Thursday, July 23rd

8:30 9:00 am
9:00 9:25 am

Registration, Lobby

Opening Session, Lecture Hall 1430

9:30 11:30 am

Morning Sessions

Middle School - John Mahlstedt and Hedge, Room 2454

Do middle school students have the math skills to survive an apocalypse?
Do YOU?
Algebra 1 - Anna Blinstein and Max Ray, Room 2440
Algebra 1 builds an essential foundation for future mathematics learning. Our session will examine how the
content and practices of the course interconnect and support each other in coherent ways. As a group, we will
aim to identify the discrete skills that come up in every Algebra I course, no matter the order of topics or
curriculum, and explore how they connect to the Mathematical Practices, problem-solving strategies, and big
ideas in Algebra. Join us in thinking through both a coherent overall structure for your course and creating
specific examples of lessons and topics and relating them back to the course goals and processes.
Geometry - Lisa Bejarano and Jim Doherty, Room 2450
Geometry too often gets left all alone in the high school curriculum. Lets get together with other Geometry
teachers to determine how it can be best integrated between Algebra 1 & Algebra 2 as well as determining
key ideas to emphasize and the role of proof. We will experience being a student; working though & adjusting
our best geometry activities. Come prepared to share favorite activities and ideas and to go home with more
of them in your tool bag!
Comings and Goings: Building a Shared Understanding of Math Education from Kinder through Calculus Jennifer Bell, Tina Cardone, Brian Bushart, (Remote: Michael Pershan), Room 3485
Are you an elementary or middle school teacher who has wondered, Why do my students need to know
this?
Are you a middle or high school teacher who has wondered, Didnt they learn anything about this in earlier
years?
In teaching its crucial to know both where our students are coming from and where they are going. But the
people who teach young kids and older students often dont even work in the same building. How can we help
struggling high school students, and what matters most in the elementary years? In this session well bring
math teachers for students of all ages together to build deep knowledge about the math that our students are
learning.
In each day of this three-day session well look at a different topic that cuts across the curriculum. Topics may
include: proportional reasoning, the distributive property and area. Our goal is for every participant to leave
this session with some new questions and serious food for thought. Come draw connections across grade
levels, deepen your curricular understanding, better understand the CCSS, write great problems for students
of all ages and be part of a one-of-a-kind conversation.

9:30 11:30 am

Morning Sessions

Activity-Based Teaching (grades 7-12) - Alex Overwijk and Mary Bourassa, Room 3481
How can we create a dynamic classroom where students are engaged and motivated to learn? Adding more
activities is one solution. This series of morning sessions will allow you to try a variety of activities designed for
courses from middle school through precalculus. The activities provide an entry point for all students, help
them connect to the mathematics they are learning and deepen their understanding of mathematical
concepts. You will then get to team up to create your own activities which will be shared and improved in true
MTBoS fashion. We will discuss the advantages of teaching through activities, how to set up your classroom as
well as how teaching with activities links to the SMPs. Come learn, share and have fun doing math!
Going deeper with Desmos - Jedidiah Butler, Michael Fenton, Bob Lochel, Glenn Waddell, Jr.
With a guest appearance by: Eli Luberoff, Room 2460
The sessions will address:
Basic, intermediate, and advanced skills in Desmos
Pre-made Desmos lessons and community-created lessons/activities
A focus on pedagogy, including decisions behind lesson design, as well as how things play out in the
classroom
Opportunities to work in grade-level teams to create new lessons/activities
Creating a Culture of Exploratory Talk Chris Luzniak and Elizabeth Statmore, Room 3460
Exploratory talk is the greatest single predictor of whether your students group work will be rich and effective
or not, yet most symmetrical classroom talk (peer talk among students) remains stubbornly cumulative
(positive but uncritical) or disputational (merely trading uncritical disagreements back and forth). It is also
incredibly difficult to connect with meaningful resources that can help you to deepen and improve the quality
of student talk during group work.
In this morning working group, we will explore the foundations of improving student talk through various
modalities such as Talking Points, debating math, and mistake analysis.
Over the course of our time together in this working group, we will immerse ourselves in a culture of
exploratory talk. We will also move back and forth between the perspective of learners and the perspective of
teachers. During immersive math-doing segments, we will explore sequences of problem-based
mathematics and investigate ways in which we can make student talk in these processes more effective.
. Immersive segments will be followed by reflective, master class segments in which we will analyze the
techniques and ideas weve just experienced. Problem sequences and tasks will be challenging but accessible
to all participants, and will be drawn from a variety of accessible sources including the Phillips Exeter math
curriculum, Park School of Baltimore Math curriculum, PCMI problem sets, and of course from the many
sources in the MTBoS.
All levels of math teachers and learners are welcome in this session, and the mathematics we will actually do
during the workshop will be accessible to everyone who wishes to participate.

