A Conference That Will Remind You of Why You Became a Teacher

 

Do you feel pressured to "teach for the test" and not engage your students in the significant mathematics that attracted you to the field? Although "Drill and Kill" sounds like a reasonable strategy to raise test scores, research suggests otherwise. California State University, Bakersfield will be the site for this conference on September 10-11, 2010 that will not only be a collection of powerful presentations, but a collection of powerful presentations intended to help teachers combat the often perceived pressure to reduce mathematics teaching solely to memorization and drill. It is supported by TODOS and other professional organizations and qualifies as a T³ Regional.

 

Ed Silver and Carl Lager will keynote the conference that will include sessions by many outstanding speakers from California and across the country. Since handheld technology has been shown to be an effective tool for engaging students in significant mathematics, the conference includes sessions that utilize that tool as well as sessions that utilize other strategies.

A Small Sample Of The Sessions That Will Be Available:

• K-6: In response to Superintendent Jack O'Connell's Algebra Initiative approximately two years ago, the California Mathematics Project (CMP) and the California Mathematics Council (CMC) collaborated to create an algebra professional development program for elementary school teachers. CMC President Sheri Willebrand, CMP Executive Director Susie Hakansson, and CMP Co-Director Patrick Callahan and Joan Easterday will facilitate two sessions based on that project. Cathy Carroll will give an overview of the California Algebra Forum, and Lisa Usher-Staats and Diane Kinch will facilitate a session based on work from the Algebra Forum Region XI on teaching English learners.
• Middle School: BCSD Teachers Hilda Wright and Barbara Parr will model two of the lessons created in the TODOS-TI Project, and Bob McDonald, recently elected Vice President of TODOS and winner of the Iris M. Carl Leadership and Equity Award, will come in from Arizona to facilitate an additional lesson from the TODOS-TI Project.
• Smart Board: Are you "into" technology? You won't want to miss seeing what Tom Reardon from Ohio does with Smart Board, TI-Nspire and TI-Navigator.
• Formative Assessment and Differentiated Instruction: What are these? What could they really look like in mathematics classrooms? Allan Bellman's team will let you experience them yourselves and hear about the astounding student-achievement results they are getting.
• Geometry: Are you one who believes geometry is getting overlooked in the craze over algebra? This conference will have more geometry sessions than you will be able to attend, including David Reeves from Orangevale, Stuart Moskowitz from Humboldt, Deobra Solomon from Nevada, and former NCTM President Gail Burrill from Michigan.
• Algebra 2, Precalculus, Calculus and Statistics: will have powerful sessions, too.

 

Supported By Mathematics Education Professionals

This conference is an approved T³ Regional Conference and supported by the following organizations:

Algebra Forum Region VIII Bakersfield Mathematics Council (BMC) California Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (CAMTE) California Mathematics Project (CMP) California Mathematics Council (CMC) CSU Bakersfield Mathematics Club Fresno Mathletes at Fresno Pacific University TODOS: Mathematics for All

Tentative Conference Schedule

Friday September 10
7:00 PM	Opening Session - Keynote Address - Dr. Ed Silver
Saturday September 11
7:30 AM	Registration
8:30 - 10:00	Sessions
10:30 - Noon	Sessions
Noon - 1:00	Lunch on your own
1:00 - 2:30	Sessions
3:00 - 4:30	Sessions
5:00 - 6:30	Closing Session - Keynote Address - Dr. Carl Lager Door Prizes

 

Registration

Register by August 1 for $60, and after August 1 for $75. Click here to register. If you have further questions, contact Mike Lutz (plutz@csub.edu, 661-654-2028).