SMP: Professional
Development Resources
Common Core, PLCs, SMP,
…How can I make it all
come together?
Feeling overwhelmed by the amount of things to do
and the little time you have to do it in?
The National Council of Supervisors of
Mathematics has created a Professional Learning
Module Index designed to be used to support
teacher exploration of multiple practices across
multiple grades.
The modules display videos, PowerPoint’s, and
handouts to show teachers the Standards of
Mathematical Practice in action.
A new series of books, Common Core Mathematics in a
PLC at Work, provides helpful resources and
strategies. Written and edited by math teachers and
experts with the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics, this guide helps teachers prepare to
implement Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for
mathematics through working in collaborative teams
based on the Professional Learning Community at
Work™ model for PLCs. There are also online
FREE PD Resources for every book in the series. Be
sure to click on the “See all reproducibles for this
book.”
Opportunities for Professional Development
Are you using the Math Forum in
your classroom?
As a teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland, we invite
you to apply to participate in an online course offered by
the Math Forum designed to strengthen your Problems of
the Week experience.
No Cost for MCPS staff!
Effective
Teaching
with the
Math
Forum’s
Problems of
the Week
Course 1:
PoW Membership: Resources & Strategies
for Effective Implementation
Course 2:
Learning from Student Work: Make the Most
of Your PoW Membership
Course Dates:
October 11 - November 21, 2012
Each six-week course is designed so that the activities and
discussions require a manageable amount of time each week. There is
time to try out ideas, reflect, and revise as you have conversations
with a community of folks with the same problem-solving goals. The
course is designed with no set meeting times; however, the
expectation is to participate regularly in valuable discussions with the
online professional learning community.
For questions or to register for the course
visit: http://mathforum.org/pd/middle.html
Earn 2 CPD Credits!
This course is designed to provide current
mathematics and/or special education teachers
an opportunity to plan and deliver effective
mathematics instruction in late elementary and
middle school classrooms. Teachers will
improve content and pedagogical knowledge, as
they explore the mathematical standards for
"Numbers and Operations--Fractions" and
"The Number System" outlined by the
Common Core State Standards for grades 3-8.
Developing
Student
Understanding
of the Number
System and
Fractions
Sign up on PDO!
MCTM Conference
The Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM) will hold the 2012
Annual Mathematics Conference at New Town High School in Owings Mills,
Maryland on October 19, 2012.
The MCTM annual membership meeting and
Teacher of the Year banquet will be held on
October 18. For more information, please visit
https://www.marylandmath.org/events/confere
nce.
There’s an App for that!
Technology for Teaching and Learning
Looking for a tool to chart how teachers
are incorporating the SMP’s into their
teaching?
“Most helpful for analysis of 8
practices as they occur in
classrooms”
“Quickly record observation data
and report that data in real time!”
Illuminations is designed to:


Common Core Look-fors (CCL4s) is a
great app for teachers integrating the
Common Core State Standards into their
classroom!
Math Manipulative Websites
Teaching Children Mathematics recommendations:
• National Library of Virtual Mathematics –
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
• Shodor Interativate –
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate
• Kids’ Zone Create a Graph –
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph

Provide Standards-based
resources that improve the
teaching and learning of
mathematics for all students.
Provide materials that
illuminate the vision for school
mathematics set forth in
Principles and Standards for School
Mathematics, Curriculum Focal
Points for Prekindergarten through
Grade 8 Mathematics, and Focus in
High School Mathematics:
Reasoning and Sense Making.
Professional Learning Library
A great instructional
leader recognizes the
importance reflection
plays in quality
teaching and learning.
Please use the articles
here in your own
Professional Learning
Communities
“Can Teacher Expectations
Determine Student Success?”
“Game Day: What Teachers Can
Learn From Football Coaches”
Using Diagnostic Interviews to
Understand Students’ Math Thinking
In this Teaching Children Mathematics article, Thomas
Hodges, Terry Rose, and April Hicks recommend periodically
doing a few individual student interviews in which teachers ask a
series of diagnostic questions to understand students’
misconceptions and inform instruction. Here is their suggested
protocol:
 Select an assessment task or a short sequence of tasks
that highlight students’ conceptual and procedural
fluency with the selected topic.
 Ask questions that elicit students’ understanding of the
topic, following up as needed – for example: Can you
explain what you were thinking? What did you do first? How did
you decide to do that? Tell me why…
 Document students’ explanations and understanding of
the assessment task, including brief descriptions and
sketches of the manipulatives, pictures, symbols, and
language used.
 Collect any written work done by the student as
additional evidence.
 Try to avoid the following: Teaching, remedying, or
correcting students’ errors; restating students’ responses
in another way (“So, what you’re trying to say is…”); and
giving value to students’ responses (“Great job!”).
“Which Comes First: Math
Difficulty or Math Anxiety?”
“21st Century Schools or 21st
Century Learning?”
“How do we Define and Measure
Deeper Learning?”
“Interviews as RtI Tools” by Thomas Hodges, Terry Rose, and
April Hicks in Teaching Children Mathematics, August 2012 (Vol.
19, #1, p. 30-36),
http://www.nctm.org/publications/article.aspx?id=33737
Is Algebra Really Necessary?
Many of you have seen the controversial July
28th commentary in the New York Times, by
Andrew Hacker, questioning the relevancy
of Algebra for all students.
On August 29th Ed Nolan was a guest on
The Diane Rehm show. He discussed the
Algebra issue with Andrew Hacker, Judy
Bolton-Fasman, and Jacob Vigdor. Click on
NPR to listen to the show!
Don’t Forget…
DCI – Math Team
Ed Nolan – Supervisor
Cathie Peirce – Admin. Secretary
Content Specialists
Brian Crane
Katie England
Jennifer Hallmark
Kristinae Olaughlin
Somer Snider
Verna Washington
Click here for more information