9:30 11:30 am

Morning Sessions

The math you missed (or the joy of Geometry) - Edmund Harriss and Peg Cagle, Room 3461
Two concepts lie at the heart of higher mathematics, the rigorous formality structures of logical proof and an
extravagant play with ideas. In play we have space for confusion and mistakes. We will aim to provoke both in
these sessions, as we have a lot of fun with toys, models and ideas. There is just so much material we could
cover in this vein from the mysteries of infinity, to geometry, to some of the classic proofs (to me (EH) the
equal as artworks to anything humans have achieved). In fact if you let your guard down I am liable to start
talking about those sorts of things at a moments notice. Given my best models, however and the fact that Peg
Cagle has agreed to help out, geometry is a great source of inspiration. We will begin with shapes in the plane
and see how these fold up into 3 dimensional objects, we will then break the rules in a different way to
glimpse the geometry of Eschers Circle limit images and hyperbolic geometry before heading off into the
fourth dimension and beyond.
One goal will be to get ourselves confused and work through that to understanding. This is a great way to gain
empathy for our students who often need to do exactly that. Once a mathematical idea has set it often
becomes obvious, so we need to seek out new ideas to remember that feeling.
Math Games - James Cleveland and John Golden, Room 3465
When we read about cool math games, often one of the first reactions is often "But how can I really use this in
class - I have curriculum to teach!" We believe in game use and development in the math classroom - not just
review games, which can be great - but games that explore or practice particular content. We also think deep
mathematical thinking can be found when students create their own games around mathematical concepts and so these sessions will be two-fold. We'll walk through the process of facilitating the creation of math
games with students and then participants will take on the student role, working to generate possible games
for specific content.
Rough schedule of days:
1. Participants will try a couple of our favorite math games and well discuss some of the guiding principles of
good (classroom) game design. Well brainstorm content areas for game development on the next two days.
2. Game design groups will collaborate on initial ideas with community feedback, and support and ideas from
James and John.
3. Playtesting day, when well try games out and gather ideas for classroom implementation.
Formative Assessment and Feedback in Math (General K-12 session) - John Scammell, Room 2425
This three day workshop will examine the nature of useful feedback (formative assessment) in mathematics
classes. After three days, participants will leave with numerous ideas and samples of quality formative
assessment tools.
Day 1 - What is Feedback and Why is it Important?
Participants will examine relevant literature into the effects of feedback. We will explore what makes good
feedback and its effect on teaching and learning. We will look specifically at embedded formative assessment
(Dylan William) and quality feedback (Susan Brookhart). Other authors and researchers may be cited.
Day 2 - Practical Examples of Feedback
Participants will explore different methods of embedding feedback seamlessly into their math lessons.
Strategies will be shared and modeled that facilitate peer feedback, teacher feedback, and self-reflection, as a
means of feedback.
Day 3 - Building and Creating
Based on our explorations on Day 1 and Day 2, participants will collaborate to build examples of feedback
tools that we can share on the TMC wiki.

11:30 am 1:00 pm
1:00 1:30 pm

Lunch (on your own)

Afternoon My Favorites, Lecture Hall 1430

1:30 2:30 pm

Keynote, Lecture Hall 1430

Growing our own practice: How mathematics teachers can use social media to support ongoing
improvement - Lani Horn
The #MTBoS is filled with teachers eager and committed to their ongoing professional learning. In this talk, I
will share what we know about how math teachers learn about teaching and grow from good to great. Then I
will reflect on the strengths, weaknesses and possibilities of social media as a vehicle for that learning. I hope
to use this session to spark reflections and discussion of your own learning in the #MTBoS as we think about
ways to make it even better.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Using Scratch to Explore Geometry - Dan Anderson, Room 3461

(Geometry)
Through the use of Scratch (free, web based, drag and drop programming environment) we will see how
students can informally explore many different Geometry topics, including regular polygons and their
properties, the coordinate plane, transformations, etc... Explore the Geometry on your own and have fun! No
prior knowledge of programming necessary (just like your students!). **Please bring your own laptop to this
session.
Formative Assessment & Feedback at Scale - Peg Cagle, Room 2454
(assessment; grades 7-12)
We know that assessment and evaluation are not synonymous, but faced with multiple preparations, teaching
loads in excess of 200 students per day, and onerous district grading policies, it is daunting to craft ways to be
sure that we are gathering valid and reliable information about student thinking and make use of that thinking
to guide instruction.
Join with others working to make productive, on-going use of formative assessments to inform instructional
choices, without being buried in paperwork or being seduced into corrupting the formative nature of these
measures by assigning marks or scores to meet district requirements. Rethink old favorites like exit tickets to
see ways of better leveraging what we can learn from them. Look at ways to help students use continual
meta-cognition about their own learning to provide us with real time information. Design methods for building
formative components into graded assignments to manage your workload without compromising instructional
integrity. Examine processes that support giving meaningful and specific feedback to students without getting
overwhelmed.
Nix the Tricks - Tina Cardone, Room 2450
(All Levels)
Being a mathematics student is about critical thinking, justification and using tools of past experiences to solve
new problems. Students who approach every topic as a series of steps to memorize are not learning math. In
this session we will explore how to replace some popular tricks with teaching for understanding. Come
prepared to think - we will balance an overview of existing resources with time to work on ideas for your own
classroom (ex: how to un-teach tricks kids know, replace a trick you currently use or build deeper
understanding on a topic you only touch the surface of).

