| Building Connected Relationships with Math |
Keynote speaker Vanessa Vakharia, known as the Lady Gaga of math education, is the founder and director of The Math Guru, a boutique math & science tutoring studio in Toronto that's changing stereotypes about what math education looks like. She is also the host of the Math Therapy podcast, author of the NEW bestselling book Math Therapy, and lead singer/keytarist for the rock band Goodnight Sunrise. She has her Bachelor of Commerce, Teaching Degree, and Masters of Math Education. Her goal is to totally change math culture so that math is finally as cool as every single Taylor Swift song ever written. She failed Grade 11 math twice, which was the best thing that ever happened to her. |
Reframing Failure: Help Students Actually Connect with Math What do Taylor Swift, Michael Jordan, and Albert Einstein have in common? They all failed—hard—before they crushed it. And so do real mathematicians. Failing is part of the process! But in math class, fear of failure shuts students down. It keeps them quiet, scared to try, and totally disconnected—from math and each other. In this session, we’ll flip the script on failure and show you how to build a culture of connection, courage, and resilience where mistakes are magic, confidence grows, and students feel like they belong in math. You’ll leave equipped to turn fear into fuel—and to help every student see math as something they belong in, not something they simply survive. | Math Therapy 101: Understanding Math Trauma & How to Overcome It! Did you know that if someone says they're "not a math person," it’s usually because they’ve got unresolved math trauma? In this session, we dive deep into WHY students are so scared of math, and how to change that. Ready to move past temporary solutions for math anxiety and help students truly overcome it?! Learn about the dynamics of fear, how it manifests in math class, and gain practical strategies you can use RIGHT away to break the cycle of fear and avoidance. Add "Math Therapy" to your toolbox and start changing lives way beyond the classroom! |
Featured Speaker Dan Meyer taught high school math to students who didn't like high school math. He has advocated for better math instruction on CNN, Good Morning America, Everyday With Rachel Ray, and TED.com. He earned his doctorate from Stanford University in math education and is a Director of Research at Amplify where he explores the future of math, technology, and learning. He has worked with teachers internationally and in all fifty United States. He lives in Oakland, CA.
Three Gifts That Technology Can Give To (Or Take Away From) Your Math Class If your goal is an engaging and effective math classroom, the majority of math education technology is actively working against you. We will name the three gifts technology has given us in our personal lives-connection, creativity, and feedback. We'll learn the ways technology often subtracts those gifts from our math classes, and how we can add them back. | Math Is Power, Not Punishment We often offer students shortcuts, strategies, and skills before students understand their origin, their value, and the millions of hours of work they’ve saved mathematicians throughout history. We’ll look at techniques for putting students in a position to need these challenging skills so they feel like power, not punishment. |
Featured Speaker John SanGiovanni is a best-selling author and nationally recognized leader in mathematics education. He works as a district mathematics coordinator in Maryland leading curriculum development, professional learning, assessment, and intervention. John is passionate about developing mathematics specialists and teacher leaders in his district and at McDaniel College. He also works as an international consultant providing professional learning for mathematics content, pedagogy, curriculum design, and leadership. John is a frequent speaker at conferences across the country. He is active in professional organizations serving on the Board of Directors for several including both the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics.
Better Problem Solving: From Number Pluckers to Thinkers and Doers Description: Teaching problem-solving is hard. It’s about helping students make sense of problems, think critically, and reason mathematically. Simply put, problem solving is not a procedure that we can deliver to our students. Problem solving is something develop in them. In this interactive session, participants will learn how to do just that through engaging, problem-solving instructional routines that foster deep thinking, reasoning, and discussion. The workshop arms teachers with practical approaches to help students build confidence, apply multiple strategies, and make connections across mathematical ideas. Participants will leave with a collection of practical tools that are ready to use and that fit seamlessly into their daily instruction. | Number Sense and Numeracy Description: Do your students struggle with reasoning about numbers, thinking flexibly about them, and estimating? Are you looking for practical, high-quality tasks to engage students and ignite discussion? In this session, participants learn about dynamic, doable activities that engage students in meaningful ways to strengthen number sense and fluency. A collection of ready-for-use resources will be provided and explored so that pursuit of number sense becomes a daily routine. |
Featured Speaker Dr. Raj Shah is on a mission to make math irresistible for kids. After earning a Ph.D. in Physics, he worked at Intel before founding Math Plus Academy — an after-school math enrichment program in 2008. A founding member of The Global Math Project, which has brought joyful math to over 7 million students worldwide. Dr. Shah is an internationally recognized speaker, TEDx presenter, and frequent presenter at math education conferences. He also consults with schools across the U.S., inspiring educators to help kids develop number sense and a love of problem-solving.
Exploding Dots - A Visual Model that Illuminates K-12 Mathematics Breakout Session: 8:00am - 8:50am See the mathematical phenomenon that has been shared with over Exploding Dots has been shared with over 7.8 million students across the globe (globalmathproject.org)! Exploding Dots is the stunning visual story of place-value as it permeates the entire K-12 mathematics curriculum. Understand grade-school arithmetic in an astounding new light. See high school algebra conducted with natural, brilliant ease. And even connect to fascinating unsolved research questions baffling mathematicians to this day. | Every Child is Brilliant (and So are You) Breakout Session: 9:00am - 9:50am Quickly solving problems and getting the correct answers is often seen as a sign of intelligence or genius. Every student possesses a unique set of abilities that extend far beyond speed and correctness. Similarly, every teacher has untapped superpowers they bring to the classroom. In this uplifting session, we'll recognize brilliance in ourselves and students and explore how to create a culture where everyone can leverage their strengths to unlock the collective brilliance of the classroom. |
Featured Speaker Dr. Marian Small has authored more than 100 resources for teachers and students at the K- 12 level. She writes and speaks about K-12 math around the world. Her focus is on teacher questioning to get at the important math, to include and extend all students, and to focus on critical thinking and creativity.
Resources she has written include More Good Questions: A Great Way to Differentiate Secondary Math Instruction, Good Questions: A Great Way to Differentiate Math Instruction, Uncomplicating Fractions, Uncomplicating Algebra, The School Leader’s Guide for Building and Maintaining Math Success, Understanding the Math We Teach and How to Teach It, Teaching Mathematical Thinking, Fun and Fundamental Math for Young Children, Open Questions for the 3 Part Lessons, Do They Really Understand?, Math Up, and Experience Math.
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