Whether you’re surprised it’s already February or shocked that it’s only February, time often gets away from us. Time management gurus say that we spend all of our time in one of four ways, based on two factors, urgent and important. Mathematize that idea a little and think of it as two axes (urgent and important), creating four quadrants.
We’ve been pushed to operate in what Stephen Covey calls Quadrant 1 — the important and urgent — for the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic. One crisis after the next, pressing problems, immediate deadlines — they have defined the work of educators. But operating always in Quadrant 1 leaves us feeling drained, stressed, and burned out. Sound familiar?
Friend, colleague, and local San Diego mathematics teacher John Berray used to remind me regularly to spend more time in Quadrant 2 — the important and not urgent — activities. These activities are essential to our future and critical in turning the tide from reactive to proactive. I believe that if we are to thrive again, we have to bring more Quadrant 2 back into our lives.
What’s a Quadrant 2 activity? I’m currently exploring the intersection of play and math. Play matters more than we often give credit. It's important, and even though it’s not urgent, it’s essential to mathematical well-being. Dan Finkel shared in his TED Talk, “What books are to reading, play is to mathematics.” Without books, reading can quickly become minimized to grammar and spelling. The same is true when we don’t play in math: We focus on the mechanics and computations instead of the beauty and wonder.
When we create opportunities for students to play math, we open the door to endless possibilities, uncovering the mathematical connections that exist all around us. We provide opportunities for each person to see themselves as mathematicians and experience the beauty and joy in mathematics. Through math play, we can highlight the ways our students naturally exude brilliance and then build from those ideas, experiences, and curiosities in the classroom to honor and connect our students, communities, and schools.
So we’re shifting our focus this year for our SD Math Leaders Summit — from Quadrant 1 to Quadrant 2. We hope you’ll join us next month in exploring play, and finding joy and balance for our students and ourselves in doing so.
Sending you all wishes for a little less time in Quadrant 1, and a little more in enjoying the exploration of Quadrant 2.
Audrey Mendivil
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San Diego Math Leaders Summit
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Build Math Minds Virtual Event
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UCLA Curtis Center - Mathematics and Teaching Virtual Conference
Join the UCLA Curtis Center’s annual conference online this year from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 5. The incredible lineup of speakers, including NASA astronaut Victor Glover, will engage educators in thinking about the theme Catalyzing Change: World Class Mathematics for All. Registration is free.
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Greater San Diego Math Council (GSDMC) Annual Conference
The 2022 GSDMC Conference, Stay Class-y San Diego has been postponed to Aug. 6. Register by May 31 for the best discount. Registration includes presentations from leading national and local educators, a tool kit of materials, lunch, a chance to win other prizes, and recognition of the 2021 Outstanding Educator Mathematics Awards winners.
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CMC-S Annual Conference Call for Speakers
If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of speaking at a conference, this is your year! Not only is there support available to create your proposal, but the regional math conference is known for how well it treats its speakers. Speakers get complimentary registration to the conference, and can also get travel and materials paid. Join the interest list for support sessions to be notified first when they open.
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Data Literacy in Early Ed and Elementary classrooms
What does it mean to become data literate for children? What does data literacy look like in early childhood and elementary spaces? The TODOS-CASIO webinar brings together Jennifer Ward and Courtney Koestler to discuss Data Literacy in Early Childhood Mathematics Classrooms at 4 p.m. Feb. 23. The presenters will discuss productive ways to engage children in data generation, data collection, data organization, data analysis, and data presentation. Register today.
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Join us for Season 5: Curious Schools of the Sum of It All podcast from SDCOE’s Audrey Mendivil and Mark Alcorn as they dive into Bryan Goodwin’s Building Curious Schools. The asynchronous book club for educators makes it easy to read along, learn, and explore, then continue the conversation on Twitter with #SumMathChat. Send us an email to sumofitallpodcast@sdcoe.net if you need a copy of the book. We have a few left for local listeners.
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Math Materials — Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Is it time to consider adopting new math materials, but you’re unsure how to proceed due to the delay of the Mathematics Framework revision? Wondering when there will be a new list of state-adopted materials and if you even have to adopt from the state list? You can find answers to general instructional materials questions on the California Department of Education (CDE) website. C heck out our curated Math Materials Frequently Asked Questions or contact one of our math team members to support you through these questions and math materials review and adoption.