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

A Truly "Hands-On" Approach to Teaching the Distributive Property for Understanding - Dave Chamberlain,
Room 3465
(Common Core; Grades 3-Algebra 1)
An understanding of the distributive property is foundational to a student's math success. Learn a simple and
fun method to teach students the distributive property for understanding using only their hands while
addressing ALL EIGHT of the Common Core Eight Math Practices at the same time! We will begin the session
by demonstrating a method to easily multiply two two-digit numbers without using pencil-and-paper. This
same method will then be used to multiply any two binomials. Students will no longer need to learn FOIL or
use a diamond/box method, both of which are just shortcuts to "answer getting" without understanding.
Finally, learn how students can quickly and easily factor trinomials using just their hands. You will be amazed
at how quickly your students will understand and apply the distributive property after learning this method.
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Video Games - Matt Lane, Room 2425
(High School, video games, games, probability, statistics, physics, number theory)
Today, millions of people have powerful gaming machines in their pockets and on-hand 24 hours a day. With
such easy access, theres a renewed push for so-called educational games. But theres rich mathematical
thinking to be gleaned from games in general, not just ones that bill themselves as being educational. What's
more, mathematical conversations structured around popular games -- or at least well-designed ones -- are
more likely to be successful than those built around games-in-name-only.
In this session, we'll play some games, talk about some others, and explore examples of rich mathematics in
games that don't typically come to mind when thinking about education. Theres a lot of mathematics under
the surface of some of our most popular video games, if youre willing to look. Beautiful mathematics doesnt
discriminate. And neither should we.
More than Mistakes! - Nicole Paris, Room 2421
(Middle School, Math Practices)
Constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others can be the springboard for so many
fantastic classroom activities. Learn (and share!) some strategies for using math practice #3 for concept
development, class discussions, formative assessment, and more While the activities shared will focus on
middle school content, the strategies are easily modified for any level of instruction.
Planning Units using the MTBoS - Bree Pickford-Murray, Room 2460
(6-12, Planning)
There are a million-and-one (probably more) amazing lessons out there on the internet. With the help of the
MTBoS, you probably have more cool activities than you know what to do with. How can you put all of these
lessons, activities and ideas together into something that looks like a coherent unit? This will be a processbased exploration into ways of compiling, organizing and restructuring a variety of resources into a unit that
works for you, in your classroom. Ill share a geometry unit that Ive pretty much nailed down, along with a
data/statistics unit that is still a work in progress. Feel free to bring a unit youre working on, along with some
activities youre thinking about including.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Accepting Our Powerlessness in the Classroom - Megan Schmidt, Room 3460

(All Levels)
As educators, it's natural for us to demand as much control as possible in our classrooms: student interactions,
lesson outcomes, use of electronic devices, time on task. We hope that this "control" will result in high levels
of student achievement and a love of math for all. Unfortunately, there are many nuances of student
dynamics over which we have no control and which directly affect our day-to-day influence on these students.
Let's take some time to discuss
1. Our inherent desire to have "control" in our classrooms.
2. What's worth having controlling
3. And what we are powerless to control and what things of which we need to let go.
Looking in the Rear View Mirror: Thoughts on Successes and Failures with New Courses - Sam Shah, Julie
Reulbach, Brendan Kinnell, Room 2440
(Building Curriculum)
In this session, we three teachers will share our experiences teaching courses for the first time.
Sam and Brendan worked together this past year to write an entirely new geometry curriculum from scratch.
Instead of using a textbook as our guide, we wrote well-sequenced problems and developed activities to
introduce the traditional curriculum in an organic and discovery-based way. We didnt always succeed, and
while sharing some highlights from our experience, we will also share our failures (of which there were many).
In other words, we are conducting a public post-mortem of our first year leading students through our
homemade curriculum. We hope that by outlining our process, we will inspire you to take the leap to building
your own curriculum and experience how transformative this can be for both you and your students. (And
avoid all the pitfalls we encountered along the way.)
Julie changed schools and moved grade levels this year, from middle school to high school. I taught two new
classes this year, Geometry and Algebra 2. Teaching two new classes was challenging, but that challenge was
compounded because I was expected to closely follow current faculty and the textbook. At the beginning of
the year I struggled as I was underwater with two new plannings. However, I was not satisfied with the way I
was teaching. I knew I had to find a way to change my classes. I was finally able to merge my teaching
methodology and style with the textbook. I will share my struggles and how I turned a disastrous beginning
into a more successful and satisfying ending. Hopefully this will help you discover how you can change your
classes, even in a restrictive environment.
Math Coaches Round Table - Chris Shore, Room 3425
(Leadership)
Calling all Math Coaches & Specialists of all types. Let's share ideas and learn from each other.
Math Mistakes and Error Analysis: Diamonds in the Rough - Andrew Stadel, Room 3481
(grades 6-8, Mathematical Practice 3, Formative assessment)
Attendees will participate in error-analysis activities by using strategies to make better sense of mathematical
concepts and strengthen students analytical skills. Explore ways to use common student mistakes as a means
to artfully teach difficult concepts. In addition, teachers will explore ways to effectively use exit tickets in order
to formatively assess students and their mistakes in order to better inform teacher instruction the next day.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Numberless Word Problems - Brian Bushart, Room 3485

(All Levels, Problem Solving)
They just add all the numbers! It doesnt matter what the problem says.
They dont stop to think! They just start computing as soon as theyre done reading the problem.
They dont even realize this is exactly the same type of situation as the problem we did yesterday!"
Have you ever caught yourself thinking or saying frustrations like these? Then you might be interested in
trying out Numberless Word Problems with your students. Numberless? you say. Come to this session and
all will be revealed as we work together to address the following guiding question: How can we scaffold our
work with students to allow them the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the underlying
structures of word problems?

