Spring 2006 MCTM NEWSLETTER

From The President
Teacher of the Year Nominations
April is Maryland Math Month
MSDE News
Teaching Resources
Call for Presentation Proposals at the MCTM Annual Conference
Calling for Nominations for MCTM Officers
Calling for Nominations of Pre-Service Board Member
Calendar

From the President

Jennifer Taylor-Cox

Being a mathematics teacher is a rewarding and desirable occupation! We have the honor and pleasure of teaching students to how to identify, organize, analyze, interpret, and solve problems. We prepare students for the workplaces of the future by teaching them to think mathematically. Do you know that “education requires approximately 1.8 million elementary school and 225,000 secondary school math teachers” (NCTM, 2006)? And the need for highly qualified mathematics teachers continues to grow. It is exciting to know that we are in such a sought-after and valued profession.

April is Maryland Mathematics Month. Our Math Month Committee prepared fabulous calendars for grade level bands. Each calendar includes fun and productive math activities for students. The Maryland State Department of Education will mail each school a copy of the calendars. MCTM will mail all of our members a copy of the calendars, too. So join in the fun as we celebrate mathematics in Maryland!

The Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics is your organization. We invite you participate in upcoming events. Our 2006 conference will be held on October 20th at Old Mill High School in Anne Arundel County. Think about presenting a session (contact program chair Christine Oberdorf christineoberdorf@comcast.net) or helping the planning committee (contact conference chair Lynn Clough lclough@aacps.org). Or perhaps you would like to write an article for our journal, the Banneker Banner (contact our editor-in-chief, Kira Hamman hamman@hood.edu). Visit our website to see all the ways you can become involved.

Believe in the power of math!
 

Teacher of the Year Nominations

Know a great mathematics teacher and want to recognize them for their work? Nominate them for MCTM Teacher of the Year! The deadline for MCTM Teacher of the Year Awards is fast approaching. Visit www.marylandmath.org to download the application. The deadline is April 1st (no fooling!); please send all applications electronically to dbonincontri@bcps.org or by mail to Dolores Bonincontri, 1100 Mace Ave, Baltimore, MD 21221

April is Maryland Math Month

April is Maryland Math Month and the MCTM is celebrating by publishing an activity calendar that you can use with your classes throughout the entire month! We will be mailing these calendars to each MCTM member and look for electronic copies at www.marylandmath.org. April is also National Mathematics Awareness Month. Connect to these activities by visiting http://www.mathaware.org/index.html.

MSDE News

Donna Watts

Maryland continues to receive high marks in education. Education Week has given Maryland an A in standards and assessment for the sixth year in a row. This work is reflected through the scores of our students on the Maryland School Assessment. For the second-straight year, all 24 school systems have improved their reading and math scores. AP participation and performance are also up. Maryland was ranked #2 in the nation in the proportion of graduating seniors who had received a college-mastery score on one or more of their AP exams. In addition, Maryland’s average SAT score ranks #1 in the Middle States region. All of these accolades are possible because of the outstanding teachers that we have in our classrooms throughout the state. The department applauds their efforts to provide the very best education for the students in their buildings.

Teaching Resources

Visit the following sites for good information about your mathematics teaching practice. If you have any suggestions for future segments, please email Mike Lueke at hmlueke@aacc.edu.

www.allmath.com. This is a free resource that offers a range of mathematics tools, games, references, and tutorials for teachers and students in grades K-12.

www.cbs.com/primetime/numb3rs/ti/activities.shtml. This site connects you to the hit television show NUMB3RS and posts classroom activities that relate to particular episodes

Call for Presentation Proposals at the MCTM Annual Conference

Have we got a proposal for you…or is it the other way around? Imagine for a moment that fabulous lesson you taught and consider how it could be shared with fellow mathematics educators. The MCTM Annual Conference is fast approaching. Take advantage of this opportunity to share your experiences with other Maryland educators. Submit a proposal to speak at the MCTM Annual Conference on October 20th at Old Mill High School in Anne Arundel County. Showcase your methods for making mathematics come alive for students. Proposal forms will soon be available at www.marylandmath.org or by contacting Chris Oberdorf at Christineoberdorf@comcast.net.

Calling for Nominations for MCTM Officers

The following MCTM positions are open for nomination of officers for the 2006-2007 election:

President-Elect
Treasurer-Elect
Recording Secretary-Elect
Central Region Rep
Western Region Rep
Early Childhood Rep
Middle School Rep
College Rep

Each nominee must be a MCTM member. The president-elect nominee must also be a member of NCTM. The responsibilities of these officers can be found on the MCTM website www.marylandmath.org (refer to the bylaws). Each nominee will be asked to submit a short bio for the election ballot. If you are interested in running or want to nominate someone, please contact Camille Tomlin at camtom47@hotmail.com.

Calling for Nominations of Pre-Service Board Member

The Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics would like to appoint a pre-service teacher to its Board. This student would represent the interests of pre-service teachers, from across the state; enabling our organization to attract more pre-service teachers and teachers new to the profession. Following a formal change to our organization's constitution, an election would take place so that this, or any interested pre-service teacher could have a voting position on the Board. If you know of any pre-service teachers who might be willing to serve please send email information to Honi Bamberger at: hbamberger@towson.edu

Calendar

March 31 - April 1 Teachers Teaching with Technology Regional Conference
Wilmington, DE
For more information: http://www.k12.de.us/dctm/t3/index/html

April 7 Frostburg State University Mathematics Symposium
Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD
For more information contact Karen Parks: kparks@frostburg.edu

April 7-8 MAA Section Meeting (MD-DC-VA)
Loyola College (Baltimore, MD)
For more information: www.maa.org

April 26-29 NCTM Annual Meeting
St. Louis, MO
For more information: www.nctm.org