Call to Order 9:10
Winnie Miller
Welcome/Introductions
Special introductions, new area reps
Present: Phil Bartsch, Jill Sumerlin, Lynn Bosner, Laura Lethe, Nancy Anderson, Lois Costine, Tari Querin, Andrea Lane, Ross Eells, Inga Perham, Sarah Savage, Elizabeth Warren, Jennifer Bell, Charlotte Ogle, Jane Osborne, Marna Knoer, Nancy Swarat, Susan Fisher –Alexander, Gail Gerdemann, Jackie Cooke,, Cathy Bernhard, Ralph Schubothe, Patty Sandoz, Winnie Miller, Ann McMahon, Giny Christensen, Francie Bostwick, Brent Freeman, DJ Muller, Kim Clary, Karen Ashcraft, and Jennifer Cox
Special Thanks to Ann McMahon for hosting the Friday Social.
Thanks to Jennifer Bell & Elizabeth Warren for providing food for today.
Community Agreements
– The community has decided that no sidebar conservations should be the focus of this meeting.
– The reason we started late was because the area support meeting ran longer than anticipated.
Approval of Minutes
– Fixed the note from Chuck Peterson.
A motion by Giny Christensen with a second by Ann McMahon was made to accept the minutes of the October 14, 2006 board meeting with changes. The motion passed.
Proposed Additions to Agenda
– Cake Break for Cathy at 1:30 Break at 10, lunch at 11, adjourn about 1:30, board reports will begin prior to lunch, do board reports in reserve order
– Lunch Meetings
Party Planning meeting for Cathy Brown
How to save money group
· Area Rep Reports – orally
– These can be found in the Area Rep reports at the end of the minutes.
Discussion Items
· Time to write notes for Cathy Brown
· Deb Bakner Ross Eells
– A math award has been created for McMinnville High as a memorial for Deb Bakner. A math teacher from McMinnville who succumbed to cancer last fall.
– They will also be giving the award at OML.
· NorthWest Math Conference Highlights (Victoria) Lynn Bosner
– Was able to attend both John Van de Walle talks was the high point. John passed away in November. There is an obituary in the Richmond paper that was very well written. John believed in sharing thoughts with us teachers in the trenches and he has a new series of books with lots of little activities and black line masters. They are by grade bands and cost about $25. The Professional Development Cadre (PDC) has purchased copies; Jackie Cooke, Ann McMahon and Winnie Miller have copies of them. Lynn also has copies available.
– David McKillop did a singing activity and a session on multiplication. All of Nova Scotia has all decided the order of which facts to teach first, 2’s, 5’s ect. They do games and activities and they don’t move on until students have mastery.
· Math Wars Patty Sandoz
– They may be trying to get started in math wars here in Oregon. Maryanne Smith attended the Washington State Math council to help Washington state combat the mathematically correct group from California. Patty sent her notes from the meeting to the OCTM listserv and can send them again. This Mathematically Correct group is also causing problems in Beaverton. Maryanne is willing to come to Oregon to present a workshop in Oregon on how to fight this.
– Lunch meeting to discuss bringing Maryanne to Oregon.
OCTM needs to have a common voice so that we all have the same talking points and present a unified front.
Break 10:04 – 10:15
Discussion Items Continued
· Math Content Panel Giny Christensen
– September 2006
Focal points released by National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
– October 2006
Read Focal Points document and discussed implications
We agreed that our common goal was to provide depth and focus at each grade level.
– October 2006
Took the 2002 Oregon Standards, place each standard on a card, categorized the standards into Focal Points 1, 2, 3, Connections, moved to another grade level, or tabled.
Work completed on posters to allow visual clarity to see all grade levels K-8, and high school. High school worked within each grade level group.
– October 2006 – January 2007
Poster translated into working documents. One per Focal Point at each grade level – Draft 1
– January 2007
Working document (Draft 1) provided springboard for rewriting standards in alignment with Focal Points.
– January 2007
Combined redundant standards, added standards for completeness, aligned concepts to Focal Points 1, 2, 3 for each grade level.
Required ongoing verbal conferencing between groups.
Groups were K-2, 3-5, 6-8, high school.
Noted potential issues, topics and gaps (due to connections).
– January 2007
Completed Draft 2 and place in public domain for feedback.
– March 2007
Review feedback and continue discussion K-12.
– High school doesn’t have Focal Points from NCTM so they are working on their own standards without the Focal Points guiding them.
– Really appreciate ODE letting teachers from Oregon still be a part of content panel.
– Please send feedback to a content panel member once you look at the Draft. Think of it, not as a math leader, but as an everyday teacher.
– T-shirts left over for OML that are available for $10. Can be used to hang in the classroom for discussion points. They will be available at lunch.
Old Business
· MET Affiliate Grant Winnie
– $750 dollars that we got from NCTM we will use this money to fund the new membership. The intention is to connect early career teachers with experienced teachers to help new teachers’ leadership and give them a free membership to OCTM.
– Asked for $1500, she has also asked other grant funds
– OCTM will offer early career memberships to 2 people per each area.
– Do we want to fund OCTM memberships for 28 early career teachers
A motion was made by Cathy Bernard moved that we fund 28 early career teachers with an OCTM membership for the 2007 -08 school year, Jackie Cooke seconded. The motion passed.
– When are the early career years? Because OCTM gives a first year free membership. 2 through 5 is a good definition for early career.
– Nancy Rogers will be the facilitator of the grant.
– Area reps will be nominating 2 people from their area for this grant.
· How to Save Money Nancy Anderson
– Nancy needs someone to take notes during the meeting.
Do we save it or spend it.
Credit cards for gaining mileage
Reimbursement issues
Scholarships issues
Raining day fund
Put money into CD’s
· Inquiry Outside the Cube Nancy Swarat
– Please make sure to save the date for 2009.
– We would like to present OCTM with a check proportional to Phil’s NWMC conference check. $1250 earned from our conference.
· Online Membership
· Membership Dues for next year
– Raising membership dues for next year. Proposed amounts
1 year = $25 5 increase
2 years = $40 (4 increase)
International = 30 (5 increase)
Student = $10 (no change)
A motion was made by Patty Sandoz that we accept the proposed changes to the dues of $25, $40, $30, and $10. A second by Lois Costine. The motion passed.
– Discussion followed about international dues. The international memberships are BC people who attend our conference and the extra cost is not much, so we think that they extra cost is acceptable.