4:00 4:30 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Socratic Seminars in Math Class - Matt Baker, Room 2440

(Classroom Discussion)
Socratic seminars provide a structured conversation so that participants are better able to achieve a deeper
understanding of big ideas in a text. This workshop aims to introduce the idea of Socratic Seminars in the math
class through examples that my school has used in the past and review structures and norms that have been
successful at my school across disciplines. Teachers will then have some time to brainstorm different seminar
ideas that could be used in the future.
Integers - Now THIS makes sense! - Deborah Boden, Room 2450
(Grades 6-8, Common Core)
Why are kids still making mistakes with integers after you've taught them all the rules? Come learn a
progression for teaching integers where students write phrases/sentences that make sense to them, then
translate the English into Math using integers to represent their words. Teachers in my district are using this
and tell me their kids really get it! Can you translate "the opposite" from English to Math?
Half Hour of Cool - Sadie Estrella, Room 2421
(Love of teaching, Why do I do this job?)
Come join us for an informal chat session about the cool and amazing things that teachers experience in this
profession. Get reminded of why you choose this profession and what keeps you coming back to it year after
year.

4:00 4:30 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Why Number Talks in Elementary Classes? - Chris Harris, Room 3460

(grades k-5, SMP#3)
TMC 2015 SESSION
Come and participate in a Number Talk. Discuss what can be gained by adding this simple routine to your daily
schedule. Well talk about using hand signals, building students confidence, building vocabulary and speaking
skills and implementing the Standards for Mathematical Practice (particularly #3, #6, #7, #8)
Number Talks can be used at any level, well be focusing on K-5 classrooms.
THE BACKGROUND
As a Math coach in a low-performing elementary school district in North San Diego County the task was to
change the way teachers were teaching in order to implement CCSSM especially the Practice Standards. And
Number Talks was where we started!
A Number Talk is a short (5-15 minute) daily routine that helps students build computational fluency in mental
math. Its not about speed but rather it is about students discovering and sharing strategies that allow them to
be flexible with numbers i.e. Number Sense.
So the math coaches demonstrated Number talks in hundreds of classrooms. Students were engaged and
teachers were amazed to hear what their students were thinking. Were on a roll!!
Learning Math, Learning English, or Learning Both? - Heather Kohn, Room 3425
(English Language Learners, strategies, all levels)
English Language Learners are studying a new language while being expected to learn new math content. You
will learn teaching strategies and easy-to-implement classroom activities that benefit not only high needs
students, but all students. During this session, you will gain a greater sense of the needs of English Language
Learners and you will learn to adapt your own lessons so they include all four domains that are essential for
learning language. Everyone will be reading, writing, speaking, listening and doing math at the same time, in
no time.
Debate That! An Introduction to Debate in Math Class - Chris Luzniak, Room 2460
(All levels)
Want to get your students more engaged in a classroom project/presentation? Want to increase their literacy
and reasoning?! Debate has often been a staple in the humanities classroom, and now you can learn how to
make it an integral part of your math or science class. Join Chris Luzniak (@pispeak) as he introduces several
techniques for creating a healthy math-debating classroom. This is an introductory session for teachers who
have no experience with these structures.
Creating a Family Math Night - Sarah Martin, Room 2425
(All Levels)
Would you like to incorporate a Family Math Night for your class or school? If so, then this is the session for
you. I will talk about how to get started, different ways you can organize the event, show you a few of our
popular games, and send you off with a few make it and take it games.

4:00 4:30 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Head Over Heels: Adventures in Flipping a Classroom - Sandra Miller, Room 3465
(Grades 7-12, Classroom Organization, Flipped Class, Flipped Learning)
In the flipped class model, direct instruction doesn't have to mean a teacher standing in front of the whole
class, lecturing. Instead, the direct instruction and/or notetaking takes place outside of class, and classtime is
used for guided and independent practice. The flipped class model is garnering a lot of talk in education
circles, so what is it and how does it work in practice? This session will focus on logistics, procedures, and how
to handle the kid who doesn't have internet at home.
Organizing the Math Twitter Blogosphere (MTBoS) - Eric Milou, Room 2454
(All Levels)
With so much amazing, innovative, and creative content in the MTBoS, is an organization effort of such
worthwhile? Moreover, with so many amazing leaders in the MtBoS, should there be more of a organized
political presence focused on issues in mathematics education that affect all of us. Come see one attempt to
do so and add your content to the effort.
Linking Algebra and Geometry - Jasmine Walker, Room 3461
(Geometry, Algebra, Connection, Curriculum Map)
Geometry is often presented as a whole new idea to students coming out of Algebra 1. How can we rearrange
the topics in the geometry curriculum to show the interconnections between these critical branches of math?
I will bring my algebra/geometry links and curriculum map and welcome others to do the same as we search
for connections and intersections beyond labeling sides of figures with algebraic expressions.
Feedback Quizzes: Using Detailed, Written Formative Assessment to Promote Low-Stress Learning - Julie
Wright, Room 3485
(formative assessment, grading, middle school)
Research has shown the value of formative assessments that provide students with specific feedback without
scores or grades. However, giving detailed, written feedback to more than a hundred students is a daunting
task, and requires a lot of teacher time that no longer results in scores for grades. Come hear about strategies
I used this year for balancing "feedback quizzes" with regular end-of-unit tests and giving detailed written
comments efficiently with technology. I will also share what I learned about how non-graded quizzes and
detailed feedback affected my students' learning and attitude about math assessments.

