Central Texas Council of Teachers of
Mathematics
CTCTM Newsletter
Fall 2013
CTCTM President’s Message
Greetings to all Members of CTCTM! It’s welcome back to school time!
It’s an exciting time for mathematics education in the state of Texas. We are about to implement new
mathematics TEKS and have available new options for mathematics textbooks. CTCTM would like to
provide helpful information, opportunities for professional development, and a venue for collaboration to
support all mathematics teachers with these exciting developments.
We have just launched a FaceBook page and now have a Twitter feed, along with the development of a new
web site. Look for more information in this newsletter about these latest adventures in Social Media so that
you can have access to the most recent information.
In regards to our annual events, be sure to include the annual CTCTM Fall Meeting and Spring Conference
on your calendars. You will find more detailed information in this newsletter about each event, but the Fall
Meeting is planned for Tuesday, October 22 from 5:00 – 6:30 on the Baylor University campus in Marrs
McLean Sciences building room 101. Activities for this meeting will focus on Financial Literacy and the
Process Standard s, in response to the new TEKS, and there will be updates about the Mathematics Textbook
Adoption. The Spring Conference is planned for Saturday, February 22, 2014 from 8:30 – 1:00 at
University High School in Waco, Texas. As usual, we will begin with a keynote speaker and various
breakout sessions following. Think about recruiting new members by inviting your colleagues to these
annual CTCTM events.
So much is happening at the state level and national level in regards to mathematics education. Please
consider becoming a member of the Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics (TCTM) and the National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) to receive membership benefits that will provide you with the
latest in news, instructional ideas, and professional development opportunities.
As a member of CTCTM, please consider ways that you can become more involved in this organization.
There are opportunities to serve on committees and/or to serve as an appointed or elected position on the
Executive Council. If you are interested, please contact me at [email protected]. In addition, I
want to hear your ideas about how CTCTM can play a more significant role to promote Mathematics
Education in our region. Send me an e-mail and let’s brainstorm ways to enhance math learning for all our
students!
Have a great beginning to a wonderful school year!
Sandi Cooper
President, CTCTM
2012-2014
CTCTM Fall Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 22
Time: 5:00-6:30 pm
Location: Baylor University
Marrs McLean Science Building, Room 101
(Look for a map on the web site)
What’s New in Mathematics Education?
Do you feel behind in the latest news and updates in mathematics education? If so, do not miss the CTCTM
Fall Meeting. CTCTM officers will share current happenings in mathematics, provide exciting resources, and
textbook updates. You will also have the opportunity to hear about CTCTM updates and news!
There will be special presentations about great resources for Financial Literacy, Process Standards for
Secondary, and an update on the Mathematics Textbook Adoption. Don’t miss this important info!
Light refreshments and door prizes will be available!
Submitted by Mary Jo Montgomery—Elementary School Vice-President
Last newsletter I wrote about math being active and we, as teachers, should guide our students to look
for the action. Here is a simple activity to try with your students.
Patterns - any grade level - Describe what is happening.
Using pattern blocks, have students connect triangles, squares, trapezoids, or hexagons together forming a train.
Adding 1 triangle - lose 1 side and add 2
3 sides (perimeter 3 units)
for a total of 4 sides (perimeter 4 units)
Keep adding “cars” to the train and describe what is happening each time. When doing this activity at any grade level
provide students with minimal instructions - let them describe in their own words what is happening each time they
add another shape to the train - then have them present their descriptions to the class.
Pre-K / K may just use words to describe the mathematics by counting the number of triangles or squares. They may
also build a pattern using two different shapes.
1st – 2nd grade use words to describe the action, modeling addition and subtraction as shapes are added or taken
away. Equal groups may also be formed to model multiplication and division.
3rd – 4th grade use words to describe what is happening to the number of sides (perimeter) of the train each time a
shape is added to the train. Students should begin to see a pattern emerge that will help them predict the number of
sides on trains with more cars. They would also explore creating trains using other shapes, like a train of square cars,
or hexagon cars.
5th – 6th grade will explore what is happening as the other grades but then begin to translate the observed patterns
into mathematical symbols by writing expressions that describe the action.