– Definition of a student is “Student is full time only, cannot have taught.”
– Discussion about having other rate categories Intuitional membership rate? & Retiree rate? Will continue at lunch meeting.
New Business
· Spring Elections Patty Sandoz
– Running for Vice President is incumbent Molly Smith & Phil Bartsch
– Running for Secretary is incumbent Jennifer Cox & Dana Marlia
– This process needs to be more transparent. Writing down what our policies are regarding elections. We will have a lunch time discussion about the election process in May.
· Reprinting Materials Cathy Bernard & Jackie Cooke
– Books – we have about 500 copies of Elementary Problem books. Monday Math we only have 1 copy. Cathy has talked to her printer about printing the Monday Math in the current format. The current format is an unbound copy, then shrink-wrapped. Cathy will get 75 copies for $300.
– Joe has some of the note cards and will look for more note cards. He would like a specific issue and page numbers for the cards that we want printed. Lynn and Patty will contact Joe. If anyone has a one that they really want talk to Lynn or Patty. We will have discussion at the May meeting about what cards we want printed and printing costs. May meeting will include a merchandizing discussion
· Help with math awards Francie Bostwick
– May meeting will included a lunch meeting to help pick the winners for the math awards. People need to sign up now so that you can get the nomination info now so that they can preview the material ahead of time.
– Lois Costine, Phil Bartsch, Tari Querin, Susan Fisher - Alexander
Lunch 11:04 – 12:01
Lunch meetings
Nancy Anderson will report in May.
Party committee is still working
Patty will contact Maryanne Smith about coming to OML.
Board Member Reports
· President Winnie Miller
– Thank you very much to the Math Learning Center for their donation of $3500 and to the Oregon Education Association for their donation of $1200. These funds are used to support the publication of TOMT and the Writers’ Retreat following OML this year. A thank you letter was sent to both organizations acknowledging their support as being critical for carrying out the mission and vision of OCTM.
– Thank you to the team of OCTM presenters for the COSA Conference on January 15 under the superb leadership of Laura Lethe. Also included are Cathy Bernhard, Lynn Bonser, Cathy Brown, Winnie Miller, Linda Samek, Patty Sandoz. Your time and expertise is greatly appreciated!
– Thank you to the team of PDC presenters for the Estacada School District on January 16 under the outstanding leadership of Nancy Anderson. Also included are Cathy Bernhard, Cindy Kuzmanic, Ann McMahon, and Winnie Miller. This marks the actual beginning of their long term, sustained K-12 professional development. Your time and expertise is also greatly appreciated!
– SECC grant is available for teams.
– The following includes the contents of the letter I recently sent to the State Board.
“The Oregon Council of Teachers of Mathematics believes that all Oregon students deserve the opportunity to learn skills and build their knowledge and understanding. We believe that all students deserve opportunities to learn important and useful mathematics from competent and highly qualified teachers.
The recommendation that the 3 –year math requirement include Algebra 1 and above can help students achieve math proficiency, but leave the “and above” portion to be determined by each district based on the needs of their students, their community, and the Oregon Mathematics Standards.
Life-long Learners, not just college-ready
High, rigorous academic and career-related standards make a difference if we build trust and relationships with students. Schools need to create classroom environments where students can make mistakes and learn from them, free from an obsessive pursuit of right answers. But, ALL students should be expected to reach the current mathematics content/performance standards prior to graduating.
Raising the current bar is NOT going to increase the opportunities for those students who are not immediately college bound – but would increase the haves and have-nots. Schools need to promote life-long learning in its many forms, realizing that some students need to take breaks in their schooling. Students will change careers, either by choice or by economics, and many will need to re-enter education or training programs later in their lives.
Problem Solving
Everyone—teachers, students, parents, public—should recognize that there are multiple ways to approach and solve any given problem. Problem solving is a life skill, not merely a state standard. Both teachers and students should be open to and capable of a variety of strategies and ways of thinking so they can address and solve novel problems. We need to provide our students with experiences where they gain confidence and competence with problem solving so that they become positive, productive members of our society.
Number Sense (an essential component of mathematics literacy)
Students who have developed number sense at an early age will use mathematics as a valuable tool throughout their lives. Everyday life demands that people be able to perform practical mathematical tasks like estimation, calculation, and measurement. Students need to understand the purpose of the use of numbers in the world: it doesn’t just stop at school.
Each of these are examples of critical components of mathematics, essential for a successful future. Please notice that at no time did we identify specific course titles, but critical content instead. We would urge you to take the same approach.
When you are ready to publicly review the comments, representatives of the OCTM Executive Board and the OCTM Professional Development Cadre are willing to attend and answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact me at any time.”
· Vice-President Molly Smith
– The past couple of months have been fun-filled math events. After our IOC Conference, the planning team got back together to evaluate the conference. I would like to reiterate our thanks to Brent Freeman and The State of Jefferson for helping us with planning and sharing notes and ideas. Our chicks from the sticks felt good about the conference and what we accomplished. We will do this again in 2009 and already have some people who have volunteered to be speakers. We are also trying to find out what the date is for Statewide In-service in October of 2009. We did make some money to turn over to OCTM, and our treasurer, Nancy Swarat, can share the good news.
– Our GO-MATH group met in John Day, Oregon in November. We spent two days investigating manipulatives and what manipulatives look like at the different grade levels. Dr. Jim Tooke from EOU shared his expertise in this area. Chuck Peterson showed the group the many uses of algebra tiles, and Judy Johnson shared the Curriculum Focal Points.
– I have a letter drafted to go out to the librarian list-serve encouraging them to sign up for an OCTM membership for their library. My hope is that many librarians would like to have a membership as a resource for their libraries. I am interested to find out if this letter will encourage any of them to sign up.
– I have started an Annenberg math class with a group of Haines, Oregon teachers as well as two assistants from my school.
– Finally, I sent the constitution to our TOMT editors for inclusion in the upcoming elections. I am also running for re-election for V.P. I would like to continue getting Eastern Oregon teachers more involved in the math community, focus on getting the younger teachers involved throughout the State, and help with getting our election process on-line.
· President Elect Patty Sandoz
– During the fall Winnie and I would hold pre-game catch-up-on-OCTM-business meetings at some of the Oregon State University home football games. It's the OCTM version of a tailgate party. OSU won two out of the three times (including the historic defeat of USC as well the thrilling Civil War against U of O) we tailgated therefore our correlation coefficient is 0.67- I'm sure we contributed to OSU's success!
