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Happy New Year to you all! The New Year is a time of new beginnings for many of us, but perhaps especially for the State of Oregon. Governor Kotek was sworn in on January 9th, and a new legislative session began on January 17. In Oregon, long legislative sessions occur during odd-numbered years and short sessions occur during even-numbered years.
Legislation, policy, and election processes are terrific ways to integrate civics and social science with mathematics. The public can read bills that have been introduced for the 2023 legislative session, which runs from January 17 through June 25. If you or your students would like to learn more about getting involved, the Oregon legislature has information on civic engagement.
In addition to any introduced bills that may include budget or mathematical components, elections and voting are rich in mathematics applications. Most state and federal elections use either the Majority or Plurality method. Recently there has been an increase in the number of states using Ranked Choice method. A blog post by Dr. Brendan Sullivan, a math professor at Emanuel University, explains the math of the different types of elections and voting systems. To spur mathematical reasoning and develop modeling skills, you might consider having students compare outcomes and mathematical processes of different election methods, either using an existing database or by holding mock elections. This could be a great way to help students learn to construct arguments, as well.
Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash.
Recording Links for Past ODE Webinars
Webinar recordings are available for sessions held this past fall and are in the process of verifying Closed Captioning before they can be posted on the ODE website. In the meantime, a Google document has been set up so that you can access the recordings and the slides for these sessions.
Two new webinars have been added this month that include A Deeper Dive into the Next Generation of Math Instructional Materials (01/18/2023) and Next Steps & Best Practices for 2023-24 Course Planning (01/12/2023).
Recordings from the webinar series in 2019-2020 are also available in the document above, and will be posted on the ODE website when the Closed Captioning can be verified. Sessions included a variety of topics such as San Francisco USD sharing their detracking experience, Jo Boaler sharing on 21st learning & Data Science, and The New Teacher Project report on the Opportunity Myth.
Thank you for your patience as we work to get these posted officially as soon as possible. Any questions about these recordings can be directed to Mark Freed, ODE Math Education Specialist, at mark.freed@ode.oregon.gov.
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Mathways Update: Oregon Math Guidance & Pre-Calculus
With the standards update and instructional materials review completed, many school districts are shifting their efforts to reviewing curricular options and considering new course options for students in high school. ODE is offering a webinar series to support districts in this process, which will be posted on the ODE website soon.
As work continues to update the Oregon Mathways guidance documents, ODE has received almost a hundred comments through the feedback form. These comments will be used to update the guidance document including any typos or errors that have been identified. Look for updated guidance documents to be posted on the ODE website this winter. Educators are encouraged to continue to use the guidance documents feedback form to help continually improve this resource over time.
The next phase of the K-12 and higher education alignment work will be to facilitate the connection of high school course options to college options. This “11-14” Guidance document will connect the work of the K-12 math standards with the work of the Common Course Numbering project occurring in higher education. The guidance document will start with a focus on Precalculus content, which now can be found within the content expectations for MTH 111z & 112z. Look for more information in an upcoming update including opportunities to provide feedback on draft documents created this winter.
Contact Mark Freed, ODE Math Education Specialist, with questions at mark.freed@ode.oregon.gov.
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Now Recruiting Math and ELA Educators for OSAS Test Scoring
The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is seeking educators to remotely score ELA and Mathematics test items for the Oregon Statewide Assessment System. Educators will deepen their understanding of hand-scored items and especially the rubrics used to score them. Successful applicants will be compensated at an hourly rate and expected to commit to a minimum of 4 hours of work per week over a period of 4-6 weeks.
The initial training for this project will occur on March 17, 2023, in Salem, OR. Substitute and travel costs for this training day will be covered by ODE. Following that training, qualified raters will then remotely score items during their own off-contract time throughout spring. The deadline for submitting an application is Thursday, February 9, 2023 and ODE will notify successful applicants by February 13, along with information on next steps. For additional information, please review the Scoring Recruitment Notice. Contact Andrew Byerley, ODE Math Assessment Specialist, with any questions.
Canvas Course: “Oregon Math Project: Tools for Math Reform and Adoption”
Multnomah and Clackamas ESDs have launched a free professional learning course on Canvas titled “Oregon Math Project: Tools for Math Reform and Adoption”. Framed around the four cornerstones of the Oregon Math Project, the course is designed to support district and school teams in creating a vision for mathematics education, transition to the 2021 Oregon Math Standards, and implement Ambitious Math Teaching practices. The intended participants for the course include educators, administrators, and counselors.
Modules designed for Administrators and Counselors will be released in mid-February 2023. For more information, please refer to the course flier and watch a short overview video. Be sure to join the Canvas course!
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Panel of Oregon Math Leaders: Examples of Open Math Pathways for K-12 Students
A panel of Oregon Math Leaders will share some examples of K-12 math pathways, as well as how they were built. Register to join the Math Coaching and Leadership Network for this virtual event on Friday February 10 from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. View the flier for more information, including contact information.
Data, Coding, & Math Learning Opportunity: Bootstrap Data & Math
The South Metro-Salem STEM Partnership is offering an introductory training that connects coding, data, and math using openly licensed Bootstrap curricula. These courses teach high school algebra, geometry, and data science concepts through computer programming. The training includes a stipend and substitute teacher reimbursement, and is open to all Oregon teachers. The two courses are Bootstrap: Math for teachers of grades 5-12, and Bootstrap: Data Science for all secondary teachers. Registration closes on January 31, 2023.
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2023 NW Math Conference: Your Input is Needed!
The NW Math Conference is back in Portland on October 12-14, 2023. The conference organizers need your input about potential speakers and topics. Please take a moment to submit your ideas in this form. This conference has historically been possible because of the service work of many Oregon educators, and 2023 is no exception. Please consider volunteering in some way -- you can indicate your area of interest in the same form.