Math in the Middle
Submitted by Lisa Hudson—Middle School Vice President
An exciting event has occurred in the McGregor ISD this year. We have purchased iPads for
all 8th – 12th grade students and the students received them this week. After only two days, I would
say that our eighth graders are in love with the technology! During lunch on the first day with the
iPads, the cafeteria looked like an “iPad class” as the kids quickly ate and then explored their new
tools. Several classes have done interactive quizzes and made short Popplets. Teacher e-mails have
been sent out with educational app download requests and the students are quickly responding. It is
exciting as a teacher to see our students so engaged and eager to learn.
Along with the iPad initiative, our district has made the decision to include project based
learning (PBL) in each 8-12 classroom beginning this fall. Each teacher is responsible for creating and
implementing a minimum of two projects this year and two more projects next year. I will give you an
update in the spring newsletter.
If you have not been to training at Region 12 regarding the new math TEKS, then I would
encourage you to consider attending the FREE two-day training sessions to be held on Tuesday,
September 24th and Thursday, September 26th. There is no limit on the number of participants for
this workshop. You will gain valuable information to assist you in planning your math instruction this
year as you work on implementing the new TEKS. An excellent online resource has been shared by the
Texas Association of Supervisors of Mathematics to support the math TEKShttp://livebinders.com/play/play?id=707766
This is an excellent resource that you don’t want to miss.
Another important consideration for this school year is the adoption of new K-8 math
textbooks for the 2013-2014 school year. A list of all materials under consideration can be found at
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=2147505402.
Go to the topic Proclamation 2014 and open the link Proclamation 2014 Publishing Companies with
Materials Under Consideration for Adoption (PDF, 84KB). Both science and technology application
materials are also up for adoption so you will need to search carefully for your topics. This process is
much different than in years past as the textbooks are to be reviewed online this year. You will have
to make a final choice between digital or print materials once you have looked over all the materials.
Incredible websites for math education!
Submitted by Kristin Arterbury
Estimation 180: Andrew Stadel
www.estimation180.com
MathRecap: Edited by Dan Meyer
www.mathrecap.com
Global Math Department: Megan Hayes-Golding
www.bigmarker.com/GlobalMathDept
Visual Patterns: Fawn Nguyen
http://visualpatterns.org
Math Mistakes: Michael Pershan
http://mathmistakes.org
Mathtwitterblogosphere: Sam Shah
http://bit.ly/MeEF2q
Math Hunt Challenge
Submitted by William Luke—NCTM Representative
Find and solve the math problems listed below. Solutions will be provided at the
fall conference.
1. Factor 6x2 -18xy – 60y2
2. Find 65% of 360
3. Solve for x. 7Log (3x) =15
4. Solve for x. Ln(x-3) + Ln(x-2) = Ln (2x+24)
5. Solve by graphing 2x+y =1 x-y = -1
6. Find y intercept (4, 3), m = -3
7. Solve by factoring. x2 – 5x + 4 = 0
8. Solve inequality 4x > 10
9. find the midpoint of the line segment with endpoints (3, 8) and (-2, 6)
10. Solve for all factors of a and c. 8x2 – 6x + 12
Be
If you have not checked out the ballot for the 2013 NCTM Board of Directors,
then you need to do so! One of our very own CTCTM officers is on the ballot.
For more details, go to
http://www.nctm.org/about/content.aspx?id=37642
Tech Tips
Submitted by Trena Wilkerson—President Elect
Sandi Cooper and I recently attended the NCTM Affiliates Leaders Conference in Annapolis, Maryland on
behalf of CTCTM. We had great discussions with fellow affiliate leaders across the US and Canada and
came away with a multitude of new ideas and resources for our organization and mathematics teachers. Here
are a few of those resources!
Looking for APPS to support your work as a mathematics teacher? Some are free and others may have a
small fee.
 Skitch
o Use to annotate, draw, and more! Connects to Evernote as well.
 CamScanner
o Turns a smart phone into a scanner
 Evernote
o App that lets you take notes, capture photos, and voice record, too.
 Note Anytime
o Much like Evernote but saves to the device rather than to a separate account
o Use for note taking and also annotations on PDFs
 My Script
o Turns your device into an interactive white board
How about websites?
 Learn Zillion: http://learnzillion.com/
o I have not used yet but was told it was an excellent resource with more coming online daily!
