Professional Development for K-12 Teachers

The mathematics department is committed to support teachers in their continuous professional development, in particular in aspects related to content knowledge. These workshops are offered with the support of BOCES. Check MyLearningPlan catalog for new offerings. If you are interested in a particular workshop for your school, contact Cristina Gomez (cgomez@ithaca.edu). Here are some of the workshops offered recently.

• Workshops for middle school math teachers
  Probability and Statistics in middle school 
  Presenter: John Maceli, Cristina Gomez
  November 2, 2012
  
  This workshop is an opportunity to continue the discussion that has been going on between middle school teachers about the Common Core Standards with a particular emphasis on the Statistics and Probability domain recommended for the 6-8th grade level. Activities are designed to actively engage teachers in the Probability and Statistics content standards with attention to the mathematical practices. The prominent role of statistical reasoning in the middle school curriculum requires teachers to provide opportunities for making sense of data, understanding variation, developing statistical reasoning, and understanding connections between probability and statistics. All these issues are explored in this workshop.

• Workshops for middle and secondary math school teachers
  Teaching Mathematics with GeoGebra
  Presenters :David Brown & Dani Novak
  October 18, 2012

  These workshops are designed to introduce participants to GeoGebra, freely available dynamic software that combines the power of geometric visualization with algebraic manipulation. Two morning workshops demonstrate the functionality of the software and how to apply the abilities of GeoGebra to actual classroom activities. In the afternoon, participants develop their own interactive GeoGebra worksheets for activities that they can use in their own classes. To learn more about GeoGebra visit the website http://www.geogebra.org/cms/.

• Workshop for elementary teachers
  May 21, 2012
  

  Understanding addition and subtraction 
  Presenter: Cristina Gomez

  In early grades, addition and subtraction compose a major area of school mathematics and the foundation for other important topics in later years. The different types of problems involving addition and subtraction are reflected in the way children think about and solve these problems. During this workshop we explore a classification scheme focused on the actions and relationships described in the problems. We also look at the children’s solution strategies and how they evolve over time. These solution strategies are closely related to the types of problems.  We explore in this workshop how the mathematical practices develop while working with addition and subtraction situations.

  OkiDoku Puzzles
  Presenter: Dani Novak

  OkiDoku puzzles are mathematical activities that can add both skill and fun to teaching math in a classroom.  The puzzles teach number sense and help develop intuitive feeling for numbers.  They also enhance and develop logical thinking and reasoning.  The puzzles are very easy to understand and yet the level can range for a vast rainbow of needs:  From children who have little number sense to children who are very good at math.  In this workshop we introduce the OkiDoku puzzles and show how the teachers can create their own too. We also explore what mathematical practices are involved in working with these puzzles.

• Workshops for elementary teachers
  January 19, 2012

  Number and operations  
  Presenter: Emilie Wiesner

  Number and numeration are central to children’s early mathematical work and lay the foundation for more advanced mathematical thinking. In this workshop we develop our own number systems and use them to reflect on the standard number system. This give participants an opportunity to explore the conceptual challenges that a student may face in coming to understand number representations, as well as the structural features that make our number system powerful.

  Algebraic thinking in elementary grades 
  Presenter: Cristina Gomez

  Developing algebraic thinking is one of the main goals for school mathematics. The Common Core Standards include Algebraic Thinking as a focus topic in every grade from Kindergarten to 8^th grade. In this workshop we explore some of the algebraic ideas that have their roots in the work we do in early grades. Teacher’s understanding of these big ideas benefit students in different ways. Opportunities for generalizations, justification and use of different representations are present throughout the mathematics curriculum in elementary grades. 

• Workshops for middle and secondary math school teachers, January 19, 2012
  Changes driven by CCSSM  
  Presenters: Eric Robinson, David Brown & John Maceli

  The transition to the NYS Common Core State Standards in Mathematics is not intended to be simply a cross walk to the next list of content topics that will be used as a new basis for conventional end-of-course high stakes testing. Rather, the intent is to transform the mathematics curriculum into a more coherent and focused school program that addresses mathematics both as a body of knowledge and a way of thinking.  Correspondingly, state level student assessments will be expected to address higher level objectives. The three workshop sessions in the secondary strand for this worshop focus on some of the changes in topical content and content perspective, changes in student expectations and learning outcomes, and the effective use of technology implied in the new Common Core Standards.