– As a result of one of these meetings I agreed to attend the November 4, 2006 Washington State Math Council board meeting in Cle Elum. Marianne Smith, a communications officer for all NSF-funded reform curricula, presented a three hour workshop on Advocacy and Math Education Reform. The Seattle area school systems are being targeted by a branch of the California-based Mathematically Correct, called "Where's the Math?" In a nutshell, Marianne urges all to not get angry but instead to get organized. I have previously shared my notes from this workshop but will happily ship them to anyone who wants them. Marianne is also willing to talk to OCTM.
– Representatives from the different Math and Science Partnership grants from around the state met with Jon Wiens and Cheryl Kleckner (jointly taking over from where Ginger Redlinger left off) December 15th in Salem to begin discussing models of continuation, a.k.a. scaling up. Discussion topics centered around the professional development needs of Oregon's teachers including best practices, teaching to standards, curriculum redesign based on the Curriculum Focal Points, text adoption in 2008, supporting change in the local culture, educating about the new high school diploma requirements, and more.
– In an effort to give the eastern Oregon locals an opportunity to learn about the proposed changes to the high school diploma I conducted a community meeting at the end of November. The participants were quite vocal in their concerns about raising the standards for graduation--concerned that there is not really a need, concerned about loss of teaching jobs, and concerned about kids who have special learning needs. To balance the "leanings" toward negativism that appeared in the follow up newspaper article I sent a letter in support of raising the diploma requirements to a State Board of Education person that I've known since I was in high school!
– The OCTM nominations committee has submitted names of candidates for the spring 2007 election. For Vice President we have incumbent Molly Smith running against Phil Bartsch. Incumbent Jennifer Cox will run against Dana Marlia for secretary.
– Stepping into the position of running an election has given me greater appreciation for all that must take place each and every year. Thank you to all the OCTM Vice Presidents through the ages! This fall, there have been some bumps and starts that Winnie, Molly, Ann, Nancy S., Kristin and I have discussed at various times (though not all of us together). As a result of this experience I'm wondering if we could develop a set of policies or more detailed procedures coupled with philosophies for nominations and elections. Items of discussion might include
transparency of the nomination and election process
timelines
duties of nominations committee
handling conflicts of interest
necessary qualities for officers
equity issues (age, race, gender, etc.) of representation on the Board
growing leadership from within Board and drawing in folks from outside the Board
– One of my jobs as President Elect is to be keeper of the name badges and tents. I also update those as the Board changes. My computer, printer, and I squared off recently as I learned to create tents (names have to be printed upside up and upside down)! Does anyone have a template for this?
– Other meetings/conferences/workshops I've attended, though not necessarily related to the position of President Elect, include the Standards Setting Workshop in Portland December 11-13, 2006 and the Content and Assessment Panel revision of Oregon's math standards January 8 and 9, 2007. On January 15th I joined a team of terrific teacher-leaders (Linda Samek, Winnie Miller, Lynn Bonser, Laura Lethe, Cathy Bernhard, and Cathy Brown) for a day long workshop called "Designing Your Math Program for Student Success" at the winter conference of the Confederation of School Administrators. We led our audience of district teams from around the state through a variety of activities focusing on both what we teach and how we teach.
· Treasurer Ross Eells
– Let’s begin at the top of the budget statement. The $750 grant is from NCTM and the $3973.15 in contributions includes $3500 from the Math Learning Center, $90 from PGE and William Costine and $383.15 in reimbursements from the Estacada PDC. Consider that we are almost half way through the year and have reached half of our budgeted income. That’s good.
– All expenses are in good shape as you can see. The Printing and Publicity expense is from new stationary and envelopes.
– I spoke with my financial adviser, Jay Finley, in early December again about our investments. I will try to summarize what he told me. These investments are in risk of default, which means that if the organizations go belly up we would not get our principal back and they don’t have to pay interest if they can’t. We are at risk with interest rates, because if they change, we wouldn’t be making as much if the money was in a different type of account. The track records of these companies means nothing because the market could change. The investments pay a percentage of interest if they are able, but we are not guaranteed interest. He suggests that we put the money into one or two year CD’s such as the Sunrise Scholarship which earns 5.6% interest and we are guaranteed our original investment plus interest at maturity. One or two year CD’s would earn about 4.86% in interest. At maturity, like the Sunrise, CD’s can be reinvested. I have a flow chart showing the steps in the investment management process for you to peruse.
– We have received $1000 from Don Fineran’s son’s company. This seems to be an annual donation. So Ross will talk to Don about setting up another scholarship with this money or just keep it in the bank.
– Schaaf/McFadden lost $700 and Don Fineran we lost $1000 of the principal. The financial committee is looking at changing to CD investments so that the money/principal is guaranteed.
– Continuing to work on putting together a 3 year budget. Last year they met in the spring to discuss budget and would like to do so again we will let you know.
– We received 2 checks 1 from the Chicks from the Sticks for $1250 and 1 from OEA $1200. The OEA money will help fund the Writer’s Retreat.
· Recording Secretary Jennifer Cox
– The six chix from the stix met in November in Baker City to discuss our conference. We had a lot of positive comments and came up with some good ideas for next time.
– I had the opportunities to spend three days in Portland in December to help set new cut scores. It was a very worthwhile experience and helped me to better understand the state test. I worked on the 8th grade Science test.
– I am struggling with how to avoid duplications in our minutes. When we give our monthly board report to the group during the meeting I try to write down what each person is reporting. Then when I get the electronic board report it says a lot of the same thing. I have been including both in the minutes because I am unsure what to do. What I propose is that I will still take minutes during your oral report and then when I finalize the minutes I will delete anything from the oral report that is in the electronic report. Please let me know your thoughts.
– I am going to be running again for recording secretary.
– I would also like to say thank you to everyone who helps me edit the minutes after each board meeting. The minutes would not look so good if it weren’t for your help.
· Membership Secretary Ralph Schubothe
– Membership is currently 1230. He did get 40 more members from Scott Folstrom at University of Oregon as he requires his methods class to join. The OMLI group which as about 200 people has still not joined.
– Past Membership numbers in January of the year listed.