4:30 5:00 pm

Speed Dating, Lecture Hall 1430

Friday, July 24th

9:00 9:30 am

Morning Announcements and My Favorites, Lecture Hall 1430

9:30 11:30 am

Morning Sessions (same as Thursday)

11:30 am 1:00 pm
1:00 1:30 pm

Lunch (on your own)

Afternoon My Favorites, Lecture Hall 1430

1:30 2:30 pm

Keynote, Lecture Hall 1430

Math from the Heart, Not the Textbook Christopher Danielson

You didn't become a math teacher because you wanted to teach [Insert multinational textbook publisher
name here] Math. No way. You became a math teacher because you are passionate about the intersection
of math, life and young minds.
I'll share some tasks and ideas that come from the heart and challenge you to identify the tasks that make
your professional heart sing.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Planning: A Year, A Unit, A Lesson - Lisa Bejarano and Heather Kohn, Room 2440
(Planning, Secondary)
How do you organize a school year into engaging, rigorous and manageable units of study while ensuring you
are reaching all the standards? We will look at the year as a big picture, then zoom into a specific unit of study,
and zoom in again to one lesson. Its challenging to find a balance between addressing the content you need
to teach while incorporating a wide variety of resources and maintaining flexibility. Having a plan makes day to
day teaching less stressful so you can focus on the needs of your students.
Organizing your standards into cohesive unit maps with planned timelines enables you to focus on making
your daily lessons and activities great while addressing critical concepts. Strategies on how to organize units of
study and lessons from a variety of resources, including the MathTwitterBlogoSphere, will be shared. Specific
examples will include snapshots of a year, unit, and lesson in Algebra 1 and Geometry, though the strategies
can be applied to all content areas. You are encouraged to bring your own ideas, calendars, resources and
plans for discussion.
Function Transformations Without Tears - Meg Craig, Room 3465
(High School)
Does trying to graph y = -2 (3x 4) + 5 or y = 3 sin (x + ) strike fear in your students (or you)? Then you
need to transform how you think about transformations with this easy three-step process. Step 1: Plant the
seed early by translating lines. Step 2: Journey with students through a discovery of why the changes occur to
a graph, including the (no-longer) mysterious f(x) stretching the graph. Step 3: Introduce the Susan Spencer
Method of Graphing Transformations. This method, named after the master teacher who taught it to me, has
been providing students with painless graphing for over 25 years. After this session, you and your students will
also be able to graph transformations easily, efficiently, and, most importantly, with no tears.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Supporting Small Group Instruction with Math Workstations - Sadie Estrella and Mitzi Hasegawa, Room 2454
(K-12 Small group instruction, math workstations)
Math workstations and how to implement, manage and maintain them to support small group instruction
during math block and/or math workshop time. Learn how to integrate math workstations with core programs
to foster peer to peer questioning and support student growth in mathematics.
Better Questions: Ours/Our Students - Rachel Kernodle, Room 2450
(all levels, questioning)
Whats the best question you asked a student today? Whats the best question a student asked you today?
As teachers we know that asking good questions is a fundamental part of creating a dynamic and engaging
classroom. But the ability to facilitate lessons peppered with the kinds of questions that get students thinking
deeply takes both planning and practice. And how often do we encourage our students to formulate their own
questions? By giving our students deliberate opportunities to learn and practice this skill we invite greater
participation and interest/engagement in our content.
In this session we will explore effective questioning techniques, with an emphasis on questions that stimulate
student thinking. We will brainstorm ways to intentionally incorporate a focus on questioning into our lesson
planning and reflection during the upcoming school year. Well also share some of the MTBoSs best resources
and techniques for encouraging students to ask their own questions.
Lets make it a daily habit to ask better questions.
What do You Think and Why? Supporting Students in Sharing their Ideas - Ilana Horn, Room 3481
(classroom discussions)
Most of us are convinced that students learn best when they have a chance to talk about mathematical ideas.
However, not all students are willing or able to participate in class discussions. This session offers a framework
for thinking about the social and intellectual challenges of sharing mathematical thinking and using it as a basis
for instruction. I offer some ideas and examples about designing classrooms that support this activity. After
presenting the framework, I will present examples from #MTBoS teachers classrooms about strategies for
increasing student participation.
A Full Scale Math Debate: Using a Debate as a Summative Assessment- Chris Luzniak, Room 3485
(Algebra, Debate, All Levels)
Want to experience a full-scale real-world debate that involves algebra?! Come to this session to learn about,
attempt, and debrief a full-scale debate in your math classroom. We will be working through a highly
accessible Algebra 1 debate, exploring the topic, the structure and the roles. Be ready to argue, scowl and
show off your systems of equations in this fun debate workshop!

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Exploring Opportunities (or Obligations) for Leadership, Advocacy and Stewardship Without Leaving the
Classroom - Peg Cagle and Levi Patrick, Room 2425
(All Levels, Professionalism, Policy)
In this session, we will explore the range of ways to craft advocacy and leadership opportunities grounded in
being a practicing classroom teacher. Come and learn about existing structures that seek the input of engaged
math educators at local, state and national levels. Help brainstorm ways to build additional avenues for
advocacy on behalf of high-quality teaching and learning of math for all, and amplify your voice on behalf of
yourself, your students and your profession. We will examine a broad range of leadership arenas including
how to impact curriculum, keep the m from being silent in STEM programs, inform policy decisions and
regulatory language, and participate in the funding of research efforts and shaping the future of our
profession.
We believe it is abundantly evident that passionate and reflective math educators must engage in our
profession as leaders, advocates, and stewards. Join this introductory conversation about the opportunity to
influence policy discussions in your school, district, state, and beyond. If these ideas feel unfamiliar, scary, or
outside your comfort zone, don't worry! Join us and we'll learn together!
Practical Formative Assessment Strategies - John Scammell, Room 3460
(Formative Assessment, All Levels, Feedback)
This rapid fire session will count off more than 90 practical formative assessment strategies that are easy to
implement. This session is mostly a repeat of "60 in 60" from last year at TMC, but has grown to 90 in 60 for
this year.
Unanswerable Questions: The Key to Building Statistical Thinkers - Denis Sheeran, Room 2460
(Statistics, Common Core, Middle School, High School, Google)
Statistics has become significantly more prevalent in 6-12 math standards under the Common Core, moving
far beyond mean, median and mode and Line of Best Fit. This workshop will present how to use Unanswerable
Questions to develop statistical thinking in students, and will connect the statistical thinking from middle
school through Algebra 2 into the AP Statistics program.
Tools for Building Number Sense and Problem Solving - Andrew Stadel, Graham Fletcher and Norma Gordon
(virtual) , Room 2421
(All grades, problem solving, number sense)
Use a range of tools to engage students and foster strong number sense as a habit of mind in students.
Explore the following: 1) Estimation 180, 2) Effective tools such as CueThink to support students and problem
solving, and 3) Brainstorming action: K-16!
***Bring your iPad
A New Experiment: Sports Research for CCSS - William Thill, Room 3425
(9-12 Stats/ Data CC)
Does distracting a free throw shooter work? Let's conduct a real experiment to find out! As a result, we'll learn
about the role of random assignment and how to make/use simulations to judge whether an experimental
treatment is effective. Discussion about the challenges / caveats of making "cool" activities meaningful and
effective tools to improve students learning. Focused on CCSS Data Stats topics in grades 9/12.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Making Videos for the Classroom - Paula Torres, Room 3461

