen - Step Right Up!

2010-04-08T14:56:00.002-04:00

This photo was taken at the 2009 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. It’s difficult to see much detail in this small version but in the larger version of this picture and others taken at the same time you can spot some wonderful expressions.

Most people are smiling, chatting and having a good time waiting in line for the exhibit hall to open on Thursday morning. Some are clearly focused and ready to get the most out of the 200+ vendors; some look crazy eager (hey, a black belt shopper brings it everywhere!) and there are one or two folks who look, face it, a little dazed. We suspect the dazed condition is due to either a sub-optimum coffee intake or a first-timer who has somehow envisioned a sleepy little conference of timid teachers. (Hang on, we’ll come back to that in a minute.)

Whenever you decide to hit the Exhibit Hall, and you’ll probably want to do it more than once, don’t forget about the exhibitor coupons in the back of the Program Book. They were such a big hit last year that there are seven pages’ worth this year. You’ll find coupons for freebies, a percentage off your purchase, “learn more” cards, and cards to drop off for drawings.

As for the first timers, we suggest the New Member and First Timer’s Orientation, which is offered Wednesday 4:00-4:30 p.m. and Thursday 7:15-7:45 a.m. Go to either one and you’ll be thoroughly prepped to get the most out of the conference (plus takeaways) before you even get to the exhibit hall when it opens at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday.

For the coffee deprived, we suggest the Venti Iced Doubleshot + Energy which clocks in at about 375 mg. of caffeine according to energyfiend.com. Pound one of those down and you’ll probably be able to work through the entire list of exhibitors alphabetically AND by texture.

Ready? Set… Go!

Postcards From the Edge (of your seat)

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The NCTM Annual Meeting can be overwhelming. With more than 700 presentations and thousands of students, teachers, and educators attending, you’ll find you’re constantly trying to find the balance between attending a workshop or continuing an intriguing discussion with a newly-met colleague. In all there is to offer, how do you capture and bring home the best examples, ideas and suggestions from your time in San Diego?

Here’s a suggestion for capturing those moments in a workshop or presentation when you think “That’s perfect for my class!” Bring an envelope of postcard stamps (28¢—we know, it’s hard to keep up) and those unsolicited return address labels. (Yes, even the ones where your name is misspelled or you’re listed as Mr. Susan Jones; those work fine.) Stop at your hotel gift shop and stock up on postcards. As you run across a gem, put it on a postcard and mail it to yourself. You’ll enjoy receiving them and maybe you’ll start a file that you add to with every annual and regional meeting you attend.

Another postcard idea is to send one to your class with a thought about how you’re enjoying this time spent on professional development. It can create a natural teaching moment where you demonstrate the professionalism of teaching and your personal pride in your profession. Who knows? It could also plant the seed that grows a future math teacher or two.

For those old hands out there, how do you choose what sessions to attend? How do you capture ideas and inspirations from all that is offered, take it home and make it a part of your toolbox? The newbies out there will appreciate your suggestions. But as teachers, you already knew that, right?

Learn, network, and have fun before the meeting officially starts!

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If you are planning to be at the NCTM Annual Meeting a day before the regular sessions begin, here are a couple of extras you can take advantage of.

Starting at 8:30 am on Wednesday, April 21, and running all day until 4:30 pm are the Jumpstart Sessions. These are 60-minute, grade-band-specific workshops built from NCTM resources. Designed to engage you AND introduce activities you can use in your classroom, sessions were created using NCTM’s latest books, journals, and the Illuminations and Calculation Nation sites.

These workshops were extremely popular last year; every room was filled with eager and active participants, evaluations were very positive, and attendees went home with new tools and ideas to use right away in the classroom. The corridors were buzzing between sessions and you could see the excitement on people’s faces.
The New Member and First Timer’s Orientation will be held twice; the first session is Wednesday from 4:00–4:30, then again early Thursday morning from 7:15-7:45. If this is your first time attending, or if you’re a new member, this orientation will help you get the most out of your experience. You’ll also get takeaways full of classroom-ready activities.

