13 April 2008

Math Nerds of the World Unite!

This week Salt Lake City hosted the national convention for NCTM - the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. NCTM is the largest organization in the world promoting math education and there were over 10,000 people attending this convention in Salt Lake. I got to go!! I even worked as a volunteer on Friday morning.

I've been a member of NCTM (and it's Utah affiliate UCTM) since before I even began teaching, but this is only my second conference I've been to. It was cool! i met people from all over the country. I learned all sorts of things from new ideas on how to teach slope to discovering the unit circle. I joined a group of teachers in some math kinesthetics doing function aerobics and I learned how to teach geometry using quilts from the Underground Railroad. Besides new ideas and activities, I also attended a session on closing the achievement gap and why so many of our students are lagging behind. I attended a session on how to get my National Board Certification and decided there is no way in the world I am going to do that, but that I may pursue a masters from Western Governor's University (they gave me a mouse pad). I also ventured many times through the exhibit hall and collected as much free stuff as I could, from pens and pencils to posters and t-shirts.

It was a good experience. It was rejuvenating. I'm glad I went. Now tomorrow, I go back to the real world of teaching and try to apply all that I have learned. Good luck to me! (At least I have a good collection of pens and pencils to last another few months at school.