Supporting Gender Expansive Students Guidance
This month, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) proudly published Supporting Gender Expansive Students: Guidance for Schools. This guidance is grounded in the recognition, respect, affirmation, friendship, joy, belonging, and safety every human deserves - including the students, staff, and families that make-up our school communities. Gender expansive students are protected under federal and Oregon civil rights laws. School districts have a responsibility to provide a safe and affirming educational environment for all students, including gender expansive students. This updated guidance clarifies new and evolving laws and policies in order to address the diverse needs of a broad range of gender expansive students and the school districts who serve them.
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PSU Deepening Understanding of Math Teaching and Learning Series
Registration opens March 13 for this winter's course designed for preK-8 teachers and teacher leaders: CI 517 Developing Concepts of Data Analysis: Representing and Modeling Data. See the flier for details.
The class meets on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 7:30 pm and you can Attend Anywhere (which means you have your choice about format––face-to-face or online synchronous (Zoom) or a combination of the two).
These courses are part of the Deepening Understanding of Mathematics Teaching and Learning Series at Portland State University; they can be used for the Mathematics Instructional Leader Specialization from TSPC or a certificate of completion from PSU. Click here for program application information and scholarship options.
Contact Dr. Nicole Rigelman at rigelman@pdx.edu with questions about the program or courses.
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Multilingual/English Learner Resource Bank
The Oregon Open Learning Team is pleased to announce that the Multilingual/English Learner Resource Bank is now available!
The Multilingual/English Learner Resource Bank was created to support HB 3499 (2015). This bill directed the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to create an online resource bank for sharing evidence-based, culturally responsive best and promising practices for serving multilingual/English Learner students and engaging their families.
During the 2021-22 school year, a cohort of Oregon educators worked on the “OER Development Grant: Supporting Students who are Emergent Bilingual” project. Together, they participated in professional learning and went through a process of developing, piloting, iterating, and evaluating lesson plans to contribute to the Oregon English Language Development group. At the end of the project, the final lesson plans were evaluated using the Oregon OER Quality Framework. The lessons that met this high quality standard are now featured as the first resources in the Multilingual/English Learner Resource Bank.
A big shout out to all of the grantees for their hard work on this project! We look forward to seeing this collection grow.
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The ‘M’ in STEM and STEAM
The STEM Hub with the largest geographical reach in the state is Greater Oregon STEM Hub, or GO STEM. The GO STEM area spans more than 28,000 square miles in eastern Oregon, and serves school districts in Baker, Grant, Harney, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa counties. One of the many projects run by GO STEM is a lending library for educators in partner school districts. While math is inherent in nearly all aspects of STEM, the GO STEM Lending Library has, among other things: A measuring kit, a contour mapping kit, SAM Labs STEAM kits, which incorporate math into design, build, physics, and engineering activities; and Makey Makey car physics kits. Makey Makey has some interesting elementary-level math connections and like the others, is worth checking out!
GO STEM is also one of six Regional Hubs in Oregon that are involved in the Mathways Grant Projects. Coordinated by David Melville, Executive Director of GO STEM, and Kayla Hull, Program Coordinator at Wallowa ESD, this Mathways project focuses on Mathematical Modeling and Reasoning. Educators in the GO STEM region have been piloting and adapting open-source mathematical modeling curriculum for several years. The pandemic caused a significant interruption in the hands-on portion of the work, so last summer the Hub sent a group of teachers to Ohio, where the curriculum was developed, to reignite the project in eastern Oregon. The work has been exciting, as strong, positive student feedback and engagement indicates that students love it - even those who have not felt successful in math class before now. The work provides an opportunity for secondary math teachers to see and teach in nontraditional ways. One of the most exciting outcomes, according to Kayla Hull, is “to see not just the students, but the teachers, having fun while learning.”
If you and your district are interested in a Plus 1 Mathways course on Mathematical Modeling and Reasoning, be sure to stay tuned for outreach work later this year. Contact Kama Almasi, ODE STEAM Education Specialist, with questions.
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Get to Know One of Oregon’s STEM Hub Leaders
The Director of East Metro STEAM Partnership (EMSP), Jarvez Hall, was recently featured in an OSU Alumni Magazine article. EMSP serves Centennial, Corbett, David Douglas, Gresham-Barlow, Parkrose, and Reynolds School Districts, and with business entrepreneur and STEM specialist Hall at the helm, the Hub has been doing transformative work with children, youth, and educators in STEAM, equity, early learning, and computer science, among other things.
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2023 National High School Design Competition
The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, recently launched its seventh annual National High School Design Competition, challenging teens across the country with: What would you design with data for your community?
The competition is free to enter with entries due on February 13, 2022. Prizes include inspiring mentoring opportunities with leading designers and experts in the field, including an in-person trip to attend Mentor Weekend at the MIT Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism in Cambridge, MA. Please visit the Design Competition webpage for further details.
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Join the Oregon Math Leaders Network
The Oregon Math Leaders Network is a community of math practitioners who work together to implement and support math teaching and learning in Oregon. Participants include teacher leaders, TOSAs, program administrators, college faculty, and math community partners. If you identify as a math leader, you are invited!
During the 2022-23 school year, the network will meet virtually on the third Thursday of each month, with both morning (8:30-9:30am PT) and afternoon (3:30-4:30pm PT) options. To receive a calendar invitation and Zoom link, please join the Oregon Math Leaders Google Group. If you’re already a member, you don’t need to sign up again -- you’ll get the invite and link.
Announcements or Opportunities to Share?
If you have an opportunity or announcement to share statewide, please contact the ODE Math Team. Our goal is to publish the Math Educator Update around the middle of every month throughout the academic year. As always, we appreciate your participation as Oregon’s mathematics community!
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