Arab American Heritage Month
Throughout April we celebrate Arab American Heritage Month as a time to recognize the profound impact of Arab mathematicians. Their contributions -- woven into the fabric of science -- have left an indelible mark on our world. From algebra to trigonometry, their genius echoes through time.
This month you can highlight contributions of Arab Americans, such as Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah's inventions which led to the creation of the LCD screen, Anthony “Tony” Fadell’s development of the iPhone, or Taher Elgamal’s pioneering work creating open-key encryption that keeps internet data secure. Join us in celebrating these luminaries -- mathematical architects who shaped our understanding of numbers, patterns, and the universe itself as we honor Arab American heritage.
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ODE Announcements
Oregon High School Math Pathways Communication Toolkit
TCommunication Toolkit and Executive Summary are now posted on the Oregon Math Project webpage. These documents are designed to communicate the intent of the Oregon Math Project in high school grades. Please share these resources widely! The Communication Toolkit was funded through an Oregon Mathways state grant from the 2021-23 biennium. These collaborative grants have utilized the expertise of Oregon educators and leaders to uplift the four cornerstones of the Oregon Math Project: Focus, Engagement, Pathways, and Belonging.
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2024 Smarter Balanced State Network of Educators: Recruitment Open
Recruitment is now open for the 2024 State Network of Educators (SNE) Summer Workshops scheduled for July 9-11, 2024 held in Portland, OR, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland Downtown. SNE Workshops provide educators with an in-depth opportunity to learn the formative assessment process as they contribute to the critical work of building new instructional resources for Tools for Teachers. Selected educators will be asked to write instructional resources in Language Arts or Mathematics that align to Oregon’s assessment targets and standards. The workshop is also a great chance to meet and learn from colleagues across member states. New and returning educators are encouraged to apply using this Interest Form by 5:00 PM PT on Friday, April 26.
For more information about Tools for Teachers or the State Network of Educators, please contact Andy Byerley, Mathematics Assessment Specialist.
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Registration Now Open for the ALK-8 Oregon Educators’ Summit
Oregon State University has opened registration for the ALK-8 Oregon K-8 Educators’ Summit, held August 6-7, 2024, in Corvallis. The Equitable Accelerated Learning Project is a partnership between OSU’s College of Education and the Oregon Department of Education designed to support educators to identify and help to reverse inequities that were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oregon educators currently employed by public school districts (including public charter schools), Education Service Districts (ESDs), and Regional Education Networks (RENs) may apply to attend. Participating educators will identify problems of practice and co-design practical solutions to support teaching and learning for all students. Participants will receive a stipend for participation and associated travel costs. Space is limited. Questions about the summit can be directed to ALK-8 Project Director, Martha Ahrendt.
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Research and Resources
Oregon Open Learning Featured Resources
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's OER highlight features two course blueprints that were developed through the Oregon Mathways Grants from the 2021-23 biennium. These course blueprints, which can also be found on the Oregon Math Project webpage, are designed to connect high school standards with instructional resources for a full “Plus 1” course.
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Practice Brief: Local Performance Assessments
Performance-based assessments are a vital component of a district’s balanced assessment system. OAR 581-022-0615 requires public school districts and charter schools to administer Local Performance Assessments (LPAs) in grades 3-8 and once in high school in the content areas of writing, speaking, mathematical problem solving, and scientific inquiry. This two-page Practice Brief is designed to help educators and leaders take a student-centered approach to meeting the requirements of the policy by understanding the benefits of performance-based assessments, how to use district-adopted instructional materials as a source of LPAs, and how to use a single task across multiple content areas. Contact the ODE Assessment Team with questions or for more information.
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K-5 Quarterly Newsletter
ODE’s Office of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment is launching a new quarterly newsletter for K-5 educators. This newsletter will provide resources, opportunities, guidance, and ODE updates tailored specifically to support the integrated and well-rounded instruction that elementary education entails. It aims to streamline information related to K-5 academic standards and instruction into one convenient communication. Sign up for the newsletter today!
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2023 IES Mathematics Summit Resources
Recordings from the Summit’s 120+ sessions are now available on the NAEP YouTube channel. The sessions are available in their entirety and organized by Pre-K–3, 4–8, and 9–12 grade-level span designations. If you want to find a specific session from the event, see the full playlists on the YouTube channel link above.
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Opportunities for Educators
Senate Bill 3: Standards Feedback
Senate Bill 3 Background: The 2023 Oregon legislature passed Senate Bill 3, updating Oregon’s high school diploma requirements. Beginning with the class of 2027, the Oregon diploma requirements will include a 0.5 credit in Personal Financial Education and a 0.5 credit in Higher Education and Career Path Skills, as part of the 24 credit requirements.
Feedback on Standards: The Oregon Department of Education is inviting feedback on draft content standards for Higher Education and Career Path Skills and Personal Financial Education courses.
Timeline: The surveys below will close on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 11:59 PST.
Survey links with draft standards included:
Feedback will be incorporated into the draft standards and presented to the State Board of Education this spring. We are deeply grateful for your support for students to acquire the knowledge and skills that will help them navigate and reach their future goals. We look forward to hearing from you.
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On-Demand Course: Effectively Using OSAS Results
The Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS) summative test window is now open in grades 3-8 and high school. ODE has partnered with Southern Oregon ESD to create an on-demand asynchronous professional learning course to help district leaders, school administrators, and teachers use their OSAS results effectively. The course, Effectively Using OSAS Results, consists of five one-hour modules delivered through Canvas.
Participants will gain a greater understanding of the following key concepts:
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Understanding OSAS test design is key to understanding how to use OSAS test results.
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Student performance across assessment targets, not overall proficiency rates, provides the most helpful data for use in continuous improvement.
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Trends in target results can inform curriculum planning, instructional pacing, and professional learning.
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Connections can be made between assessment targets and standards that can help educators implement powerful formative assessment practices in the classroom.
The course is available now at no cost to Oregon educators. Details and registration can be found here.
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2024 Oregon Math Leader Conference
The 2024 OCTM Oregon Math Leader (OML) conference will be held from August 7-9, 2024, in Corvallis, OR. This conference is an opportunity for math educators to come together and share ideas, resources, and best practices. The conference features a variety of sessions, workshops, and keynote speakers, focused on improving math education in Oregon. Visit the OCTM website for more details.
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PSU: Deepening Understanding of Mathematics Teaching, Learning, and Leading Series
Registration is now open for this winter's course designed for preK-12 teachers and teacher leaders in mathematics: CI 514 Enhancing Algebraic Thinking: Patterns and Functions. See this flier for details on this course (i.e., course reference number, description, location, instructors) and others planned for the 2023-2024 school year.
The class meets on Mondays from 4:30 to 7:30 pm. You can choose your modality for attendance (i.e., face-to-face or online synchronous (Zoom) or a combination of the two). Your instructor will be in touch with details once you enroll.
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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!
The 2023-24 virtual meetings will continue to take place on the third Thursday of each month on Zoom. Register now for either the morning sessions (8:30 - 9:30 am PT) or the afternoon sessions (4:00 - 5:00 pm PT).
Stay Connected!
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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