If you would like to participate in this webinar, you can register online at the AMTE Webinar Page, or access this from the AMTE home page, www.amte.net.  You must be logged in to your AMTE account to register. Space is limited, and the deadline to register is Friday, May 10.

Session description: In this webinar, a variety of tasks and activities that have been used in secondary and elementary teacher preparation courses related to the Standards for Mathematical Practices will be discussed. Using the Standards for Mathematical Practices as a lens, the activities engage teacher candidates in substantive analyses of mathematics and pedagogy as well as explore the relationships between the Standards for Mathematical Practice and the development of teacher candidates’ mathematical knowledge for teaching.

This year’s annual meeting will focus on “Education Poverty: Theory, Research, Policy and Praxis.”

Tonya Bartell, Higinio Dominguez, Corey Drake, Robert Floden, Rachel Ayieko, Adrienne Hu, Jerilynn Lepak, Jamie Wernet, Lindsay Keazer, Mariana Levin, Ralph Putnam, Michael Steele and Suzanne Wilson will share research at roundtables, symposiums and other presentations.

Jamie Wernet

“The most exciting thing about going to AERA is being part of the large community of people doing high-quality education research,” said Jamie Wernet, a PRIME graduate student. “It’s my first time going, so that’s exciting!”

AERA has more than 25,000 members including faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, researchers and other distinguished professionals.

Jerilynn Lepak, Adrienne Hu, Rachel Ayieko and Wernet are presenting research from the Algebra Teaching Study with Principal Investigators Bob Floden of MSU, and Alan Schoenfeld of University of California – Berkeley. They will be talking about the robustness criteria for algebraic understanding and how it has played out in the way we score student work and make sense of their understanding, Wernet said.

She commented, “Presenting our work is important because it contributes to the conversation on algebra teaching and learning, and allows us to get feedback in these final stages of the project.”

Mariana Levin

Levin, a PRIME postdoctoral research fellow, said, “Generally, AERA is a wonderful conference to go to because you have the opportunity to really get a sense for what’s going on in educational research very broadly.  It is, as my advisor, Alan Schoenfeld, would say, ‘an n-ring circus!’ However, as a result, you always have a chance to meet up with friends and colleagues from all over the country and world.”

She will present a joint paper with Andy DiSessa to the Learning Sciences Special Interest Group. The paper focuses on the nature of expertise in mathematics and engineering and how it is developed through naturalistic learning interactions between experts and novices, she said.

Levin is also organizing a day-long workshop for 20 researchers who, like her, work at the intersection of math and science education and learning sciences.

Written by
Justine McGuire

AERA Sessions Led by MSU

Saturday, April 27

12-1:30 p.m.
Systematic Data Collection and Use in Teacher Education: A View From Three Programs
Suzanne Wilson, Robert E. Floden
Sir Francis Drake/Empire

2:15-3:45 p.m.
Professional Development Models in Science
Suzanne Wilson
Hilton Union Square/Imperial Ballroom B

Sunday, April 28

2:15-3:45 p.m.
A World of Noticing: Exploring Diverse Approaches to Teacher Noticing
Higinio Dominguez
Westin St. Francis/Essex

4:05-5:35 p.m.
Professional Development that Facilitates Students’ Reasoning and Communication Skills
Lindsay Keazer
Hilton Union Square/Imperial Ballroom B

Tuesday, April 30

8-9:30 a.m.
Knowledge Transfer and Representation in Mathematics Learning
Rachel Ayieko, Sihua “Adrienne” Hu, Jerilynn Lepek, Jamie Wernet
Westin St. Francis/Hampton

8-9:30 a.m.
Effects of Mathematics Policy and Reform
Lindsay Keazer, Michael Steele
Hilton Union Square/Golden Gate 6

10:20-11:50 a.m.
Teacher Noticing of Equity in Mathematics
Tonya Bartell, Corey Drake
Hilton Union Square/Tower 3 Union Square 9

12:10-1:40 p.m.
Practices, Instruction, Design, Assessing
Tonya Bartell, Corey Drake
Parc 55/Cyril Magnin Foyer

2-3 p.m.
Innovative Pedagogies
Corey Drake
Hilton Union Square/Continental 1

2-3 p.m.
Preparing Teachers for Intersecting Diversities: Does Stand-Alone, Initial Special Education Licensure Get in the Way?
Suzanne Wilson
Hilton Union Square/Tower 3 Union Square 6