2006 – 1660
2005 – 1340
2004 – 1410
2003 – 1590
2002 – 1530
2001 - 1620
· NCTM Representative Giny Christensen
– Winnie Miller, Marna Knoer, Laura Lethe, Lynn Bosner, Patty Sandoz, Cathy Brown and I will be attending the NCTM Conference on
March 21 through March 24.
– Winnie & Giny will be attending the Affiliate President's and NCTM
Representative’s Breakfast on Saturday, March 24.
– We will be attending the Regional Caucus on Wednesday, March 21.
– We will be attending the Delegate Assembly on Thursday, March 22.
– The Focal Points are on the agenda for all the above meetings. I
will be attending a full day workshop concerning the Focal Points and be
sharing what the State of Oregon is in the process of doing - rewriting
our Math Standards using the Focal Points.
– NCTM would like to have a student affiliate group in Oregon. Giny will talk with Nancy Drickey about the benefits.
· NWMC Representative Phil Bartsch
– 2007 Bellevue October 11-13th
– Licensed to learn – The link is on our web page including a call for speaker application.
– 2008 – 1st meeting on Monday. Phil is sending around a sign up sheet for people interested in helping October 9th – 11th at Red Lion on the River, Breakaway in Vancouver. So sorry no tent.
– Phil’s campaign manager has recommended everyone vote for Molly Smith as Vice President. He is too busy with Northwest.
· Professional Development Cadre (PDC) Coordinator Giny Christensen
– The Estacada Project has been ongoing, it has gone through changes
and the initial plan has been revamped. Still involved in the whole
process is Winnie Miller, Ann McMahon, Cathy Brown, Cathy Bernhard, Ron
Baker, Jackie Cooke and Patty Sandoz.
One of them will make a "progress" report at the Saturday meeting.
– Estacada project is going really well and if it would quit snowing it would be even better.J This is a revolutionary process in that we are volunteering and paying for Estacada to have this year long math support.
– Hermiston has requested help - the next school district to receive
professional help from OCTM. We will have a progress report on that
school district as well.
– We are still waiting for the paper work from Hermiston. They would like help at the 6 – 12 grade levels.
– On Monday, January 15th, Cathy Bernhard, Winnie Miller, Laura Lethe Patty Sandoz, & Lynn Bosner presented at the COSA winter conference. Explaining the OCTM services for school district. We were invited by COSA to come and make the connection.
– They planned a presentation for the group talking about best practices and reform issues. The presentation went so well that they have been invited to The Dalles High School to do a six hour presentation on February 20th. Winnie needs people to help with this.
– It was a very diverse group of attendees and as a result it was a difficult presenting situation because each group came in with their own agenda. Each group wanted to have information about things and ideas that we did not know. We did feel that it was a good experience and we were really appreciative of COSA inviting us.
– Laura Lethe has a couple of DVD’s that are good for professional development that they used.
– V-tel meetings once a month are still on going.
January meeting was cancelled. February 12th from 4:30 to 6:00 talk to Giny if you are interested.
– We are building a library of books and such that Winnie has. She will make an inventory list to share with the board.
– We have two scholarships available for next year. We need to have a timeline for applying and approving these. This will be discussed at the Feb,
· Grant Coordinator Nancy Rogers
–
· ODE – Assessment Cathy Brown
– Cathy has been talking to Skip Fennell, Cathy Seeley and Jim Rubillo that there is a group working at the high school level. They have not decided if they are going to do focal points or course statements. This decision will be made in February.
– Probability only at grade 7 is causing flak from around the country. The reason for this is that students do not understand probability before this point.
– Grade 8 focal points could be spread over the other grade levels if the Algebra piece is added to the 8th grade.
– Different states are interpreting focal points differently. Some states are not changing what they are doing NCTM and ASSM (Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics) are going to be working with states that are accepting the focal points and helping them.
· ODE – EII Jon Wiens
– The State Board of Education voted on the new diploma requirements. They voted for 3 credits all at Algebra 1 level or above. They originally set the date for class of 2014, but some want it set for 2012 class. This will decided later by the task force.
– Implementation task force will be set up to deal with the details. This will take quite some time to work out all the details. You can only get 1 math credit for Algebra I, so you cannot take Algebra I for two years and get two math credits. Leaning toward allowing Pre-Algebra as an elective credit if a student takes it in high school.
– The 3 credits apply to the class of 2010.
– The State Board of Education meetings are available live on the web and then later are archived for people to view. Jon does not know how long it takes for the archived version to be available.
– The surveys from around the state were collected and tabulated by an independent firm. The board members did not see individual surveys.
– Proficiency issue – there are going to be essential skills that students will have to pass in order to graduate. These skills have not been defined, it could be a passing TESA, or a work sample, or something new, and it has not be decided. You will have to have courses of Algebra I and higher on your transcript.
Student can challenge courses by showing proficiency in that subject on a test rather than seat time.
– Math Standards Draft was shared by Jon.
These are the essential things that people must teach so that students have mastery of these things. That way students are prepared for the next grade level. The groups at the January meeting rewrote the standards to make them basically bullet points under the focus points.
The connections are next to the focal points to help show teachers how to improve and add to teaching.
Assessment question – the assessment will only cover things in the left hand column is the thought, nothing has been decided.
This draft should be on the web soon and then the committee will meet again in March and May to discuss feedback.
Cut scores will probably be revised again once the new standards are in place.
– Senator Dodd introduced a bill last week to start national standards in math and science. The bill says they will be voluntary and that if you do adopt them then you can receive moneys. This is a process that happens fairly often, but it has never come to completion.
· PAEMST Report Giny Christensen
– Time to nominate junior high/high school math teachers (7th – 12th) for the
Presidential. The website, www.PAEMST.org, has information for the
nomination form. Anyone interested may contact:
giny.christensen@sutherlin.k12.or.us Giny is the Oregon State
Coordinator of the program.
– There are brochures for the asking - just e-mail Giny and she'll send
them out to you.
– Giny will be attending the January training for the PAEMST - it is held at the National Science Foundation building in Washington, DC.
– Giny is keeping track of the funds and will be requesting the funds
again from the NSF to cover our program.
– People can nominate themselves for the award. Giny passed around the form for nominating.
· Historian Judy Johnson
– No report, Judy was not here.
