“It Had to Start with Me”
A commitment to ourselves, our students, and each other
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Dear Math Teachers’ Circle Network,
Happy New Year! If you’re looking for topics for your spring MTC sessions, this issue will not disappoint. In “Touching Infinity,” Samuel Coskey, Paul Ellis, and Japheth Wood provide a lovely and accessible treatment of questions about infinity. Judith Covington’s “Tiling with Pentagons” captures the excitement of investigating brand-new mathematics during a MTC session. Peter Tingley draws inspiration from his preschool-aged daughter to bring a fresh perspective to problem solving in “Listen, Share, Play.” And Kimberly Adams and Donna Farrior lead their MTC in an escape room adventure in “Breakout Boxes.”
We’re proud to share that the MTC Network was recently highlighted as a “bright spot” in teacher professional development by 100Kin10, a national network with the goal of training and retaining 100,000 excellent STEM teachers. 100Kin10 also published a “Story from the Field” by the AIM MTC’s Heather Danforth-Clayson, describing how her experiences with MTCs have affected her teaching. Heather writes that after five years of MTC participation:
My enthusiasm – not just tolerance – for math infects everyone around me. My students feel my excitement, they soak it in, and they believe that they can do math, too. This is an element that was missing when I started teaching. I wanted to find the perfect way to teach so that I wouldn’t turn off any students to math. But what I didn’t understand at the time is that it had to start with me.
“It had to start with me.” The mathematical conversations, collaborations, and communities we build together in MTCs all fundamentally depend on many individuals making this precise commitment to ourselves, our students, and each other. I want to start my own New Year off by thanking each of you for making this commitment, which inspires me every day!
Happy problem solving!
Brianna Donaldson, Director of Special Projects
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2018 MTCircular.
MORE FROM THE
SPRING 2018 MTCIRCULAR
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Touching InfinityHyperbinary numbers and fraction trees
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Listen, Share, PlayLessons from preschool for problem solving
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Tiling with PentagonsExploring newly discovered math
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Locked OutA breakout box session for your Circle
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Bolognese Wins Statewide Teaching AwardColumbus MTC leader was recognized by the Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics
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Finkel, Jones Present at International ConferencesTwo MTC leaders present in Australia and Colombia
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Shubin Honored with Mary P. Dolciani AwardMTC Network leader honored for bringing Math Circles to new communities
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Engle, Danforth-Clayson Win Rosenthal PrizeBay Area MTC members win national math curriculum writing contest
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OpportunitiesSpecial events, recognitions, careers
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Dispatches from the CirclesLocal updates from across the country
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Global Math Week“Exploding Dots” from coast to coast
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