Wednesday, May 1

10:35 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
Moving Beyond the Numbers of Aggregated “Achievement Gap” Data and Toward New Discourse About Black Children and Mathematics
Tonya Bartell, Corey Drake
Hilton Union Square/Tower 3 Taylor

10:35 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
Learning Sciences SIG Roundtable on Theory Building and Research Methodology
Mariana Levin
Sir Francis Drake/Empire

The goal of the course is to develop knowledge of algebra and of the mathematics of change that will be useful in teaching middle school students.  Course activities will include active engagement in doing mathematical tasks and investigations; reading and discussing articles about the teaching and learning of the mathematics of change; discussing narrative and video cases of middle school teaching; and planning lessons ­ so you will be able to meet the following objectives:

•    Recognize patterns of change as a fundamental mathematical concept

•    Relate patterns of change to functions

•    Compare and contrast linear and non-linear relationships and their representations (e.g., symbolic, graphical, and computational)

•    Interpret rate of change in multiple contextual situations

•    Situate the mathematical ideas students learn in middle school with respect to “big ideas” developed further in high school and later in calculus

•    Identify connections to the mathematical practices in the Common Core.

This class is a 3-credit class held Monday-Friday, August 5-9 and the following Monday-Wednesday, August 12-14 from 8:00 am til 1:15 pm on campus in 212 North Kedzie.  This class qualifies for the $200.00 per credit stipend from the Towsley Foundation.  For more information contact Margaret Iding at 517-355-1708 or email at idingm@msu.edu.  Application deadline: July 5, 2013. See attached application form.

Application for Summer Course

The award has been given yearly since 1993 to a graduate student in the College of Natural Sciences in support of their professional development.

Theakston Musselman said she will purchase NVivo, a qualitative analysis program to help her be more organized and efficient while finishing her dissertation.

“In the past, any analysis for my personal research relied on sticky notes and highlighters,” she said. “Generally, these analytic methods worked, but were very time consuming.”

She will be going to Cape Town, South Africa to attend the Mathematics Education and Society 7th International Conference, her first international conference, in April and said that any extra funds from the award will go toward the trip.

She will be co-presenting a paper that relies on research from Mathematics Discourse in Secondary Classrooms (M-DISC) and relates somewhat to her dissertation since both have to do with “learner identity.” The paper is titled Identity development through mathematics discourse: Teacher learning about positioning and was co-written with PRIME professor Michael Steele.

Upon hearing the good news, Theakston Musselman said, “I was thankful that my advisor, Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, had taken the time to nominate me and was extremely honored that I had been chosen as the recipient for the award. I was also relieved because I would have had to pay out of pocket for this crucial, but expensive software.”

She is living in Massachusetts and unfortunately is not able to attend the award ceremony in Michigan.

“I am working hard to represent MSU from afar,” she said. “Go state!”

The award is named for a 1995 co-recipient of the Graduate Student Professional Development Award, Tracy Anne Hammer, who died in a plane crash while traveling to a scientific conference shortly before her graduation. Her degree, a dual-degree in animal genetics through the Department of Microbiology and the College of Veterinary Medicine, was awarded posthumously.

The award is a one-time scholarship that is presented at the annual alumni awards in April.

Written by

Justine McGuire

Professors Higinio Dominguez, Jack Smith, Michael Steele, Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, Sharon Senk, Gail Burrill, Corey Drake and Tonya Bartell and graduate students Shannon Sweeney, Jia He, Kate Johnson, Lin Ding and Lateefah Id-Deen will all present. Post-doctoral candidate Lindsay Keazer will also present.

The presession boasts opportunities to examine and discuss current mathematics issues, receive feedback on work from alternative view points, take advantage of the collective wisdom available when researchers and practitioners come together, and to interact and network with beginning scholars and veteran researchers.

Higinio Dominguez

Dominguez said he has theorized and investigated his research topic for two years. The presentation is called Reciprocal Noticing and the Construction of Common Resources with English Learners in Mathematics.

“Reciprocal noticing is the interpersonal process that allows two people to notice each other’s ideas,” he said. “A conversation with an English learner working on a volume problem provides evidence of how reciprocal noticing can support teachers and students, particularly English learners, to create common resources for teaching and learning mathematics.”

For his presentation he will have a traditional poster and a video of a conversation with a bilingual student, he said.