· TOMT Cathy Bernhard
– The January/February issue has been received and the March/April one is in process. It will be at the printers around the first week of February. We are also now working on articles for the May/June issue. We had some nice comments about TOMT from a member of the Louisiana Association of Teachers of Mathematics who "had the pleasure of meeting some of your OCTM members at a recent NCTM Affiliate Leaders Conference in Reno, NV. I was VERY impressed with the quality of your journal and I hope to be able to be able to bring the same level of quality to our struggling journal." We appreciate the national recognition!
· TOMT Jackie Cooke
– The March/April issue is almost ready for final edits.
– There was concern about the number of pages devoted to OCTM board business in this issue due to the election info, ballot, and revisions to the constitution. At the October board meeting it was decided to put the suggested revisions to the constitution in TOMT but when we went to prepare files for the issue we found that the Constitution alone would have taken up a minimum of 4 pages. The editors have always tried to have the majority of each issue be devoted to teacher activity articles. Therefore, it was decided to post the proposed revisions on the website and refer folks to the address where they are posted in the election info article in Mar/Apr TOMT.
– The Don Fineran scholarship for OML is included for the first time in this issue.
– Due to space issues, there was no Oregon Math Leaders Institute (OMLI) article in the Jan/Feb issue. OMLI plans to continue submitting more articles next year, too.
– Hopefully you’ve all noticed the ad for the Student Cover Art Contest in the January/February issue. It will also be included in the March/April issues. Go to the OCTM web site for more specifics and the official application form. That was not well noted in the January issue but has been corrected for Mar/Apr. Please promote this in your schools and areas.
– Several requests for article reprints were handled including some for the CPAM and Milken newsletters.
– Joe will get masters for note cards and trading cards and charge $100 for that service.
– We are now easily able to create an electronic version of each issue. These could be used for burning to CD for back issues or for creation of ememberships with an online version of TOMT as part of the benefits of emembership. We will wait to hear from Lois if and when she’s ready to try sending out CD rather than paper copies of back issues. One question we had was how to protect articles or the complete issue from being handed out indiscriminately to folks who are not members of OCTM. Another question that came up in the recent Editor’s meeting we held was that once the master CD is made, is it cheaper to go to Kinko’s to get multiple copies or should Lois purchase a machine that makes multiple copies?
– Cathy said she would look into the cost for copying Monday Math.
· Publicity Ann McMahon & Francie Bostwick
– Please send your nominations for the Math Ed Awards to Ann McMahon or Francie Bostwick by April 1st. This would include the Mildred Bennett award, the Oscar Schaaf award and the Hall of Fame award. See the January/February TOMT for guidelines. Please write approximately 100 words telling why you feel this person should be a candidate for the award.
Ann's email: annietmc@qwest.net
Francie's email: francie.bostwick@phoenix.k12.or.us
· Scholarship Brent Freeman
– Since I was unable to attend the October Board Meeting, I convened (via email) a committee to look over the scholarship applications for this year's NCTM Conference in St. Louis. The decision of the committee was to award $500 scholarships to Tricia Lytton from North Eugene High School, Debbie Hicks from Whitford Middle School in Beaverton, Mary Ann McHennry from Stoller MS in Beaverton, Debbie Silva from Five Oaks MS in Beaverton, and Kathy Malone from Conastoga MS in Beaverton. These four middle school teachers are building level math coaches and involved in the OMLI Grant. Tricia will be a presenter at the conference. I would like to mention that I later received an email (via Ross Eells) from Mary Ann McHenry saying that she would be unable to attend. She also requested that another teacher take her place. I ran this by the committee and we decided to deny to request to transfer the scholarship due mainly to the fact that the replacement did not submit an application by the deadline. In making this decision we, in effect, were setting unwritten policy that scholarships are non-transferable.
– There are no current applications to review at the Winter Board Meeting, so no committee will be convened. Applications for the Schaaf-McFadden Scholarship are in the current TOMT with a due date of April 15th. These application will be reviewed at the May 19th Board meeting in Redmond.
· Contests Laura Lethe
– May 12th is the invitational math contest at Oregon State University
– April 27th Pentagames
– TOMT art contest we will look at them at the May Board Meeting.
· OML Representative Leslie Graham & Jill Sumerlin
– I really wish I could be there for this meeting, but, alas, I cannot. Marge, Jill, and I wanted to update you on plans for OML 2007.
– The theme for this year’s OML is Brain Fusion. The 33rd OML conference will take place August 5-7 on the campus of Linfield College. This will be the last year for co-chairs, Jill Sumerlin, Marge Burak, and Leslie Graham. It is also the last year in a 3 year commitment with Linfield. We are delighted to announce that Kristin Takano will be taking over the reigns in August.
– Be ready to bring it all together with a Brain Fusion! Brain Research, What’s Your Function, Fusing Math with Reality, Focal Points and Book Study will be our themes! The Book Study will include some cutting edge titles. Our Activity Session will be focused on, Literature, Technology, and Bridging the Grade Levels. Our keynote speaker will delve into Brain Research and how it relates to mathematics education. In addition, information on the latest developments from Salem will be shared by our friends from the Oregon Department of Education. And, of course, our information on current teaching practices, connecting concrete experiences to abstract thinking, research to instruction, instruction to learning, and classroom experiences to real word applications.
– The conference will begin on Sunday afternoon with your choice of a Golf tournament or Mingle Math, a welcome, and the Awards Dinner. Fireside Chat will now be known as Hot Topics, and Social Night will be held on Monday evening. These activities will provide additional opportunities to meet and mingle with some of Oregon’s finest teachers.
Tentative Conference Schedule
Sunday, August 5th
3:30 Registration
3:00 Golf Tournament
5:00 Newcomers Session
5:30 Mingle Math
6:30 Dinner and Awards Ceremony
Monday, August 6th
7:00 Breakfast
8:00 Keynote/General Session
10:00-5:00 Book Study/What’s Your Function/Area Meetings
Evening: Hot Topics/Social Night
Tuesday, August 8th
7:00 Breakfast
8:00 Opening Session
10:00 Research Groups
12:30 SWAP/Focal Points
3:00 Closing/Door Prizes
Here is the 2007 Book List:
2007 Book List
1. Curriculum Focal Points for PK-8 Mathematics: A Quest for Coherence Primary- 8th $18.95 provides a rationale for focal points for each grade level, pre-kindergarten 8. Focal points are important mathematical topics that represent major areas of content emphasis. Building on Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, this publication is presented to begin a dialogue on what is important at particular levels of instruction and as an initial step toward a more coherent, focused curriculum. Each focal point topic is a key area of mathematics and is identified in depth. Three focal points for each level, prekindergarten-8 are presented, with connections to supporting content areas.
