Social Justice Math in Action  

Explore how math classrooms can address inequities amid the current pandemic and heightened concerns about racial injustice with Just Equations. Join the Nov. 17 webinar hosted by Francesca Henderson, Just Equations math educator in residence, to learn about current social justice math work and growing and strengthening these efforts in K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions. More information including how to register here.

From digital patty paper to classroom data collection screens, the folks at Desmos are busy supporting teachers in distance and hybrid teaching and churning out new and beautiful resources with speedy regularity. The Des-blog recently focused on #desmosifying lessons, connecting the beauty and wonder of math with a well-designed Desmos lesson built on their design principles. Get a taste of what that’s like by checking out Shira the Sheep and the blog post to go with it. Prefer to have someone talk you through a brand new resource? Check out the #DesmosLive YouTube channel with on-demand professional learning.

There are two opportunities to learn together with the members of the TK-12 Math Leaders Network this month.

Want more information? Email Audrey Mendivil or Mark Alcorn.

Jon Orr and Kyle Pearce of Make Math Moments are providing the Math Virtual Summit for free again this year. There will be 36 speakers on 14 topics on Nov. 7 and 8, or watch on-demand over the next month. K-12+ teachers won’t want to miss out on this opportunity.

The California Math Council (CMC) will host its CMC South conference and CMC North conference virtually with a selection of live and pre-recorded sessions. You can register for one or both conferences and have access to the materials for 90 days after each conference. For more information visit CMC Virtual Conference information page.

Elementary teachers and administrators who see exciting things happening with computer science, but don’t have experience or know where to start are encouraged to participate in SDCOE’s intro course: Get Ready for CS Education Week. You don’t have to be a programmer to start teaching computer science! This one-hour introduction from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 12 will walk through the process of planning an Hour of Code activity during CS Education Week from Dec. 7 to 12. Register and learn more about the course.

Find the latest math professional learning opportunities and resources on SDCOE’s math webpage.

Mathematics, Policy, and Leadership Network 

Interested in learning more about policy news and events? Join the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) for our Mathematics, Policy, and Leadership Network. For more information contact Mindy Shacklett.

In collaboration with California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE), SDCOE has developed integrated and thematic units of study, designed for flexible use in a variety of distance and in-person learning situations. Based on essential understandings in every content area, these units can be used to accelerate learning for students while ensuring access to all content areas. Learn more about these free and open source units at bit.ly/SDCOE-Learn.

Perhaps now more than ever, there is a need to involve families and communities in fun, interactive, exciting math activities. Want to host an appropriately physically-distanced math festival at your school? This scholarship can help to cover the costs. Applications are ongoing.

TODOS: Mathematics for All, The Mo(ve)ment to Prioritize Antiracist Mathematics: Planning for This and Every School Year presents the opportunity and need for all math educators to position Black, Indigenous, and Latinx parents as partners in mathematics education, address social and emotional needs, create student and family-centered mathematics assessments, and consider the equity of access, use, and design of technologies for teaching mathematics. This position paper will provide you the focus and research to break down inequitable systems and rebuild with equity at the core.

David Bressoud’s recent post, The Strange Role of Calculus in the United States says that even though calculus is considered a college-level course, it’s taught to one-fifth of high school students in the United States. Inequities are apparent in who takes the class in high school, who passes the advanced placement test, and how the class is taught in college. Bressoud, emeritus professor at Macalester College, is director of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences and discusses disparities and potential next steps.

From Teaching Tolerance, Jamilah Pitts discusses What Anti-Racism Really Means for Educators. Designed to keep anti-racist from becoming just a buzz-word, and instead become the work of healing and restoring needed in our schools, Pitts provides both what we should strive for as well as what to be wary of. Each and every day, we can take steps toward dismantling racism in our schools and systems by, “continuously evolving, pushing back, studying, engaging in critical discourse with others, examining what is happening in our minds and bodies, and listening to students.” 

Math Equity Toolkit 

You may have heard the buzz about the recent launch of A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction, but did you know that SDCOE’s Mindy Shacklett was one of the contributing team members? The Pathway consists of five strides, each one intended to support teachers as they engage in shifting to equitable instructional practices and as they think about their instruction as an expression of equity. Each stride addresses a barrier to equitable instruction and is a robust tool, intended to be tackled one at a time over the course of a period of time. While the intended audience for A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction was middle school math teachers, use has already expanded past the content area and grade span.

Contact Christina Fekas-Gorman with questions or comments about The Sum of It All newsletter.