Keazer, Steele and Herbel-Eisenmann have combined their LANDSCAPE research with that of the District Algebra Supports Study (DASS) for the NCTM presession.

Lindsay Keazer

Keazer said, “We integrate the findings from these two studies together in order to create a picture of the current trends around Algebra I in school districts across the country.  We will share findings regarding districts’ current policy and practice, district leaders perspectives on universal Algebra I pressures, strategies used to support struggling students, and what makes particular supports effective.”

The group will also have a guest, Cathy Martin from Denver Public Schools who will be a discussant and will share her experiences. Keazer said she’s looking forward to Martin’s response to the presentation.

“It is nice to collaborate with the DASS study that also investigated district strategies regarding Algebra I, but with a different emphasis. Their research is complementary to ours and we will learn from it,” Keazer said.

The program begins April 15 and commences April 17. It is immediately followed by the NCTM Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Written by
Justine McGuire

NCTM Research Presession talks: Colorado Convention Center: Click on MSU speaker names for email access

Monday, April 15

5:30-6:45 pm

Session 5
Beginning Teachers’ Instructional Practices and Views about Math Success
Shannon P Sweeny 
Lobby A

Session 27
Preservice Chinese Teachers’ Understanding of Ratio, Rate, and Proportional Reasoning
Jia He and Lin Ding
Lobby A

Session 28
Reciprocal Noticing: Constructing Common Resources with English Language Learners
Higinio Dominguez
Lobby A

Tuesday, April 16

8:30 am – 10:00 am

Session 46
Opportunities to Learn Length Measurement in Elementary Curricula
Michael Battista, Lorraine M Males, Jack Smith and Kosze Lee
Room 104

10:30 am – noon

Session 57
Teachers’ Stereotypes of Students’ Mathematical Work
Beth A. Herbel-Eisenmann, Vicki Jacobs, David W. Stinson, Cyndi Edgington, P. Holt Wilson, Paola Sztajn and Marrielle Myers
Room 103

1:00-2:30 pm

Session 67
Mathematics Curriculum Design and Development in the East and West
Sharon L Senk, Yeping Li, Marja van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marc van Zanten, Judy Anderson and Ngan Hoe Lee
Room 103

3:00-4:30 pm

Session 80
Perspectives and Strategies to Support Algebra Success for All Students
Cathy Martin, Lindsay M Keazer, June Mark, Michael D Steele, Josephine Louie, Beth A. Herbel-Eisenmann and Nina Hoe
Room 103

Wednesday, April 17

8:30-10:00 am

Session 121
Mathematics Education Research Using Systemic Functional Linguistics
David Pimm, Gloriana Gonzalez, Anna F. DeJarnette, Juan Gerardo, Rochelle Gutiérrez, Beth A. Herbel-Eisenmann, Kate R. Johnson, Elaine M Lande and Vilma Mesa
Room 103

Session 122
Moving Mathematics Identity Forward: New Developments in Theory and Research
Lateefah Id-Deen, Gregory V Larnell, Niral Shah and Maisie Gholson
Room 111/113

3:00-4:30 pm

Session 144
Preservice Teachers Leverage Children’s Multiple Math Knowledge Bases – Erin Turner, Mary Foote, Julia Aguirre, Tonya Bartell, Corey Drake, Kathy Stoehr, Amy Roth McDuffie
Room 201

Session 147
Research Insights from the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education
J. Michael Shaughnessy, Gail Burrill, Shannon M Larsen and Janet Stramel
Room 105

Update: Congratulations to Jerilynn, who successfully defended her dissertation!

This year’s conference is titled Reaching the Peak of Mathematics Leadership: Guiding Teaching to Support Student Learning.

The Michigan State University delegation will include Brin Keller, Beth Herbel Eisenmann, Michael Steele, Gail Burrill, Lindsay Keazer, Jennifer Nimtz, Nic Gilbertson, Eun Mi Kim, Kevin Lawrence and Joanne Philhower.

Lindsay Keazer

Keazer said, “We will present data from the LANDSCAPE study, a national survey of district leaders and 12 district case studies, that illuminates current trends in districts’ policies and practices around Algebra I, and strategies used to support students Algebra I learning.”

She will present with Steele and Herbel-Eisenmann, among others.

“Our national survey data came from respondents who were district math leaders, and that is primarily the audience at this conference,” Keazer said. “It will be helpful to present our findings to them and then get their feedback.”