Registration and the NCTM Bookstore are both open all day on Wednesday. So far, we have nine new books to offer since last year’s Annual Meeting. More are in the pipeline and more info coming soon. Some good stuff coming up.

Wednesday is a good opportunity for a leisurely look at the offerings before most attendees even arrive AND you’ll receive a 25% discount on your purchases during the meeting. All-in-all good, yes?

Have you participated in any of these early-bird activities in the past? What was your experience? Would you recommend them? We would like to hear your comments and advice to other attendees.

Check In, then Check This Out

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Today we have information for you about the convention center and hotels that will be your home while you attend the 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego. All of the Meeting and Exposition activities will be held at one of three locations: The San Diego Convention Center and the two “Headquarters Hotels” – the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego and the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina.
Why “Headquarters Hotels”? Because these hotels will be hot spots for networking throughout the conference, the site of many presentations, and roll-out-of-bed-and-be-at-your-first-meeting-in-a-flash close to the convention center.

Bonus: The deadline to reserve an HQ Hotel room has been extended to April 8. But wait! There’s more! If you register at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, you will be automatically entered into a raffle for: 1) Dinner for Two in Sally’s; and 2) 60-Minute Swedish Massage in Kin Spa.

On this map, please note that the HQ Hotels -- numbers 13 and 17 – are also very, very close to that blue area that is…? Correct. The San Diego Bay, aka “The Big Bay”.

The San Diego Bay, 12 miles long and one mile wide, is home to fine dining; a slew of tours, attractions and events; marinas and yacht clubs; and serves as a commercial port, a cruise ship port, and home of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet. Rumor has it that a few flocks of wild parrots have also made San Diego their home base. (We’re not talking Parrot Heads, although they're out there, too.)

So sometime between badge pickup and the mad dash to the airport, between the Opening Session with Willie Jolley and the Closing Session with Dan Buettner, try to carve out a little sightseeing time. After all, you’re already in the heart of it.

Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org

Connections in Paradise

2010-03-25T14:23:00.004-04:00

We are just four short weeks away from NCTM’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego. Over these four weeks, this blog will be bringing you information on the meeting, the presenters, what to expect – anything we can think of to make your experience richer and more enjoyable.

For today, let’s just start with a little tease. Spring made its official entrance last weekend. Here in Reston, Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C. and the home to NCTM’s headquarters, our daytime temperatures this week have been a bit chill. The cherry blossoms are on their way, but we’re wearing sweaters and light jackets to work.

We have 25 members who live in Juneau, Alaska, where the average March temperature is just over freezing. (::::::::waving:::::::::: Have all of you registered yet?)

You know where we’re going with this, don’t you?

San Diego’s average daily maximum temperature in March is 66.3 degrees. In April it registers at a near-perfect 68.7 degrees. That’s paradise, folks. And that’s where the meeting is being held.

So when you come to the Annual Meeting, you not only get valuable teaching knowledge and tools but you get to do it in a city known for its beautiful weather. Did we mention that you will also be right on the water? More about that next time…

2010 NCTM Annual Meeting

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Join us in San Diego for the 2010 NCTM Annual Meeting and Exposition!

April 21-24, 2010
San Diego, California
San Diego Convention Center

Find out more information.

View the interactive online meeting preview.

Register for the conference before March 12 and save 25%!

Reserve housing.

2010 NCTM Research Presession

2010-01-13T10:34:00.004-05:00

Registration is now open for the 2010 Research Presession!

Dates: Monday, April 19-Wednesday, April 21
Where: San Diego Convention Center

The NCTM Research Presession serves multiple purposes. First, it annually brings researchers together to examine and discuss current issues in mathematics education. Second, it is a chance for researchers to receive feedback on their work and to benefit from exposure to alternative points of view. Third, the Research Presession is an opportunity to capitalize on the collective wisdom available when researchers and practitioners come together to discuss mathematics education and research. Finally, the Research Presession affords beginning scholars opportunities to interact and network with veteran researchers in the field.

More information.

To register.