(All levels; flipped classroom, video creating)
I make lessons for my flipped classroom and plan to have participants make their first video. I have used
TouchCast, Doceri and Camtasia. I have also had students make their own videos and use them as a test
correction device. I find this to be a valuable tool that gives great insight into what students know. (Easiest if
participants have a tablet device to write on for creating their own video.)

4:00 5:00 pm

Afternoon Sessions

The Mandelbrot Set Viewed through Precalculus - Dan Anderson, Room 2421
(High School)
Have you marveled at the beauty of the Mandelbrot set but never understood how it is created? Have you
wondered where complex numbers, binomial expansion, polar form, and DeMoivres theorem all combine to
simply create the Mandelbrot set? We investigate how the fractal is interactively drawn in the Processing.org
computer language.
Understanding Our World Beyond the Numbers: Insights of Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice - Rachel
Bates, Room 3485
(Social Justice, All levels, alternative mathematics pedagogies, teaching mathematics for social justice)
Despite the various forms of research that has highlighted cognitive understanding of how mathematical
knowledge is acquired and utilized, students typically experience mathematics through years of fragmented
encounters leading them to believe that mathematics is comprised of meaningless symbols, inflexible
formulae and procedures, and exercises far removed from their own interests and the world they encounter.
This presentation will provide participants with the opportunity to discuss the importance of quantitative
reasoning and understanding through a variety of social justice topics. Ideas presented can be applied to fit
middle school - college level mathematics courses.
Writing a Book: Why? and How? - Katherine Bryant, Room 3465
(all levels)
Have you ever considered writing a book? You may wonder why youd want to do that when theres so much
sharing going on in the MTBoS (a fair question!), and what it actually takes to put your ideas into book form.
What does a book even mean anymore? Lets discuss! Im happy to share my perspective, as an editor, on
why and how you might go about writing a book: what the value is, what the process looks like, and how not
to drive yourself (or your editor) crazy in the process. If youve written or are writing a book, Id love to have
you come share your experiences too.
Young Mathematicians and The Thrill of Mathematical Discovery - Federico Chialvo, Room 3425
(grades K-8, Mathematical Practices)
What kinds of mathematical contexts can provide elementary school students the thrill of mathematical
discovery, and how can this fit into our curriculum? We will explore a few "low floor, high ceiling"
mathematical investigations that will get your students noticing patterns and wondering why. We will discuss
ways to facilitate these kinds of mathematical tasks and discussions with young students, and how these tasks
can give students experience with mathematical practices as well as with core skills. I will share a list of
investigations I have found effective, as well as resources I have used as inspiration.

4:00 5:00 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Modified Flipped Math Classroom (High School) - Princess Choi, Room 2460
(High School Math, Flipped Classroom, More time to teach, grit)
Do you get excited over the concept of a flipped classroom where students learn at home and come to you
where you help them at their level individually? Do you want class time to be fun project time relating math to
the real world since your students worked on basics at home? Well, what if the majority of your students lack
the motivation to work at home? What if your students lacked the pre, pre, pre-requisite skills needed to be
successful in your class? Should we dump the flipped classroom model? Let's NOT! Pointers and strategies
from a high school math teacher in a 1:1 device school district.
* Use of Google Classroom
* Student created tutorials
* Math dance
* Encouragement
* Different versions of tests-no more than 4
Improve Your Questioning Skills to Formatively Assess Student Understanding - Robert Kaplinsky,
Room 3481
(questioning, formative assessment, MP3, MP6)
Asking students questions that encourage elaborate responses allows teachers to formatively assess their
students in real time. Unfortunately, many teachers need support and practice to improve their questioning.
Participants will engage in an activity that helps refine questioning skills and can easily be replicated.
Join a Conversation with NCTM! - Matt Larson, Room 3461
(All Levels, NCTM)
This session will feature a discussion of new national mathematics education developments as well as NCTMs
current initiatives, including NCTMs Professional Learning Strategic Plan. In addition, participants will have an
opportunity to engage in a discussion with NCTM President-Elect Matt Larson (@mlarson_math) concerning
how NCTM can effectively support teachers needs.
Agree or Disagree? Starting a Fight In Your Math Class - Tim McCaffrey, Room 2425
(Grades 6-12, MP.3)
Who is the best NFL team? Has technology made students smarter? What should we do about the American
debt crisis? These are all questions that inevitably create controversy. This workshop focuses on doing just
that...start a mathematical fight. Learn how to put your students in a place to "fighting" mathematically with
one another in your classroom.