2. Successful Lessons for Meeting Oregon’s Math Standards 5-CIM $38.95 Successful Lessons for Meeting Oregon’s Math Standards is an essential resource for teachers, parents, and administrators who are committed to ensuring student, school, and district success on Oregon’s knowledge and skills mathematics testing. This publication is a collaborative effort with the Center for Student Success in the Department of Continuing Education at Portland State University and a consortium of Portland-Metro area school math teachers led by retired math leader, Sharron Selman.
3. Brain Compatible Mathematics $38.95 Diane Ronis all levels Students’ brains are wired to make them natural, curious learners. The mathematical world around them offers a vast classroom, filled with textiles, shapes, spaces, quantities, and experiences to discover and explore, all leading to the construction of understanding. Teachers can use this natural curiosity to tap the inborn neural mechanisms that motivate students to learn-to make relevance and meaning of their surroundings. Brain-Compatible Mathematics, Second Edition bridges the findings from the realms of brain research and improved mathematics instruction through updated teaching samples, connections to the most recent standards, newest research findings, and integration to other content areas. Each brain is different, and when teachers teach problem-solving skills to help students arrive at their own solution paths, students go beyond mere memorization of facts and algorithms to being an actual participant in the development of mathematical understanding.
4. Designing Brain-Compatible Learning $38.95 Gayle H. Gregory Terrence Parry all levels This revised, updated edition of Designing Brain Compatible Learning synthesizes the latest brain research into a powerful set of teaching tools and strategies for integrating thinking skills, cooperative learning, graphic organizers, and authentic assessment into any classroom. The new edition features: Step-by-step strategies for teaching concepts, skills, and content to all age groups and learning styles. A newly expanded section on standards-based lesson design and lesson planning, charts, diagrams, and other visual tools to reinforce learning, a collection of new planning templates and graphic organizers, and an extended glossary and updated bibliography. This comprehensive guide for teachers and instructional leaders provides in-depth coverage of instructional planning at its best.
5. Brain-Based Learning $26.88 Eric P. Jensen all levels In this best-selling book, Eric Jensen leads you through brain research on how the brain processes and accesses information. Jensen translates those findings into practical methods and theories to infuse your teaching and training with energy and a renewed sense of purpose. Each fascinating topic features a "What This Means to You" section to ensure your understanding, as well as "Reflection Questions" to help make the information relevant to you. Complete with diagrams and charts, Brain-Based Learning is packed with solid information to give you a good foundation for mastering brain research-based teaching techniques that can dramatically improve student performance and success.
6. What Successful Teachers Do PK-5: Research Based Strategies for the
Standards Based Classroom $29.95 Edward S. Wall This easy-to-navigate guide offers research-based teaching strategies for introducing pre-kindergarten and elementary school students to the content and skills recommended by the NCTM principles and standards for mathematics. This insightful resource allows teachers to increase students’ confidence in math-and their enthusiasm-with practical and engaging activities, while responding effectively to NCTM standards.
7. What Successful Teachers Do 6-12: Research Based Strategies for the
Standards Based Classroom $29.95 Alfred S. Posamentier & Daniel Jaye This easy-to-navigate guide offers teachers research-based teaching strategies for introducing secondary students to the content and skills recommended by the NCTM principles and standards for mathematics. This reader-friendly resource allows teachers to increase students’ confidence in math-and their enthusiasm-with practical and engaging activities, while responding effectively to NCTM standards.
– Of course we need your help, expertise, and leadership, Jill will be sending around a form for you to sign up to lead a book study group. Please volunteer. It is a great experience. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
– If you have any questions or would like to volunteer for anything, please email me at lgraham@mail.lagrande.k12.or.us. See you at the May meeting with lots of books to distribute.
· OML Writer’s Retreat Cathy Bernhard
– Cathy Bernhard will like to add the information about the Writer’s Retreat with the OML mailing. She will send the information to Leslie Graham by January 25th.
– The Linfield lease is up this year, we will be in negotiations. Becky Reed will be coming to the May meeting to discuss this issue.
· Oregon Math Education Council (OMEC) Ann McMahon
– Next meeting will be soon, no current report.
· Teachers of Teachers of Mathematics (TOTOM) Nancy Drickey
– The annual meeting of the Teachers of Teachers of Math (TOTOM) was held in September 7-8, 2006 on the campus of Linfield College under the direction of co-presidents, Martha Van Cleave and Nancy Drickey. The following issues pertaining to OCTM were raised:
A concern was raised about college students joining OCTM and not getting issues of TOMT in a timely manner. Ralph sent the following email response to Martha Van Cleave with a possible solution. “The simplest solution would be to mail the student back issues as soon as the applications are received instead of waiting for enough back mail issues to mail bulk. It will cost a bit more in postage, but less than burning a CD and mailing it. So what I will do, when I see a student registration come in I will mail the back issues immediately. If the professor sent me the student applications I could send a bundle of back-issue TOMTs to the professor. This would really save time and money. Thereafter the students would receive their TOMTs in regular mailings. Is there someway that I could contact the professors to suggest this? Ralph”
We debated the proposal presented to us by OCTM of forming an NCTM Student Affiliate Group. We had many questions and decided the idea needed further research. One of the biggest questions was whether an institution should or would be willing to serve as host and claim responsibility for a student affiliate group. I believe the discussion will be on the agenda of the next TOTOM meeting in September. What are the current thoughts of the OCTM Board on this issue? Should TOTOM continue to pursue it?
– The next annual meeting will be held in September 2007 in Bend under the direction of the new president, Kathy Smith. Please let me know if you have items you would like added to our next agenda.
· Webmaster Jackie Cooke
– OCTM Web Updates:
Officers and Area Rep info updated
Board Minutes updated
Calendar page updated including the revision to the venue for the January board date
Deleted IOC from the events page
Updated President’s Notes
Added NCTM Curriculum Focal Points Brief doc (TOMT version) and one more
Letters to the Editor to the OCTM Home Page
Contest Page Updated to include new info about ARML
Student Cover Contest requirements and application pages added and linked to the home page
PAESMT nominees updated
Math Ed Awards updated
Discussion about ememberships and request for info about copy write issues for an electronic version of TOMT were sent to NCTM editor’s listserv but I got no response so I went through Trudy. Virginia emailed me and apparently there was some issue with which email address their server would recognize. I will try again.
