Conference Presentations and Resources

Here are resources from a number of past presentations at local, state, and national math education conferences, organized roughly by topic: promoting student mathematical discourse, counting and combinatorics, supporting student success in algebra, and effective instructional uses of assessment.

Discourse

Rowing with both oars: Engaging all students to raise mathematics achievement (with Annie Pestro, Stephen Drent, Michael Rouse, and Jo Maietta), NCSM Annual Conference (Philadelphia, PA, April 25, 2012)

When students aren’t engaged in their learning, even skilled teachers can feel like they’re rowing a boat using just one oar—exhausted, and not getting where they want to go. We discussed some big ideas that can help teachers promote students’ engagement and thus their mathematics learning; demonstrated and described specific classroom techniques to promote classroom discourse (math talks; see below) and use of rich tasks for formative assessment, with associated discussion protocols; shared classroom experiences and effects; and mentioned resources and professional learning activities that helped motivate and enable teachers to try and refine their use of these strategies.

Thanks again to David Foster of the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative and my colleagues, teachers, and teacher leaders in the South Cook Mathematics Initiative and West Cook Mathematics Initiative for their guidance and collaboration.

Build Student Engagement, Mental Math, and Reasoning with “Math Talks”, ICTM Annual Conference (Springfield, IL, October 21, 2011)

“Math talks” are quick routines that you can implement in your classroom within days. They can raise student engagement, build flexible mental math strategies, and help students construct arguments and critique reasoning — promoting discourse overall. We learned some of the principles and facilitation cues for math talks (and how they connect to promoting student engagement and mathematical discourse at any point in the classroom) and engaged in math talks across a variety of content areas. I also shared a number of supporting resources which have greatly informed my knowledge of math talks (they are linked below along with the slides). Thanks to David Foster of the Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative and the teachers I have worked with in the South Cook Mathematics Initiative for their guidance and collaboration.

Slides from the workshop
Secondary Number Sense Routines by the San Diego Unified School District
More math talk resources:
- Number Talks Build Numerical Reasoning by Sherry Parrish, TCM October 2011
- Some resources from Cathy Young on implementing math talks: here, here, or here
- A book: Number Talks: Helping Children Build Mental Math and Computation Strategies, Grades K-5 by Sherry Parrish
Articles from Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School and other NCTM journals on promoting student discourse:
- “Never Say Anything A Kid Can Say!” by Steven Reinhart
- “Orchestrating Discussions” by Margaret S. Smith, Elizabeth K. Hughes, Randi A. Engle, and Mary Kay Stein
- “Mental Mathematics beyond the Middle School: Why? What? How?” by Rheta Rubinstein (with supporting PD resources from NCTM)

Counting

Combinatorics: The Breakfast of Mathletes, ICTM Annual Conference (Springfield, IL, October 15, 2010)

Math competitions often include problems built on elementary content that are quite novel and challenging. For mathletes — or others who enjoy solving problems — combinatorics is an essential ingredient of a balanced training diet. We examined where important combinatorial topics show up in the curriculum, then worked on and discussed representative contest problems from the junior high and high school level to see where counting is used (or might be hiding).

Counting: It's Not Just For Breakfast Any More, NCTM Annual Conference (Washington, DC, April 25, 2009)

I presented some counting problems, and we discussed how these and similar problems

can be accessible, challenging, and engaging for students
embody important mathematics for students to know, work with, and be exposed to
support many of the key changes we often promote in math classrooms, including student-centered pedagogy and discussion; rich, group-worthy tasks; and reasoning, justification, and generalization
can promote traditional school mathematics content, especially problem-solving and algebraic thinking

Most of the content was intentionally outside the traditional combinatorics content included in the school mathematics curriculum. Participants left with more problems and a list of resources.

The final slides and handouts are below.

Count on It! Use Combinatorial Problems to Build Your Students' Engagement and Understanding, CMSI Annual Conference (Chicago, May 2, 2009)

We explored some counting problems that showed connections between different contexts, ways to develop mathematical habits of mind, and the power of counting problems to challenge students to solve rather advanced problems and engage in higher-order thinking (including generalization and justification) thanks to the concrete contexts in which they are posed. There are many more problems in the handout than we had time to explore, and if you want even more, see the NCTM presentation above. (These overlap slightly, but actually not that much.) Participant feedback indicated that the content might be more appropriate for intermediate (3-5) and middle grades (6-8) teachers than early elementary teachers, as some of the core ideas (like the multiplication or "fundamental counting" principle) are first introduced around grade 5.

Algebra

Reclaiming Lost Ground: Research-based Interventions for Under-prepared Algebra Students, MMC Conference of Workshops (Lincolnshire, February 5, 2011)

Reclaiming Lost Ground: Research-based Interventions for Under-prepared Algebra Students (with Stephen Spring), NCTM Regional Conference (New Orleans, October 28, 2010)

All our students must succeed in algebra — including those who enter under-prepared. These students may benefit from more time, but going slower may not be enough. These sessions described a comprehensive, cohesive package of strategies drawn from research on mathematics learning, literacy, social psychology, and special education to help these students learn. (The NCTM 2010 session was a large presentation with approximately 300 people in attendance; the MMC 2011 session was a smaller, more interactive workshop.)

How you can help your students succeed in algebra - and beyond (with Jesch Reyes), CMSI Annual Conference (Chicago, May 2, 2009)

Why is understanding algebra important to students? What do students need to master well before their first algebra class to be well-prepared for success in algebra? Beyond basic skills, what other habits of mind can we develop in our students while teaching the "standard" content of our K-8 curricula? We explored some problems that illustrated the development of algebraic habits of mind, some drawn from Mark Driscoll's Fostering Algebraic Thinking.

Assessment

Can Three Wrongs Make a Right? Helping Teachers and Coaches Use Assessment Items to Drive Students’ Thinking, NCSM Annual Conference (Indianpolis, April 12, 2011)

Can Three Wrongs Make a Right? Drive Students’ Thinking with Test Items, ICTM Annual Conference (Springfield, October 15, 2010)

Can Three Wrongs Make a Right? Using Test Items to Drive Student Thinking, NCTM Annual Conference (San Diego, April 22, 2010)

Can Three Wrongs Make a Right? Using Test Items to Drive Student Thinking, MMC Conference of Workshops (Elmhurst, January 30, 2010)

Can Three Wrongs Make a Right? Using Test Items to Drive Student Thinking, CMSI Annual Conference (Chicago, May 2, 2009)

These variations of a similar presentation attempt to convey information about how large-scale assessments are constructed, how they are similar to and different from classroom assessment, how principles used for large-scale assessment can inform some assessment practices in the classroom, and how items can be used in the classroom beyond drill to drive higher-order thinking.

Any suggestions on how to refine the focus or add or replace content to this presentation (especially in the area of effective classroom practices) would be much appreciated. (My email address is on the last slide.)