Spring 2012 Two-Day Workshop

Spring 2012 One-Day Seminar

2-Day Workshop (Workshop #239)
Differentiating Instruction in in the Mathematics Classroom

1-Day Seminar (SM17)
NEW! Strategies for Teaching Fractions

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

One size doesn’t fit all. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the principles of differentiation and learn how to apply them specifically to mathematics instruction. We will explore rational number concepts, geometry, data collection and probability, tiered activities and grouping strategies, the use of workstations, and alternatives to traditional assessment strategies—using games, visual patterns, songs, and Venn diagrams to help students practice important math skills. Finally, participants will work in groups to design their own differentiated lesson.

TOPICS

• Examine the Basic Principles of Differentiation: Make connections between the research of Tomlinson, Gardner, and Bloom to better meet the learning styles and needs of all of your students.
• Investigate Differentiation Across the Mathematics Strands: Explore elementary and middle school mathematics strands—whole numbers, rational number concepts, geometry, data collection and probability—using hands-on activities and the strategies of differentiated instruction.
• Learn How to Use Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences in the Mathematics Classroom: Use games, visual models, math songs, and more to teach students mathematics using their learning strengths.
• Investigate Tiered Activities and Flexible Grouping: Examples of tiered activities and a variety of grouping strategies will be introduced as approaches to help plan equitable mathematics instruction for a wider range of students. Then work with your group to develop an activity than lends itself to tiering.
• Facilitate Collaborative Learning to Enhance Learning: Learn how Cooperative Logic and Brush Up Your Skills activities give students non-threatening ways to revisit previously taught mathematics concepts while working to firm up their understanding of important mathematics concepts.
• Explore the Use Work Stations and TAP Activities: Learn how to design Work Stations that allow students to obtain additional instruction, use hands-on manipulatives, practice necessary math skills, apply what they have learned to real-world applications, or work on more extensive projects. Learn to utilize TAP Activities (Topic, Audience, Product) that give students the opportunity to “show what they have learned” using their unique interests and talents.
• Use Alternatives in Addition to Traditional Assessment: Learn how to use observation, journals, grading matrices, and student portfolios to differentiate student products.

This course provides instructional strategies designed to address the needs of both regular and special-education students. All teachers, including those teaching developmental curricula or math education teachers, would benefit from this seminar.

Dates: Friday and Saturday, April 13 & 14, 2012
Times: Registration at 4:00 on Friday
Workshop hours:
Friday 4:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Location:
Wyndham Garden Hotel
900 W. Lake Cook Road
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
(847/215–8883

Call the hotel and ask for the reduced room rate for ActiveMath workshop participants.

Cost for one workshop: $195. Two or more registrations received at the same time: Only $180 each.

THIS WORKSHOP INCLUDES:

• An extensive course book with blacklines to take directly back into your classroom
• Complimentary snacks of Friday; coffee, rolls, and a delicious lunch on Saturday
• A certificate of participation suitable for framing and a fascinating puzzle
• An opportunity to examine and purchase supplemental math materials
  

One hour of Graduate Credit, for an additional fee paid at the workshop, is available through National Louis University – MHE 585AG.
15 Illinois CPDUs are available for this workshop.

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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

No matter how you slice it, fractions are foundational. This seminar engages participants in instructional strategies that promote deep student understanding of fraction concepts and operations addressed by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) — both in terms of Mathematical Content and Mathematical Practices. A comprehensive collection of student error patterns is examined, and participants explore why students may make those errors. Participants learn how to use error patterns to inform instruction, pinpoint intervention, and stimulate student thinking. The seminar addresses the use of estimation, alternative algorithms, instructional games, hands-on activities, and guided discovery lessons. The strategies support instruction of both regular and special-needs students.

TOPICS

• An Overview of the Academic Research: Academic research on error analysis, equity, helping English learners access language, using multiple representations, teaching estimation strategies prior to formal instruction on algorithms, using alternative algorithms, differentiating instruction, engaging in instructional games, and using technology will be examined.
• Big Ideas in Fraction Concepts and Computation: The big ideas about fractions will be explored — what a fraction is, how fractions can be represented, how benchmark fractions facilitate estimation, how fractions can be renamed, how fractions can be compared, and how operations can be performed.
• Multiple Representations: Models for part-whole (circle and length), parts of a collection (sets), location on a number line, and symbolic will all be applied. An emphasis will be placed on student work with number lines as prescribed by the CCSS.
• Big Ideas in Problem Solving: Key actions and problem structures will be examined for each of the operations to provide insight as to why a particular operation or operation is appropriate to use to solve a given problem. Participants will write and share their own word problems for given actions and problem structures.
• A Model of Diagnosis, Item Analysis, and Intervention: Diagnostic tests for fraction concepts and operations will be examined. The importance of using item analysis to pinpoint student weaknesses as a way to form a basis for meaningful step-by-step interventions will be explored. Many of the interventions are based on an instructional model of starting with a tactile, hands-on representation, moving to the use of drawings, and finally moving to a symbolic algorithm (Concrete ---> Semi-concrete ---> Abstract).
• Guided Discovery Lessons: Engage in lessons promoting the discovery of computational algorithms. They include Making Sum Difference Using Strips (addition / subtraction), It’s in the Fold (paper-folding for multiplication), and How Many Strips Will Fit? (using a ruler for division). Learn how to help students make the transition from the models to paper-pencil algorithms.
• Instructional Games and Activities: Engage in exciting activities and games such as Equivalent Fractions Cover-All, Fractions on My Plate, Balance the Number Sentence, Editor Error Search, and Rolling a-Plot of Fractions (a game that integrates fractions and statistics).
• Questions for Teacher Reflection: Some of the best ideas participants will come away with is through the discussions that occur in the seminar. Special thought-provoking questions will be posed to engage participants in meaningful discourse.

This course provides instructional strategies designed to address the needs of both regular and special-education students. All teachers, including those teaching developmental curricula or math education teachers, would benefit from this workshop.

Dates: Saturday May 5, 2012
Times: Registration at 9:00 am
Seminar hours:
9:15 am – 4:15 pm

Location:
Renaissance Chicago North Shore
933 Skokie Blvd.
Northbrook, IL 60062
847/498–6500

Cost for one workshop: $195.
Two or more registrations received at the same time: Only $180 each.

THIS WORKSHOP INCLUDES:

• Each participant will receive a comprehensive course book of activities that has been designed specifically for this seminar
• Continental breakfast — rolls, coffee, and fruit (lunch on your own)
• A copy of David Spangler’s book, Strategies for Teaching Fractions: Using Error Analysis for Assessment and Intervention(a $38.95 value!)
• A certificate of participation suitable for framing

There will be an opportunity to examine and purchase supplemental math materials.

One graduate level professional development credit, for an additional fee paid at the seminar, is available through
Brandman University Extended Education -- EDDU 9046.
(Participation in one online session and a paper are required for college credit.)
6 Illinois CPDUs are available for this seminar.

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