Joe has been working on the counter. It is on the index page but needs to be added to all other pages on the site (approx. 100) Since he has to look at each page anyway, he is also going to revise some of the major pages to make them more cross platform friendly. He will bill OCTM for hours. Jackie will bill for 2 hour for time spent doing the original reading and research to find out the answers to the counter question. It is an invisible counter and either Joe or I will have to provide the info for number of hits when needed. This is how NCTM does their web page.
Internet Bookmarks pages updated
PDC ad updated
Publications page updated.
Updated Procedures Manual and uploaded. Winnie reviewed Patty’s list of questions and has noted them elsewhere so they could be removed from the procedures manual.
– Board Member Bios: If we still feel like this is a valuable thing to do, some suggested questions are listed below. So far Molly and I have not been able to track down information on taking the Strengths Finder assessment online without buying a book. I sent an email query but have received no response. If you have the book and want to create your bio based on your strengths it seems like that would be fine, also.
Send answers to the following questions electronically to Jackie Cooke.
Please be brief:
1. Where did you go to college and why did you choose this school?
2. Where have you taught? What grade level(s)?
3. What is your current professional focus (job)?
4. How and why did you get involved with OCTM?
5. What kind of math leadership roles have you taken in the Oregon Math Community?
6. What are you passionate about (personal or professional)?
7. What one word do you think best describes you?
– Editor position proposal
Cathy, Joe and Jackie has met and discussed this proposal – Look at the possibility of adding a 4th position to the Editor team. Hiring a person to be an e-editor. They would be in charge of the password section of the web site, so that we can have an e-version of TOMT, they could also take care of online voting. Doesn’t have to be a math person and could be a tech person. This would help draw in the young people. Paypal is a possibility with our website.
· Mailing Clerk Lois Constine
– We are currently up to date with the new subscriptions. There have been two mailings with postage about $112. The additional membership mailing postage was $31.00.
– We continue to do foreign mailings to six subscribers. The total postage for each issue mailed is about $15.
– High School awards will go out in April
Special thank you to Cathy Brown for everything you have done for us. Cathy was sung “Happy Retirement” and presented with flowers, a stuffed tiger cub, a present and Cake & Ice Cream to share.
Board Meeting Adjourns 1:54
AREA REPORTS
· Area 1 Jill Sumerlin & Lynn Bosner
– Lynn is teaching classes using Van deWalle and books studies with Fosnot.
· Area 2 Tari Querin &
– Portland picked up 35 new teachers by going to new teacher orientation. They also went to the substitute teacher orientation and got some new members.
· Area 3 Shawna Dehler & Charlotte Ogle
– Beaverton School District has taken great pains to add in-service training for all levels with the implementation of our new math adoption. The district has also supported the use of math facilitators at each school. Each facilitator is receiving training in best practices and continued monthly support in both the use of investigations and our elementary calendar math program called Every Day Counts. There is always a learning curve with any new adoption and we are still searching for the best way to promote the advantages of mathematical discourse to parents. The math facilitators and math cadre members that attended OMLI this summer are all working to show how this new math program promotes greater mathematical understanding at all levels.
· Area 4 Stephanie Legard & Nancy Anderson
· Making Math Count – Nancy Anderson
– Since the beginning of September, Nancy has been working with two 3rd grade teachers in transitioning from Bridges to Investigations. The strategies taught in Bridges are not described or named the same in Investigations and third grade teachers do not know the vocabulary to bring out what the kids know from the 2nd grade. That is one of the biggest problems of not using the same curriculum for all grade levels – K to 5.
– She also presented two sessions at the Northwest Math Conference in Victoria this year – both of which had been given in Portland in 2005 – Hands On Equations and Why Comes Before X.
– The Developing Math Thinking Through Patterning class that Nancy is teaching through the Math Learning Center started Friday, January 12. The five (5) teachers are from the Salem and Canby areas. Lots of math and lively discussions with the first two sessions. They are interested in taking additional offerings. Jackie Cooke held a similar class this summer and had four (4) teachers. It has been a slow start to offering Annenberg classes in the Salem and Gresham area, but good things take time!!!
· Salem-Keizer – Laura Lethe
– Laura was part of a group from the PDC that presented at an all day workshop at the COSA conference in Salem. Patty Sandoz and Winnie Miller were part of that group and will supply additional information.
· Dallas Area – Anette Carroll
– Anette finished her masters last spring, and went into the PSU administration program, and will be finishing this spring. Her district asked her to fill a Dean of Students position at Middle/High school when they had an opening this fall.
– Anette is applying for elementary administration positions now. She has an administration CAP now, and will apply for permanent licensure after completing the program in June.
– The State Standard Setting Workshop was a great experience.
· Sheridan – Carol Clark
– Faulconer-Chapman School went to self-contained classrooms this year for grades 6-8. They do have two advanced groups that rotate for mathematics. The teachers, students, and community are spending the year getting used to this new structure.
– Faulconer-Chapman sent two Robotics teams to the first Lego League.
· Newberg – Kayda Mitchell
– Kayda Mitchell is co-teaching a WOU extended studies course on curriculum mapping through March. Newberg’s elementary emphasis this year is math; 6-12 math teachers are mapping math, so the goal is to have a K-12 continuum in the late spring. Newberg high school is trying to divide into five small schools and that will impact how mathematics is taught.
· McMinnville – Stephanie Legard
– A K-12 math cadre is working with Cheryl Rectanus and the Teachers Development Group to initiate the design of an effective long-term mathematics professional development plan for McMinnville School District. Mathematics content, alignment, pedagogy and leadership are all being studied.
– Newby Elementary School’s advanced math 4th and 5th graders facilitated a Family Math Night for their community in November. Wascher Elementary School’s advanced math 4th and 5th grade students are in the process of planning and organizing their Family Math Night, which will take place on February 21st.
– The math department at McMinnville High School is working closely with Shannon McCaw from Newberg to align curriculum and developed standards based units of instruction for each of their classes.
· Area 5 Gail Gerdemann & Kristin Lavy
– Power point presentation for 1st & 2nd grade students and teachers to introduce mathematical thinking.
· Area 6 Marna Knoer & Inga Perham
– An Oregon Math student from area 6 won the Siemens Contents.