4:00 5:00 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Planning and Assess-Respond-Instruct Cycle in Mathematics - Michelle Naidu, Room 3421

(All Levels, Planning)
Differentiation is hard. Crazy hard even, especially if you're trying to do it as you go and/or be everything to
everyone. During this session we'll go through how to plan using the Assess-Respond-Instruct cycle to identify
student gaps, remediate them and have more students engaging at grade level mathematics. During the hour
you'll get to experience and participate in an extremely condensed version of planning, as well discuss what a
typical planning cycle looks like and possible differentiation for your own teaching and planning situation. The
Assess-Respond-Instruct cycle can be used for any topic and is especially conducive to group planning. Full
disclosure - this planning process is time commitment heavy up front. The investment pays off when you are
appropriately prepared to differentiate and provide interventions for your students as well as be much more
present in your teaching as your only scrambling will involve the broken photocopier (or those pesky
recommendation letters)!
Barbie Bungee - Fawn Nguyen and Matt Vaudrey, Room 3460
(Grades 8-10, linear regression, Desmos, collaborative group work)
This activity is the capstone to a unit on linear and proportional relationships, and the connections to other
mathematical ideas are clear, varied, and easy for students to grasp. Prepare to experience abstraction,
problem-solving, inference, modeling, and a bitchin Desmos graph. Ideal for middle-school, these activities
can be done low-tech, high-tech, and anything in between. (Bring any device to get online)
Participants will gather data (as students), plot points, and construct a line of best fit, all while discussing
reasoning, conjecture, and precision found in the 8 SMPs.
Everyone leaves with digital resources. Hopefully, the brainpower in the room creates some great extension
activities.
SBG for Beginners and Beyond - David Petersen (@calcdave), Anna Hester (@TypeAMathLand), Lisa Soltani
(@lisasolt) , Room 2440
(SBG, formative assessment)
The first half of this session you will hear from three teachers who've implemented standards-based grading in
our classrooms. We will discuss the nuts and bolts including:
- getting started
- settling on what standards to measure
- communicating with and garnering support from students, families and administrators
- managing the work flow with time saving tips
- reassessing
- remediation
- supporting students in tracking their scores
- entering grades and software options
Our intent is to get into the weeds and share our individual experiences. We will tap the expertise of more
experienced participants by asking them to share what has worked and what challenges remain.
For the second half, we will break into smaller groups depending on the number and interests of participants
and have a working session where teachers of all experience levels can collaborate and explore different
aspects of SBG.

4:00 5:00 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Teaching the 8 Practices - Chris Shore, Room 2450

(Common Core, Math Practices)
Learn exactly what the 8 Standards of Mathematical Practice are, and see how they can be explicitly taught.
You don't have to decide between teaching content or thinking. They can both get taught on a daily basis.

Saturday, July 25th

9:00 9:30 am

Morning Announcements and My Favorites, Lecture Hall 1430

9:30 11:30 am

Morning Sessions (same as Thursday and Friday)

11:30 am 1:00 pm
1:00 1:30 pm

Lunch (on your own)

Afternoon My Favorites, Lecture Hall 1430

1:30 2:30 pm

Keynote, Lecture Hall 1430

Teacher Woman, Because Teacher Man is Taken Fawn Nguyen

You know how long Ive been in the classroom? Too damn long. So now I hold all the secrets to teaching.
Come 10 minutes late to this session and youll miss them all.
Well spend time talking about this wonderful craft the art of teaching. (Actually Ill do most of the talking,
you just pretend to listen.) We came into this profession because we love well-behaved kids and tenure and
office supplies. We stay because we have a mortgage and the MTBoS makes us look like we know what were
doing. Also, lets spend time daydreaming about retirement in Tuscany.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