 Random Name Selector: http://j.mp/14jyrjJ
o Great tool for putting class names in and have in the random generator select names
randomly.
 http://vihart.com/
o Excellent math projects, how-tos, fascinating mathematical concepts, videos, math in the real
work, and more!
Have a favorite APP or website for use as a mathematics teacher? Why not send in the name of it and brief
explanation of how you use it and we can share with our membership?
What resources do you know about that support the New Personal Financial Literacy Strand in our
Revised Math TEKS?
Please post your resources and/or lessons on the following virtual corkboard to share with other educators at
our Fall CTCTM Meeting!
http://padlet.com/wall/ctctmpfl
The following website has resources compiled by Region 12 to help support implementation of the Revised
Math TEKS. Access the resources to help prepare for implementation of our new math standards!
http://revisedmathteks.wikispaces.com
When Guessing Can Be Good
Submitted by Tommy Bryan—University Vice-President
Recently, in one of my Pre-calculus (for Business Majors) classes, we encountered the following problem:
Joe Gonzalez received $52,000 profit from the sale of some
land. He invested part at 5% interest and the rest at 4% interest.
He earned a total of $2290 interest per year. How much did he
invest at 5%?
I asked my class for a show of hands as to how many of them were at least somewhat intimidated by this
problem and/or word problems in general. Hands shot up all over the room – very few of the students either
were, or pretended to be, comfortable with word problems. When I asked them why this was the case, many
students described the difficulty they had translating words into symbols. On the other hand, when I offered
each student an exit ticket from class that day in return for a correct answer to the problem, few seemed to be
worried. You see, they were confident they could each eventually get the correct answer by guessing and
checking. The message here is that most students can solve problems through a “guess and check” strategy,
even though that approach may not be as efficient as the algebraic strategy of setting up and solving an
equation. So, we proceeded to “guess and check” together in order to solve this equation. I requested a first
“guess” (for the amount invested at 5%) and someone suggested $20,000. We “checked” as shown below:
(.05)(20,000) + (.04)(32,000) = 2290
1000 + 1280 = 2290
2280 ≠ 2290
So, we guessed and checked again:
(.05)(21,000) + (.04)(31,000) = 2290
1050 + 1240 = 2290
2290 = 2290 √
After two rounds of “guessing and checking”, we had determined the solution to be $21,000 (with $31,000
invested at 4%). But wait - in the process of “guessing and checking” (something that students can do),
haven’t we laid the foundation for creating an algebraic equation (something that many of the student
couldn’t do)? We revisited the two rounds of “guessing and checking” to determine what “changed” and
what “stayed the same”. We inserted an “x” for the first quantity that “changed” (how much invested at 5%),
and quickly determined that the other quantity that “changed” (how much invested at 4%) was computed by
subtracting the first quantity from 52,000 and therefore should be replaced by 52000 – x. Since everything
else “stayed the same”, we now have the algebraic equation whose solution answers the question:
(.05)(x) + (.04)(52000 – x) = 2290
And it all started with a “guess”!
CTCTM Annual Spring Conference
February 22, 2014
University High School
Central Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics
CTCTM Membership / Information Form
All information provided is confidential and not available to outside sources without the express written
permission of the CTCTM Executive Council.
First Name__________________________________ Last Name _________________________________
Mailing Address ________________________________________________________________________
City__________________________________ State ____________________ Zip ____________________
Name of School _______________________________ Your position _____________________________
Home Phone (__________)_______________________ Work Phone (_________)___________________
Fax (__________)__________________________ Email _______________________________________
Are you a member of NCTM? (Circle)
yes
no
Are you a member of TCTM? (Circle) yes
no
If yes, please give NCTM membership #_________________________________
Please join or renew your membership to NCTM online, using the pull-down menu to indicate that you are a
member of CTCTM. NCTM gives CTCTM a small portion ($3 - $5) of your membership, so this really
helps us.