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Revised Mathematics Framework Timeline
The 2021 Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve is under revision. The second public feedback period opens soon. Prepare to provide feedback by reading the drafted chapters. If you’d like to get regular updates from the CDE, join the mailing list. |
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Earn a Math Credential with New Intern Program at SDCOE
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Mathematics, Policy, and Leadership Network
Interested in learning more about policy news and events? Join SDCOE for our Mathematics, Policy, and Leadership Network for the next event on Feb. 15. For more information email Mindy Shacklett. |
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Applications are now open for the 2022 Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards. 25 awardees will receive $700 to purchase Mathical Book Prize-winning titles for their school library. Due by March 17.
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Fund For Teachers is awarding fellowships up to $5,000 for educators or $10,000 for educator teams to fund projects that support professional growth and development. Funding is intended to offer educators the tools required to pursue self-designed professional learning experiences.
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Grants from GSDMC are available to local educators and awarded on a rolling basis to support teachers during the pandemic. From integrating technology to providing manipulatives and supporting access and equity for all students, GSDMC has a grant or scholarship for you.
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Apply for one of several grants and scholarships, which include funding for classroom resources and professional learning. Applications are due April 30.
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Math professor Robert Talbert shares a real-world approach to deadlines that might cause you to rethink your assignment and grading policies. Don’t worry — the research doesn’t support removing deadlines and due dates, but it does call for us to rethink our practices if we want quality over speed.
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You may be surprised by some of the findings in the article The SEL Skills That May Matter Most for Academic Success: Curiosity and Persistence. In the article, Sarah Sparks shares the results from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development about how various skills predict both English language arts and math achievement for both children and teens, along with other interesting findings such as “creativity was more closely connected with math progress than art progress for teenagers.”
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Take a break from reading, and listen in to Christopher Danielson and Sara Van Der Werf chat about helping kids love math. Parents, students, and teachers call in to share their stories with Angela Davis and her guests in this episode of MPR News you won’t want to miss.
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The Wordle craze has taken over the start of 2022. But why would we be highlighting a word game in a math newsletter? Well, there’s a lot more math hidden in the game than first appears, as was shared in this article by Art of Problem Solving. Desmos Chief Academic Officer Dan Meyer adds to the conversation with Why Wordle Works. And if Wordle just isn’t your thing, there’s always it’s more numeric cousin, Nerdle.
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Lainie Rowell shares 3 Keys to Evolving as a Lifelong Learner, calling on us to examine how we are lifelong learners in “not only in what we learn, but also how we learn.” If we are committed to continuous growth, Rowell gives practical steps for learning, unlearning, and relearning as we evolve as learners.
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In his latest article, Possible futures: Toward a new grammar of schooling, Jal Mehta promotes deeper learning experiences, greater autonomy, and choice for students, which is all possible if we “create a new structure that is consistent with our highest aspirations.” Mehta shares examples where boundaries become connections and challenges us to consider our aspirations and the future of schooling.
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If you’re focusing on learning loss or social and emotional learning, Andy Hargreaves thinks you’re headed in the wrong direction. In The Future of Learning Lies in Engagement, Hargreaves shares how to overcome obstacles and reignite students’ passion for learning, challenging us to “show wisdom by avoiding a return to the worst of a disengaging past and embracing an educational future full of magic, meaning, and mastery.”
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It’s February, but so many schools already have summer in mind. If you’re looking for a
math curriculum that is play-based and mathematically rigorous, you’ll want to check out what Math for Love has created for summer.
Treat yourself this month with a new math shirt! They make a great Valentine’s gift to show yourself some love, help you gear up for Pi Day, or give twos some love on “Twos-day” later this month (2/22/22). The collection also features hats and masks, if your collection of math tees is out of hand.
We do it in reading; why not in math? Elementary teachers know that to assess reading comprehension, one-on-one interviews are essential. Listening to Learn makes interviews available for teachers to find out how their students reason numerically — information that’s invaluable for planning instruction. Learn more about Marilyn Burns Listening to Learn digital interview tool in mathematics.
MoMath Math Gym is designed to give 4th grade through high school students a mathematical workout. Students can sign up to spend an hour working on engaging and beautiful math problems, choosing the challenges they want to explore, with the guidance and mentorship of an expert mathematician.
Back by popular demand, we’re compiling a new list of a few of our favorite math activities this month, for your students, friends and families:
- Do you have a tub of Cuisenaire rods collecting dust? Check out these Cuisenaire Cover Ups that are sure to ignite your math play and build spatial reasoning.
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Which shapes have the same perimeter is a colorful and thought-provoking prompt from Miss Konstantine.
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An opening question, class debate, or a statistical question to study, One’s Gotta Go! is a twist on “Which One Doesn’t Belong.” Viewers vote for which one they would eliminate and why.
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Combine the game 24 with the power of Desmos and you get this amazing activity. Participants create their own 24 cards, or you can add few of your own into the class gallery to get the mathematicians started.
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