Tangent Minds

OCTM Talk Appendix

2009-11-11T00:51:43-05:00

I'm looking forward to meeting other math leaders this coming Thursday at the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics annual conference in Cincinnati. While we won't get this far, the following sites are merely just a sample of online destinations worthy of exploring for teacher leaders in mathematics.

Short List

Collaborative Digital Environments

Online Videos

Math in Movies

More Useful & Interesting

CPMP Tools
Web 2.0 Cool Tools for Schools (This is a wiki)
Curriki
Live Audience Polling (Cell phone clickers)

What sites have you found useful as a teacher/leader of mathematics?

Calculus in 20 Minutes

2009-10-22T12:38:19-04:00

Calculus in 20 minutes - Part 1: The first 10 minutes:

Calculus in 20 minutes - Part 2: The last 10 minutes:

How to Save Math Education

2009-10-19T14:35:32-04:00

The first part of this video is about 25 minutes in length featuring a presentation by Dan Meyer titled "How to Save Math Education" that sheds lights on ways to reconceptualize both the pedagogy and curriculum in mathematics education. In short, he advocates for a change in mathematics education that has these characteristics:

Builds from multimedia
Asks a concise question
Encourages intuition
Scales in difficulty
Iterates
Transmits faster than H1N1

Take a look for yourself:

Also of interest:

Edutopia: Teaching with Visuals
Future development: Be Less Helpful

What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guides

2009-09-30T08:00:00-04:00

The US Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences - What Works Clearinghouse has quietly been developing practice guides for educators, schools and districts. From their website, the guides are described as:

Practice guides provide practical recommendations for educators to help them address the everyday challenges they face in their classrooms and schools. Developed by a panel of nationally recognized experts, practice guides consist of actionable recommendations, strategies for overcoming potential roadblocks, and an indication of the strength of evidence supporting each recommendation. IES practice guides are subjected to rigorous external peer review.

Some practice guides of interest to viewers of Tangent Minds include:

Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making
Structuring Out-of-School Time to Improve Academic Achievement
Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for Elementary and Middle Schools
Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary School Classroom
Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices
Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools
Encouraging Girls in Math and Science
Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning

What's interesting is that the guides do offer an indication of the strength of evidence that supports the recommendations in the practice guides. Despite some of the indicators in the guides suggesting "low" evidence, the recommendations are still made. With that in mind, refer to these practice guides as pieces of your own research.

Nine Ways to Catch Kids Up in Mathematics

2009-09-27T15:26:59-04:00

Marilyn Burns wrote an article in late 2007 titled "Nine Ways to Catch Kids Up". In the article featured in ASCD's Education Leadership she discussed a variety of ways to help students in mathematics.

Read the article Nine Ways to Catch Kids Up (pdf)
Download the discussion guide (doc)