Kevin Lawrence

Lawrence will also be presenting in a group with Nimtz, Gilbertson, Kim and Philhower. The presenters will focus on student work that came out of the Connecting Mathematics Project curriculum, he said.

“Our inspiration comes from working on CMP and thinking about how teachers can use student work as a vehicle for student learning,” Lawrence said.

He said he’s excited to connect with math coordinators and teachers from around the world and hear about how they use CMP student work in their classrooms.

Gilbertson, another presenter, said, “We are excited about having the opportunity to talk with people that work with teachers through professional development.”

Written by
Justine McGuire

Monday, April 15 (Sessions at the Hyatt Regency and Hilton Garden Inn)

Click on MSU speaker names for email access

9:30-10:30 a.m.
Session 114, Capitol 6, Hyatt
Core Math Tools: Supporting Equitable Implementation of the Common Core State Standards
Christian Hirsch, Brin Keller

1:30-2:30 p.m.
Session 168, Zirconium, Hilton
Coaching Teacher Change: Reasoning and Sense Making
Lindsay Keazer

Tuesday, April 16

10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Session 233, Titanium, Hilton
Using Student Work as an Instructional Strategy and Professional Development Resource
Jennifer Nimtz, Nic Gilberston, Eun Mi Kim, Kevin Lawrence, Joanne Philhower

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Session 248, Capitol 3, Hyatt
Mathematics Discourse in Secondary Classrooms: Productive Teacher Moves and Empowered Students
Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, Michael Steele, Samuel Otten (former MSU graduate student)

Wednesday, April 17

8:45-9:45 a.m.
Session 304, Centennial A, Hyatt
Technology-Aided Assessment to Probe Understanding and Push Mathematical Thinking Forward
Gail Burrill, Tom Dick

10:00-11:00 a.m.
Session 325, Mineral A, Hyatt
National Trends in Universal Early Algebra: Findings from a National Study of Early Algebra Policies
Janine Remillard, Beth Herbel-Eisenmann, Michael Steele, Lindsay Keazer, Baker John, Nina Hoe

Faculty Brin Keller, Kristen Bieda and Gail Burrill will present, along with students Nicholas Gilbertson, Dan Clark, Jia He and Jennifer Nimtz.

NCTM’s meeting is the largest math education event in the country and is a professional development opportunity for all those who participate. Sessions include topic on common core standards, reasoning and proof, response to intervention and research in algebraic thinking.

Kristen Bieda

Bieda will be at NCTM with one of her co-authors and recent PRIME graduate Sam Otten promoting their new book, Connecting the NCTM Process Standards & the CCSSM Practices. The pair will be sharing tasks and suggestions for implementing some of the eight Common Core mathematical practices in secondary classrooms, as discussed in the book.

“We’re excited about this session because we know we will be working directly with teachers and instructional coaches to offer much-needed support for implementing the practices,” Bieda said. “Plus it will be fun to see the Rocky Mountains!”

Written by
Justine McGuire

NCTM Annual Meeting talks below: (all are in Colorado Convention Center)

Click on MSU speaker names for email access

Thursday, April 18:

8:00-9:00 am
Session 26, Room 605
Transform Triangle Congruence and Similarity by Using Core Math Tools
Brin Keller

9:45-11:00 am
Session 95, Room 403/404
Connecting Fractions, Measurement, and Number Lines with Manipulatives and Technology
Nicholas J. Gilbertson, D. Lee Clark and Jia He

11:00 am – noon
Session 138, Room 703
Mentor-Guided Lesson Study: Voices from the Field
Jennifer L Nimtz and Kristen Bieda

Friday, April 19

9:30-10:30 am
Session 375, Four Seasons 2/3
Reasoning and Proof: The Role of Tasks and Questions
Gail Burrill

11:00 am – noon
Session 429, Room 203
Developing Fraction Sense and Proportional Reasoning with Action–Consequence Applets
Wade Ellis, Gail Burrill and Thomas Dick

3:30-4:30 pm
Session 592, Room 702
Exploring the Common Core Practices in Secondary Classrooms
Kristen Bieda and Samuel Otten

Dr. Alan Schoenfeld is an Elizabeth and Edward Conner Professor of Education, and Affiliated Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2011 he received the Felix Klein Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Mathematics Education. He will be presenting What Counts in Mathematics (Especially Algebra) Classrooms?

