Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! We hope you are feeling rested, rejuvenated, and energized as you prepare for a new school year with a new crew of students. This is an exciting yet challenging time of year, full of anticipation and ideas.
In June, Oregon’s State Board of Education adopted new Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards. This might seem like an unusual way to begin a math newsletter, yet we encourage you to take time to read these standards through the lens of how you might implement them in your math classroom. What connections can you make to the cornerstones of the Oregon Math Project: focus, engagement, pathways, and belonging. Building relationships with students as they return to school is the perfect time to learn more about the funds of knowledge they bring to class this year. Additional resources connecting the mathematical practices and SEL competencies can be found on the Inside Mathematics Social and Emotional Learning and Mathematics website. Look for more tools this school year to connect the cornerstones of the Oregon Math Project with our new SEL standards.
Remember to take care of yourself and your own social and emotional health this year, and take joy in thinking about the amazing work you and your students will do this year.
Photo by Deleece Cook on Unsplash
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Meet the New Director of the Oregon Department of Education
With the retirement of Director Colt Gill, ODE has a new Director, Dr. Charlene Williams. Dr. Williams is a former math educator with strong ties to Oregon. Read about the amazing highlights of her career in education. Dr. Williams is serving as Interim Director until the Oregon Senate takes up her confirmation in September. Join us in welcoming Dr. Williams to ODE!
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Updated Math Standards Guidance Documents Posted
The K-12 Math Guidance Document was published in 2022 to provide educators additional information for each standard, including OER resources. Work this past summer has been to update these documents and separate them into grade-level files which are now available on the ODE website. Fall 2023 updates found within the new grade-level guidance documents include:
- Major, supporting, and additional designations based on work of Student Achievement Partners
- Standards-level hyperlinks that can be copied and shared anywhere a given standard is identified.
- Connections to the University of Arizona learning progressions
- Link to exemplar resources from Illustrative Mathematics and Student Achievement Partners
Click here to access the updated Grade Level Math Standards Guidance Documents.
Questions about the updated guidance documents can be directed to Mark Freed, ODE Math Education Specialist.
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2023-24 Grade 11 OSAS Math Test Blueprint Coming Soon
As part of the 2021 Oregon Math Standards update, ODE expects OSAS Math Test Blueprints to be fully operational in 2025-26 across all tested grade levels (3 - 8 and 11). On October 2, 2023, ODE will publish a transitional blueprint for the 2023-24 Grade 11 Math CAT that brings that test’s item pool into alignment with the reduction in the number of high school math standards. Changes include:
- Four assessment targets for which there are no longer associated standards (Targets B, D, F, and H), were removed from Claim 1.
- Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) items that no longer align with the 2021 Oregon Math Standards were removed from the item pool.
- Items were rebalanced to align more to priority targets (representing the major work of the grade band) than to supporting targets.
Other related details include:
- Neither the length of the CAT nor anticipated student testing time are significantly impacted.
- All existing Performance Tasks sufficiently align to 2021 Oregon Math Standards.
- No changes are expected to student scoring or reporting.
- The Grade 11 Sample Math CAT will be updated accordingly on the OSAS Portal on October 31, 2023.
- The full set of OSAS Interim Assessments will remain active in 2023-24 as districts continue to transition to the 2021 Oregon Math Standards.
There are no changes to the OSAS Math Test blueprints in Grades 3 - 8 in 2023-24. ODE anticipates field testing items that assess data reasoning in 2024-25 across all tested grade levels.
A set of Frequently Asked Questions will be published with the Grade 11 Math CAT blueprint on October 2, 2023. Please contact Andrew Byerley, Math Assessment Specialist, for more information.
Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the highest honors bestowed by the United States government specifically for K–12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teaching.
The PAEMST program is open to outstanding STEM teachers in the 50 states; Washington, D.C.; the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; Department of Defense Education Activity schools; and the U.S. jurisdictions.
Anyone—principals, teachers, parents, students, or members of the general public—may nominate exceptional STEM teachers who are currently teaching students in grades K-6 for the 2024 award year. Teachers may also apply directly at http://www.paemst.nsf.gov/.
The nomination deadline is January 8, 2024, and the application deadline is February 6, 2024, for elementary educators (grade K-6). Secondary educators will be eligible for nomination during a future cycle.
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Oregon Open Learning Featured Resource
The Oregon Open Learning Hub is a digital resource repository and collaboration space for educators, administrators, and other educational partners to curate, create, and remix open educational resources (OER). The Hub is a portal to over 50,000 openly licensed resources available on OER Commons, searchable by grade level, subject, and standard.
This month we would like to highlight an upper elementary resource that introduces students to the Fibonacci Sequence. This activity, Fibonacci Sequence in Nature, was adapted by the Portland Metro STEM Partnership from a lesson by Math Gamers © 2020, as part of STEM Bites, which are activities designed by Oregon STEM Hubs to engage students in STEM learning.
Want to learn more about OER and the Oregon Open Learning Hub? Asynchronous learning options include the OER Professional Learning Group on the Hub and the User Guide for Oregon Open Learning.
