Nebraska was well represented at the NCTM 2018 Regional Conference & Exposition in Kansas City by seven presentations by Lincoln Public Schools teachers and district coaches. Each presentation at the conference, held Nov. 1-3, aligned with one of eight strands, of which seven aligned to the Guiding Principles as described in NCTM’s “Principles to Actions.”
As follows were the presentations given by LPS. Contact these teachers to learn more about their presentations.
Delise Andrews:
“Coaching toward Common Ground: Creating a Shared Vision and Growing Professionally as a Team”
A supportive community is a powerful component of teachers’ professional growth. This session will explore how teams of teachers, coaches, and administrators can collaboratively develop a shared vision for mathematics teaching and learning. With that foundation, teams can support and hold one another accountable as they work toward a common goal.
Darla Berks and Amber Vlasnik:
“Turning Walls into Windows: How Teacher Collaboration Can Support New Math Teachers”
According to the National Education Association, 20 percent of all new teachers leave the profession within the first three years. At this session, we will share ideas about effective induction programs that focus on teacher collaboration. The belief is that the collaboration that will assist new teachers will then carry over into a positive environment in which collaboration is the norm.
Alicia Davis and Anne Schmidt:
“A Winning Combination: Engagement, Rigor, and Functions”
A deep understanding of functions both prepares students for success in future mathematics courses and lays the foundation for students to make connections to other disciplines. Attendees will work through and discuss tasks designed to engage beginning algebra students in rigorous mathematics across a variety of function families.
Stephanie Fowler and Brandi Weymuth:
“A Mathematical Coaching Adventure: Collaborating, Reflecting, Growing, and Learning”
Reflection is a key factor of both growth and improvement of instruction. Principles to Actions remind us that teachers need to devote more time to intentional and structured reflection. In this session, perspectives of a coach and teacher will be discussed. Participants will be provided strategies that will support a coaching-teacher partnership.
Michael Hart, Mark Holland, and Mike Masin:
“Infusing Projects into Middle School Math Curriculum”
This session explores projects that have already been implemented in sixth- and seventh-grade classrooms. Participants will experience the planning process of creating projects, discuss the benefits of project-based learning, and learn how to implement similar and new projects in to their own curricula.
Susan Katt:
“#Mathematics Moments That Matter”
Often primary classrooms depict a “show and tell” time, falling short of accomplishing intended learning goals. This workshop will promote the purposeful decisions made before, during, and after a lesson. We will discuss how to collaborate with colleagues to guide students toward richer discourse and deeper mathematical understanding.
Joshua Males:
“How Do We Integrate Technology in a Meaningful Way?”
Your students have devices—now what? We will engage in a discussion on lesson planning and work together to reimagine a lesson to incorporate technology that will allow students to develop conceptual understanding of a topic. Devices have added a new complexity to math classrooms, and questions on when and how to use them must be considered.
Karla Bandemer also was on the 2018 Kansas City Regional Conference Program Committee and Matt Larson is the Immediate Past President of NCTM.
To learn more about the conference, visit https://www.nctm.org/kansascityprogram/.