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Hello Math Community,
Can you believe it is already November? We hope you are able to create some time for the people and activities that bring you joy. We appreciate all you do to support your students and to continue learning and growing with your teams, and we are grateful for every opportunity we get to learn with you.
Please note: beginning with this newsletter, we are sending the newsletter directly to all middle school math teachers. Please check with your general education and special education math colleagues to see that they have received this. If we have somehow missed someone, please let us know.
Read on for information about:
- Upcoming Professional Development
- Core Curriculum News
- Featured Strategy and Resource
- Upcoming Opportunities
- Recent Activities
This information (and more!) is also provided on the SFUSD Math website at www.sfusdmath.org, and you can follow us on Twitter: @SFUSDMath.
Thank you for all that you do!
The Math Team
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Congratulations to Willie Brown's Michelle Cody, who, along with one of her former students, now a freshman at Burton High School, presented her social justice math curriculum to a packed house at the Teachers 4 Social Justice 2019 Conference last month. Woot Woot!
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Upcoming Math Professional Development
Problem Solving Cycle
Fall Problem Solving Cycle (PSC) site-based workshops are currently underway. We look forward to our community gathering and reflecting upon our cycles of inquiry at our third TLP on December 5th.
Contact Person: Alisa Brown
Complex Instruction Program
The next Teacher Facilitator (T-facs) meeting is on Tuesday, November 5th at O'Connell High School. These meetings occur monthly throughout the school year.
Contact person: Angela Torres
For a calendar of all middle school math professional development activities, see the Math Department website. You can also refer to this Overview of our Middle School Professional Development Structures.
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District Assessments
Scores for the fall District Assessment should be reported by November 6. This year, each District Assessment Milestone has focus questions to be reported instead of reporting the whole Milestone. You can see which questions are focus questions by viewing the Milestone rubric online. You can access the Math Core Curriculum online through the SFUSD Math Portals. Please check with your school’s testing coordinator if you have questions.
For ideas for re-engaging with the content, please see the information on the Math Department website.
Spring Curriculum Delivery
Print materials (student workbooks and new teacher materials) for spring semester units are slated for delivery in December, before Winter Break. All curriculum materials are available online through the SFUSD Math Portals.
Contact person for Grades 6–8 Math Core Curriculum: Vriana Kempster
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Lesson Closure
Closure is the part of the lesson where students synthesize and summarize what they learned during the lesson. They make connections between the concepts, procedures, and strategies used during the lesson and the core math of the lesson. The choices that we make about closure contribute to our class culture and how we are building a learning community.
In last month’s newsletter, we highlighted sections of the SFUSD Math Core Curriculum lesson plans that support student-centered mathematical closures. This month we share with you a closure tool that was recently developed with Problem Solving Cycle teacher leader input. The tool was designed to help us reflect upon and plan for effective closures that:
- Link the core math throughout the lesson
- Promote student voice and the math identity of all students
- Consolidate and synthesize the learning of student groups by making connections
Active Learning is Deeper Learning
Have you ever gotten pushback from your students when you move away from direct instruction? Students often perceive that they learn more from teacher-centered, direct instruction style lessons. However, a recent study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, confirms that students learn more from student-centered, active learning experiences, such as those in the SFUSD Math Core Curriculum! This article from the Harvard Gazette highlights the findings.
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Upcoming Opportunities
LWEA (Living Wage for Educators Act)
Your 18 Paid Professional Development Hours for Educators (known as Prop G or LWEA) are available to all paras and teachers in SFUSD! LWEA PD Hours are meant to differentiate, enhance, or customize learning for each individual (to extend, not replace site PD). How will you use yours?
For detailed information, including what qualifies as PD, how to utilize your hours, and a link to the Passport, see 18 Paid PD Hours for Educators.
California Math Council North Conference at Asilomar
The CMC North Conference, from December 6 to 8, is an opportunity to learn with teachers from around the region about math content and pedagogy. The conference is at a beautiful location in Pacific Grove; it is a wonderful setting for reflecting and learning with your site colleagues. The theme this year is Embracing Cultural Diversity in Mathematics. Visit the conference website at www.cmc-math.org/cmc-north-conference for more information.
LIGHT Awards
You and your team of teachers are invited to apply for LIGHT Awards funds. The grants (of up to $30,000 over 2 years) can be used to support your growth as teachers, your effectiveness as educators, and your ability to inspire and mentor students. Applicants must complete the preliminary Letter of Intent (LOI) online by 5 PM on November 13th. Learn more at https://lightawards.org/.
Discounts for Teachers at Liholiho Yacht Club
The SFUSD parent and chef-owners of Liholiho Yacht Club, a fun Hawaiian and Asian-inspired restaurant on Nob Hill, love SFUSD! To express their gratitude for all you do, Liloliho has a special offer: please enjoy 50% off all food, for up to 4 guests, at all times (until further notice). This offer is good for any employee of SFUSD (proof of employment required). It is also honored in Gen-Gen Room (their little cocktail bar with food hidden below Liholiho). To book: Liho Reservations or Gen-Gen Reservations
If you know of other upcoming opportunities for math teachers or students, please let us know!
Contact person: Sarah Gleason
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Recent Activities
Problem Solving Cycle teacher leaders came together for the second teacher leader preparation (TLP) day of the school year on October 17th. Teacher Leaders (TLs) engaged in a Video Based Discussion to deepen their thinking and learning around effective mathematical closures. TLs also reviewed the collaboratively-developed closure tool before moving into site-based PSC workshop planning and rehearsals.
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Teacher Leaders explore components of the closure tool, and deepen their thinking around effective mathematical closures.
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Complex Instruction (CI) Teacher Facilitators (T-facs) met for their monthly meeting on October 8th. T-facs re-engaged with the core concepts of CI, examined classroom practices and the values and beliefs they communicated, and then explored a model for powerful learning communities in order to think about team goals and shared learning.
The CI Course Follow-Up Day 1 for Cohort 11 (teachers who took the CI course this summer) was on October 11th. The theme for the day was "CI Everyday," and participants explored how to make groupworthy lessons.
On October 28th, the CI Community came together once again for our first Video Club of the year, featuring Maggie Dominguez and her 8th grade students from Bessie Carmichael!
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Teachers doing math together and sharing their thinking at the CI Course Follow-Up Day.
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Thank you for all that you do!
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