Abstract:   For the past four years an MSU team led by Bob Floden has worked with a Berkeley team led by Alan Schoenfeld on the “Algebra Teaching Study.” The challenge is (a) to understand and capture powerful algebraic thinking, and (b) to understand the kinds of instructional environments that lead to it. Floden has addressed the former in this forum; Schoenfeld will try to address the latter. The question is: Can we come up with a framework (and a rubric) for looking at what happens in mathematics classrooms, that (we think) relates clearly to student learning? (Note, “we think” because this is an empirical question weʼre exploring.) The goal of the talk is to discuss both the evolution of the scheme – the major challenges, and the many false starts in efforts to hone in on whatʼs important – and to illustrate how it works. Schoenfeld will also talk about possible uses of the scheme for coaching and professional development.

Bio:  Alan Schoenfeld is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Educational Research Association, and a Laureate of the education honor society Kappa Delta Pi. He served as President of the American Educational Research Association and Vice President of the U. S. National Academy of Education. Schoenfeld has written more than 200 books and articles. Two of the most important are his books Mathematical Problem Solving and How We Think. Schoenfeld’s Ph.D. is in mathematics; he loves math and wants kids to experience it the right ways. He volunteered in his daughter’s math classes all the way through school. Alan helped build Berkeley’s Masters and Credential program in Math & Science Education, MACSME. He’s worked on problem solving, teaching, assessment, and professional development since before the first world war (well, since 1975), and has partnered at various times with Berkeley, Oakland (California), and San Francisco Unified School Districts to try to help teachers and kids get as much out of math as possible. He’s delighted to be here.

Schoenfeld Coding Scheme

Schoenfeld Slides

This year’s theme is “Making Practice Core: Mathematical Practices and the Practice of Teaching.” The goal of the conference is to engage participants in sessions and conversations that share the development and learning of mathematics teachers in Michigan.

Nic Gilbertson

PRIME student Nic Gilbertson’s presentation focuses on the STEM (Strengthening Measurement Curriculum, Teaching and Research) project’s professional development work that has been going on throughout Michigan since 2010.

STEM has worked with more than 30 professional development facilitators through the network of Math and Science Centers and Intermediate School Districts to help improve the teaching and learning of spatial measurement, he said.

“I have been a part of STEM’s professional development since its inception in the spring of 2010,” Gilbertson said. “I am looking forward to seeing the different ways that measurement PD has been designed in the different regions and the positive impact on measurement teaching that has occurred as a result of the collaboration between the STEM Project and these facilitators.”

Gilbertson is presenting with Carrie Zielinski of Oakland Schools and Lynn Heline of the Ionia ISD, who will be presenting on their local PD efforts connected to the STEM Project.

Professor Sharon Senk of PRIME, and PRIME students Jia He and Eryn Stehr, will be presenting together on how secondary teachers can learn reasoning and proof for algebra. This work is part of Senk’s research project Preparing to Teach Algebra: A Study of Teacher Education.

Sharon Senk

“I think that all working on this project have benefitted from having to develop frameworks, code and analyze data, and develop a presentation to share results with our peers,” Senk said.

Senk’s session reports on opportunities that pre-service secondary mathematics teachers have to learn reasoning and proof related to algebra in three teacher education programs in the Midwest.

At each university, researchers audio-recorded five or six interviews with faculty who taught required courses in mathematics or mathematics education, and one focus group of three or four graduating pre-service teachers. Interviews were analyzed using a framework developed from recent research in the field, but modified to account for additional themes emerging from the data collected.

Jia He

Eryn Stehr

“We found that each program provided some opportunities related to reasoning and proof; however, different kinds of opportunities were provided in each program, and none of the programs seemed to provide opportunities to learn and to learn to teach all aspects of reasoning and proof as recommended by professional organizations,” she said.

For more information, visit the Conversations among Colleagues conference website at: http://www.cmich.edu/academics/sci_tech/math/cac/Pages/default.aspx

Written by Justine McGuire

Schedule of talks with MSU presenters (All talks are in Pearce Hall, Central Michigan University):

Talk 3:  1:50-2:40 pm in Room 5
Collaboration More than Coordination: A Domino Effect
Carrie Zielinski, Lynn Heline, Nic Gilbertson

Talk 4:  2:50-3:40 pm in Room 3
Opportunities of Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers to Learn
Reasoning and Proof Related to Algebra
Jia He, Eryn Stehr, Sharon L. Senk