K-12 Fraction Fun - Jennifer Bell, Room 2421

(All Levels, Common Core)
When do fraction concepts start in the CCSS? How do fraction concepts and rational number operations build
K-12? Come build bridges from early elementary school models to high school equations so you can support
your students. Research shows that success with fractions (and long division) predict success in Algebra. We
will examine this research and the progressions of content K-12 while sharing strategies and questions. There's
no need to freak out on fractions!
Transformations: A Visual Understanding - Jedidiah Butler, Room 2425
(Geometry, Common Core, 6-12, hands-on)
Come explore transformations with a visual approach. Tools will include Geogebra, Desmos, Patty Paper,
sheet protectors, paper rolls and flashlights.
First we establish running themes, and key questions to carry our understandings. As visual intuitions are built,
we'll see how vocabulary naturally rises from these. Then we shift focus to dilations and proportional
reasoning with scale factor, dimensional analysis, and maybe even a little Non-Euclidean Geometry. The goal
of this session is to help teachers wrap their heads around transformations, and the core concepts the tie it all
together.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Inverting a Chessboard: Inversive Geometry For Mere Mortals: the Math Beyond a Twitter Avatar - Bruce
Cohen, Room 3461
(Geometry, Common Core, hands-on, 10-12)
Have you wondered how to introduce your students to some really cool higher-level explorations that take
them beyond the basics of transformational geometry and functions? In this hands-on session, we will play
with a rich problem in inversive geometry my Twitter avatar and discover ways to make this investigation
accessible for students. Scaffolded worksheets and practical materials at a wide range of different levels will
be available for you to take home and customize for your own classes.
Arithmetic to Algebra: Key Building Blocks in Abstract Thinking - Dylan Kane, Room 2450
(Grades 6-9, Common Core, Algebraic Thinking)
Many students in elementary and middle school look at math as a set of procedures that produce numerical
answers. While we may try to discourage it, the reality is that most problems students solve before 6th grade
have a single, numerical answer. As students are introduced to algebraic reasoning, they often see these
problems no differently than arithmetic problems -- just with more steps, more calculation, and more chances
to make mistakes. However, by the time students reach high school algebra, they are expected to relate
equations to graphs, see structure in expressions, and analyze and perform operations on functions. Too many
students enter high school algebra with both a mindset and a skill set that leaves them unable to see this
algebraic structure. This session will look at a progression of problems and facilitation techniques that span
from 6th to 9th grade, create meaningful opportunities for students to reason algebraically and abstractly, and
provide durable building blocks for higher algebra and calculus.
We will focus on the Expressions & Equations strand in the Common Core standards, but will also examine the
high school Algebra and Functions strands and Standards for Mathematical Practice 2 and 7. This session is
targeted at middle school and Algebra I educators looking to improve their students algebraic reasoning.
Participants will examine algebraic reasoning strategies, and spend time working with grade-level peers to
develop additional tasks and strategies to use with their students.
Making Math Fun for Elementary Students - Cortni Kemlage, Room 3485
(Elementary)
During this session, I will share some of my favorite manipulatives, websites, hands-on activities, apps, and
ideas for making elementary math engaging, fun, and meaningful. There will also be time for sharing and
brainstorming within the group. Stickers will be given!
Tacking Those Tricky Stats Concepts - Bob Lochel, Room 2454
(High School)
How do we convince students that variances add - even when we subtract distributions? What does a p-value
measure in a hypothesis test, exactly? When do matched-pairs experiments make sense for data collection?
What does "95% Confident" mean, and how does it measure our faith in an estimate? And what the heck is
the "coefficient of determination" for scatterplots, beyond a prepared sentence we are asked to memorize?
We'll use easily accessible scenarios, along with a dash of technology, to build contextual understanding of
tricky statistics topics. Even if you don't teach AP, come build your understanding and join us for the lively
stats conversation.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

Teaching in a Vertical Classroom - Alex Overwijk, Room 3460

(Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces, Visible Random Groupings)
This session is based on research by Peter Liljedahl at Simon Fraser University on Vertical Non-Permanent
Surfaces and Visible Random Groupings. After two semesters of vertical classrooms, teachers in our school
have learned a great deal about this learning environment. In this session we will look at advantages and
disadvantages of this approach, strategies that make vertical classrooms work and student assessment in this
type of classroom. We will also share personal successes and failures implementing VNPS and VRG.
Getting students out of their desks to work on vertical surfaces has led to increased engagement in the
mathematical processes; critical thinking, accountable talk, making connections, multiple representations, and
collaboration.
An innovative approach that promotes creative solutions among students.

Tiny Bits of Social Justice, How We Are Working Towards More Intentional, Inclusive Safe Spaces- Anne
Schwartz, Room 3465
(All Levels)
How do I make sure every student feels welcome? How do I know if I am advocating for my students? How do
I incorporate social justice in to my classroom? Am I having the important conversations with students when
then need to be had or am I letting things go? Are possibly both of those the right choice? How do I work to
end the school to prison pipeline? What is my school doing to build community? These are just some of the
question that will be discussed in this session. The goal of this conversation is to share best practices that are
happening in our schools. Though we are all math teachers there is more than just math being taught in all of
our classrooms. I hope this session will help to make those teaching choices as intentional as our math
curriculum.
Getting Students to Argue in Class with Number Sense Activities - Andrew Stadel, Room 2460
(Grades 6-8, Mathematical Practices 1 & 3)
Create productive mathematical discourse with students by exploring number sense activities. Support
students in constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others by giving them think time,
sentence frames, and chances to prepare and compare their reasoning. Focus: classroom implementation,
student support, and resources.
Swan-Style Task Factory - Elizabeth Statmore, Room 2440
(Common Core, 6-12, tasks for group work)
Malcolm Swan and the Shell Centre at the University of Nottingham have created a large and growing core of
rich, group-worthy Formative Assessment Lessons and Concept Development Lessons, but what if you need a
specific kind of task right now?
I spent last summer immersed in Swans writing on instructional design and will present a brief overview of his
five task types that encourage concept development. Then we will break into smaller working groups to
begin to apply these design principles to our own needs using problems and/or sequences that address areas
of our own classroom need.

2:45 3:45 pm

Afternoon Sessions

What Do I Do with all this Cool Sh!t? - Matt Vaudrey and John Stevens, Room 3481
(All Levels, Lesson Planning)
An effective 21st-century educator spends 15 minutes on warm-up activities, followed by 30-45 minutes on
basic skills to scaffold students for a 20-minute lesson that engages multiple learning styles and 60 minutes of
guided and independent practice, which leaves 20 minutes for authentic assessment and 120 minutes for a
performance task.
But...
...I only have 55-90 minutes each day to try and do all that with my students.
Let's talk about utilizing time effectively.

4:00 5:00 pm

Flex Sessions, TBD

A place to add sessions as they come up during the week

Sunday, July 26th

9:00 11:00 am

My Favorites and Closing, Lecture Hall 1430