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Joy and Justice in Mathematics
Several Oregon STEM Hubs have been working to increase student engagement and sense of belonging in elementary mathematics. The Joy and Justice in Mathematics initiative explores student identity, power dynamics, and social justice through mathematics. With Portland Metro STEM Partnership (PMSP) as the lead, East Metro STEAM Partnership (EMSP), and South Metro-Salem STEM Partnership (SMSP) have supported elementary educators in the Portland and Salem areas, as well as those along the Coast and in the Umpqua Valley. Each of the hubs ran a Summer Math Institute for elementary educators and PMSP expanded the work to include middle school educators. A key part of the work is making math education more relevant and joyful for students, which has potential to directly impact students’ math identity. For testimonials and more information on the summer work, see PMSP’s newsletter and the attached document. For more information on PMSP’s Joy and Justice in Mathematics initiative, please contact Leah Plack at leah.plack@pdxstem.org.
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2023 Northwest Math Conference
The Northwest Math Conference is back in Portland for the first time since 2017! The 2023 conference takes place October 12-14 at the Holiday Inn Portland - Columbia Riverfront. This year’s theme is Community: Reflecting on the Past and Envisioning the Future and includes keynote speakers Karim Ani, Dr. Barbara Oakley, and Fawn Nguyen. Sessions and workshops will all address one of the four strands: Focus, Engagement, Pathways, and Belonging – the four cornerstones of Oregon Math Project! Graduate credit is available through Southern Oregon University.
2023 IES Mathematics Summit
Earlier this year, The Nation’s Report Card revealed that fourth- and eighth-grade students assessed in the 2021–22 school year experienced the largest declines in mathematics performance in the program’s history. In an effort to examine the declines in math that students are experiencing across the country—and what can be done to address these declines—the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is hosting the 2023 IES Mathematics Summit. The Summit is free for all to attend and will bring together national, state, and local leaders; educators; researchers; and policymakers. Presenters will discuss effective strategies for instruction, intervention, innovation, and emerging resources, and will highlight solutions rooted in research and successful classroom practices. The Summit will also feature a series of sessions that will showcase strategies to support post-secondary success and preparation for in-demand careers.
NCES will convene the virtual summit on three consecutive Tuesdays—September 12, 19, and 26—from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. PDT. Register now for the 2023 IES Mathematics Summit!
On September 19, the ODE Math Team will present a breakout session titled “Oregon High School Math Pathways.” Join us as we highlight the amazing work happening by educators across Oregon!
Ambitious Math Teaching Virtual September Spotlights
Curious about Ambitious Math Teaching? Teachers Development Group (TDG) will facilitate 90-minute instructional “spotlights” this fall to build collective understanding of the mindsets, dispositions, and instructional routines that drive Ambitious Math Teaching. Each session is drawn from topics introduced during the full 9-day Ambitious Math Teaching Modules, and all are available to Oregon educators at no cost. Register for any or all of the sessions to learn more. For more information, email tdgprogram@teachersdg.org.
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Promote Equitable Teaching Practices through the Use of Habit Activators (September 12, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. OR September 28, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.)
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Provide Students Access to Mathematics through the Use of Their "Rough Draft" Ideas (September 14, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. OR 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.)
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Ensure Rigorous Math Learning by Attending to Tasks’ Cognitive Demand while Lesson Planning (September 19, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. OR 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.)
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Raise Students’ Status in Classroom Discourse through the Use of Worked Examples (September 26, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. OR 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.)
Funded by the Oregon Math Project in collaboration with ODE, OSU and TDG.
Professional Learning Resource for Middle School Teachers
Video in the Middle offers middle-grade math teachers 40 free, standards-aligned online modules based on the latest research in mathematics education. Each two-hour module is designed around a lesson, such as Connecting Different Representations or Examining Slope and Y-Intercept, and features actual classroom video footage. Create a free account to view all 40 modules and share with your Professional Learning Team!
PSU: Graduate Courses In Math Education
Portland State University will be offering two newly-developed online courses that may be of interest to teachers interested in teaching high school data science. Click the course name to view an informational flier.
These courses are part of a re-design of PSU's Masters in Math for Teachers Program. If you have not previously taken courses at PSU, you'll need to first apply for this program or alternatively apply as a Post-Bac or Non-Degree student. Questions about either course can be directed to Steve Boyce (sboyce@pdx.edu) or to the course instructor/developer, Sean Larsen (slarsen@pdx.edu).
PSU: Deepening Understanding of Mathematics Teaching, Learning, and Leading Series
Registration is now open for this fall's course designed for preK-12 teachers and teacher leaders in mathematics: CI 521 Mathematics Teacher Leadership: Responsive Mathematics Instructional and Assessment. We will be reading Catalyzing Change (NCTM 2018, 2020a, 2020b, depending on your grade level focus) among other resources to support shifts toward more equitable mathematics instruction and assessment for each and every student. See flier for details on this course and others planned for the 2023-2024 school year.
The class meets eight times, on Mondays from 4:30 to 7:30 pm and includes a practicum connected to work you will complete in your classroom/school. 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). Your instructor will be in touch with details once you enroll.
These courses are part of the Deepening Understanding of Mathematics Teaching, Learning, and Leading 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 information about scholarship opportunities (at the bottom of the page). Contact Dr. Nicole Rigelman for more information.
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!
Meetings for the 2023-24 school year will take place virtually on the third Thursday of each month, with both morning (8:30-9:30 am PT) and afternoon (3:30-4:30 pm 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.
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If you have an opportunity or announcement to share statewide, please contact the ODE Math Team.
The materials contained in the Department of Education’s Oregon Math Educator Update are drawn from both internal and external sources and inclusion of external materials does not necessarily indicate Oregon Department of Education endorsement.
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