– Lots of new Pre-service teachers are joining because of Marna’s classes
– Math Trails and P3 workshops
– Used color coded registrations to track how many people from their area joined.
· Area 7 Karen Ashcroft & Kim Clary
– A P-Cubed was held in October. All participants said on their evaluations that they would come to another and would recommend it to their colleagues. A date hasn’t been set, but a second P-cubed will probably be scheduled for March.
– OMLI is moving forward.
– Don Crossfield and Mike Gould are doing VTEL with Annenberg Geometry.
– Sutherlin is conducting three sessions on running the TI-73.
– Roseburg Schools is having 6 sessions with SPED teachers on trying to understand how children learn math and how do we do intervention.
– Fremont Middle School is beginning a by-invitation math club for 6th graders. It will meet once a week until spring break, when they will evaluate and decide whether to continue.
– Milicoma Intermediate School in Coos Bay: Millicoma’s Family Math Night – Fall 2006. Millicoma’s Family Math Night was a fun-filled night of math games, prizes, and family interaction. With 25 families in attendance, there were approximately 80 people participating in our math activities. Stations were set up throughout the cafeteria and gym providing all materials necessary for math games in each strand of mathematics. Games and signs were color coded by strand for easy identification by teachers, students, and staff. Measurement games were played in the gym to allow adequate room for the airplane toss and catapult activities. Door prizes were awarded every 10 minutes throughout the hour and our estimation jar was awarded to the participant with the closest guess at the end of the event. Door prizes consisted of math or logic related games such as Yahtzee, Chinese Checkers, and a Sudoku cube. Some teachers offered extra credit for participation in the event. A good time was had by all!
– Millicoma Intermediate School and Blossom Gulch Elementary School host a morning chess club once per week open to all students and taught by Mr. Stephenson from Marshfield High School. The members are invited to participate in at least three chess tournaments per year.
– Madison Elementary School in Coos Bay also hosted a Family Math Night. We had over a hundred students and parents show up for an evening of mathematical games and activities that included all the strands that we teach in math. We had spinner probability games, dice multiplication, Three Digit Scramble (using playing cards in a place value game), weight estimation- using scales and weighted numbers, bean count estimation at the door, tessellation stations, Cuisenaire rod stations, toothpick game, capture 5, etc…It was a great way to bring the families into our school and show them some of the activities that are used in our math classes.
– Brookings and Gold Beach both have singing Math teachers that are using the creative and content filled Oregon Math Leaders songs in their classrooms. Thanks to them for keeping our legacy alive!!
· Area 8 DJ Muller & Ron Baker
– Working with math cadre to keep it going. They will be having a cadre meeting at the same time the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is coming to share cut score info.
– Annenburg Math Series with Mike Gould and Don Crossfield is continuing in our area.
· Area 9 Andrea Lane &
– Class for assistants in her building to show them how to use math things, lots of ah-ha’s
· Area 10 Dana Marlia & Cheri Clausen
– In late October, Cheri conducted another successful P^3 session in Vale at the ESD. This session included a variety of participants - male and female, elementary grades through high school - from all over the region. It was interesting to note that this group focused on the same aspect of interpreting the problem in the "Eric the Sheep" challenge as our elementary teacher group did at a previous P^3.
– Plans have been made to hold a weekly math class during January and February at May Roberts Elementary in Ontario for teachers from throughout the county. The class will be conducted by Boyd Henry of the MASTER Center at Albertson College of Idaho and will consist of two sessions on each of the following topics: visual and manipulative aids, drill techniques, and methods of problem solving. Boyd has also been chosen to receive an OCTM math award for our area.
– Like many school districts throughout the country, Ontario is looking at math intervention programs. Any words of advice regarding what to look for and what to look out for would be greatly appreciated as we wade through the purported "research-based programs" and "best practices."
· Area 11 Nancy Swarat & Susan Fisher-Alexander
– We updated our building rep list of contacts. Many new reps were needed and found. We have scoured the area for brand new teachers and have made many contacts. We are continuing to forward pertinent information to building reps. We have fielded a few questions about what happens when/if CIM disappears and have urged caution. Testing will always be required and our standards are sound. Problem solving is just being a good math teacher.
– Working with building contacts to get area rep awards spread around the area.
· Area 12 Jane Osborne &
– Professional learning communities using Catherine Fosnot
· Area 13 Debbie Lindow & Sarah Savage
– I recently attended my first P3 event. I am planning one for my area in the spring. I put together an email list of contacts for each school in my area and requested information on math issues. Through their responses, I learned:
– Corbett seems to have a very strong program (traditional algebra sequence). They have 2 years of calculus offered and plan to give 57 AP exams in Calc AB, BC, and Statistics. However, they are concerned about the algebra 1 state mandate – they do have an alternative program for below grade level 9th and 10th graders and worry both for their program, which they like, and that the state mandate will cause schools to water down an algebra class.
– Centennial Learning Center is using the IMP curriculum and enjoying it. They have had Teachers Development Group training.
– Reynolds High School also uses the IMP curriculum and enjoy it. There is a concern about high failure rates, especially at the freshman level. Some parents have been complaining that they do not like the curriculum. However, Reynolds has seen a huge increase in the number of students taking and succeeding in advanced level math with this curriculum.
– Gresham High has a traditional curriculum. They plan to put all 9th graders in algebra 1 next year. They are working on Best Practices, but it is hard to incorporate everything. They do plan as teams, which is working very well and would like to have daily math (they are on block, so that won’t happen!)
– Highland Elementary – Gresham. Though their district wants the teachers to all use the same materials and pacing, it is not occurring. They have “Scott Foresman” and “Investigations,” but most teachers are not using the Scott Foresman. Overall they seem to be doing a lot of worksheets and activities from older programs. One issue is they have had no formal training on the new books.
– West Gresham Elementary is trying to implement more problem –based constructivist approach though out the district.
– Shaver Elementary in Parkrose is using Bridges and Trialblazers. They goal is for all teachers to be 100% in their curriculum by the end of this year. They are working on common assessments for each grade level. They have paid stipends for two teachers at each school to be “math facilitators.”
· Area 14 Jennifer Bell & Elizabeth Warren
– Our OMLI schools are enthusiastic about math education and are making changes at all levels. We plan to hold two more Pizza, Pop, and Problems workshops this spring.
– P3 problems & Estacade has been working on math with the help of the OCTM grant. They are running with the program and we have sparked a great interest.