Please check one of the following:
Check those that best describe your level of
School Type: __________ Public
involvement:
__________ Nonpublic
__________ Teacher
__________ P-2
__________ Student
__________ 3-5
Make check payable to CTCTM
__________ Counselor
__________ 6-8
Annual Dues:
$10.00
__________ Principal
__________ 9-12
Student Membership
$5.00
__________ Supervisor
__________ University
________ Other ____________________________
MAIL TO:
Kathy Hutchison
Baylor University
One Bear Place #97328
Waco, TX 76798
ADMINISTRATIVE USE ONLY
Date Entered/Renewed _________________________
Amount Paid ________________________
Membership Expiration ________________________
Card Sent ___________________________
Central Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics (CTCTM) Professional
Mathematics Organization Scholarship
This scholarship will award a one-year membership to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), a
one-year membership to the Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics (TCTM), and a one-year membership to the
Central Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics (CTCTM).
Deadline: 3 February 2014
Notification of award: By February 22, 2014
Eligibility: Any student attending a Texas college or university and who plans on student teaching during 2011 in order
to pursue teacher certification with a specialization or teaching field in mathematics or any teacher who has taught for
fewer than two years and who is not a member of TCTM or NCTM. The applicant must either have permanent residence
in one of the counties served by Region 12 in Central Texas or attend a college/university located in counties served by
Region 12 in Central Texas.
Applicant Information-All information must be complete for consideration.
Name: __________________________________________________________________
Last
First
Middle
Address: _________________________________________
Number & Street
_____________________________________
City
Contact: (
) ___________ (
Home Phone
___________________
State
______________
Zip Code
) ___________ ________________________________
Work Phone
Email Address
College/Campus Information
College/Campus Name________________________________ Graduation Year ___________
Teaching Certification: ______________________ Years Taught: _______________
Campus/School District: _____________________________
You must submit the following electronically by 3 February 2014 to [email protected], President of CTCTM:
1. Completed application.
2. An essay of 500-1500 words that describes how membership in a professional mathematics organization will
help you as a teacher of mathematics.
Questions may also be sent to the same e-mail address. Information concerning this scholarship can also be found at
www.ctctm.org. Click on Resources and Centers and then the Central Texas Council of Teachers of Mathematics
link. An appointed CTCTM committee will review applications. Recipient’s name will be submitted to the CTCTM
Executive Board who will then notify the recipient and post name to CTCTM website.
CTCTM Spring Conference, February 22, 2014
Speaker Proposal Form
If you are interested in submitting a proposal please provide the following information:
I. Presenter Information
Name ___________________________
Address _________________________
City/State ________________________
Zip __________ Phone _____________
School Name _____________________
Email: ___________________________
II. Presentation Information
Title of Session _________________________________
Grade Level(s) (Please check all that apply.)
PK-2 ___ 3-5 ___ 6-8 ___ 9-12 ___ College ___
Description (Limit 25 words - may be done on
separate sheet and attached)
Please give the same information for
additional speakers on a separate sheet.
Email to: [email protected]
or Mail to: Sandra Cooper
One Bear Place 97314
Waco, TX 76798
All proposals should be received by
December 16, 2013.
This form is also found in an electronic format or in online submission format on the CTCTM web site.
Be sure to share with your colleagues!
Connect with us and stay up
to date on the happenings!
Webpage:
http://www.ctctm.org
Twitter: @CenTexCTM
Don’t forget to like us
on facebook!
Has your membership
information changed?
Please contact Kathy Hutchison
to update your information.
[email protected]
2013-2014 Officers
President
Sandi Cooper
Baylor University
[email protected]
President-Elect
Trena Wilkerson
Baylor University
[email protected]
Vice President - Elementary
Mary Jo Montgomery
Penelope School
[email protected]
Vice President – Junior High
Lisa Hudson
H.G. Isbill Jr. High
[email protected]
Vice President - High School
Vicky Brown
University High School
[email protected]
Vice President - College/University
Tommy Bryan
Baylor University
[email protected]
Secretary
Kayla Brown
Midway ISD
[email protected]
Treasurer
Kristin Arterbury
Region 12 Service Center
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Rachelle Rogers
Baylor University
[email protected]
Webpage Editor
Dittika Gupta
Baylor University
[email protected]
Membership Chair
Kathy Hutchison
Baylor University
[email protected]
Community Relations Representative
Debbie Perry
Midway ISD
[email protected]
CTCTM
One Bear Place #97314
Baylor University
Waco, TX 76798-7328
NCTM Representative
William Luke
Central Texas College
[email protected]