Refining 6-12 Mathematics Curriculum and Instruction Based on What We Have Learned from Student Performance on the HSPA
Date: October 5, 2004, May 3, 2005, May 10, 2005 (starburst - offered on three different dates)
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor: Robert J. Riehs, Mathematics Specialist, NJ Dept. of Education
This one-day workshop will address specific misunderstandings that students have consistently demonstrated on statewide assessments.
Many of these misunderstandings relate to sixth-, seventh-, or eighth-grade expectations from New Jersey's Core Curriculum
Content Standards. Participants will examine several of the most common misunderstandings and explore instructional activities
and strategies which can be used to either modify a district's formal 6-12 curriculum or simply refine the instruction in
a particular mathematics classroom. Appropriate for grade 6-12 mathematics supervisors or 6-12 teachers of mathematics.
GETTING READY FOR HSPA: A Nine-Step Program to Create Powerful Student-Constructed Responses
to Open-Ended Questions - Number Sense and Geometry
Date: October 6, 2004
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
- Instructor: Paul
Lawrence, LL Teach
GETTING READY FOR HSPA: A Nine-Step Program to Create Powerful Student-Constructed Responses to Open-Ended Questions Using Topics
- Patterns and Algebra
Date: January 13, 2005
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
- Instructor: Paul
Lawrence, LL Teach
These workshops provide a nine-step model for improving student performance on responding to open-ended questions.
The first workshop focuses on Number Sense and Geometry and the second workshop on Patterns and Algebra. The key element
in the approach of this nine-step program is to teach concepts through active, discovery-based lessons rather than simply
using steps to get an answer to a question. Additional ways to help students create powerful responses is to have students
discuss multiple strategies to solve problems and then actually critique other student responses. Each of these elements
is modeled continually throughout both workshops
Number Sense and Geometry- After a brief overview of the importance of addressing process standards in all
classes, participants will become actively involved in using 11-pin-by-11-pin geoboards and pattern blocks to review angle
measure, similarity, classification of polygons, and coordinates so that they can address this understanding to selected
open-ended questions. After solutions to questions are determined, participants will have an opportunity to judge sample
student responses for the question.
Connecting cubes will be used to develop work in describing and extending patterns, computing probability, and building
three-dimensional shapes. Once these materials are developed, additional open-ended questions with sample student responses
will be distributed.
Patterns and Algebra- After a brief overview of the importance of addressing process standards in all classes,
participants will become actively involved in using Algebra Tiles to investigate variables and solve multi-step equations.
Graphing calculators will be distributed and used as tools to discover and apply order of operations, relating equations and
respective graphs, and the concept of the line of best fit. In addition, work with irrational numbers and the Pythagorean
theorem will be presented through tangram construction and geoboard activities. If time permits, the concept of recursion and
iteration will also be presented. Participants will leave with HSPA related open-ended questions and sample student responses.
Introduction to the Latest Graphing Calculator Technology
Dates: November 12, 2004, December 14, 2004 (needs starburst - offered on two different dates)
Time: 8:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor: Reginald Luke, Middlesex County College
In this one-day workshop, the TI-83 Plus and TI-84 Plus calculators will be highlighted for grade 9-12 teachers of mathematics.
The program will include demonstrations and hands-on activities for mathematics problem solving in arithmetic, algebra, and
precalculus. Topics will include applications in probability, statistics and discrete mathematics. The calculator-based laboratory
(CBL) system and the ranger motion detector (CBR) will also be introduced for scientific data collection and math modeling.
This workshop is geared towards high-school teachers with little or no experience with graphing calculators. This workshop is
limited to 20 participants, so early registration is recommended.
A Handful of Activities to Help Students Prepare for the Geometry and Measurement Standard on the HSPA
Date: November 16, 2004
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor:James Rahn, Mathematics Consultant
Come and participate in completing several activities that will enhance your students' conceptual understanding as well as their
reasoning skills in geometry using manipulatives, geoboards, patty paper, and more. This workshop will concentrate on the Macro A
(Geometric Properties) of the Geometry and Measurement Standard. We deal with Pythagorean Theorem, 3-D Drawings, and Properties of
Geometric Shapes. Woven into the workshop will be the idea of students using reasoning to support what they see going on in the
activity.
Teachers will go home with many activities they can use immediately in their classroom to help students visualize the geometric
concepts required for the HSPA.
Special Education - Introduction to the Latest Graphing Calculator Technology to Prepare Students with Special Needs
Dates: December 3, 2004, January 21, 2005 (needs starburst offered on two different dates)
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor: Reginald Luke, Middlesex County College
This introductory workshop for grade 9-12 special education teachers will focus on how this technology can assist teachers in making
their mathematics more hands-on, visual and inquiry-based in reaching students with special needs. The TI-34, TI-73 and TI-83 and the
CBR (Ranger Motion Detector) will be introduced with appropriate mathematics problem-solving lessons for teachers of special education.
This workshop is geared towards high-school teachers with little or no experience with graphing calculators. This workshop is limited to
20 participants, so early registration is recommended
Graphing Calculator Skills to Prepare Students for the HSPA
Date: December 9, 2004
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor: James Rahn, Mathematics Consultant
Do your students use the calculator as a crutch or a tool? The graphing calculator is a powerful tool that should be used for more than just
number crunching and obtaining a graph. Graphing calculators can give students the opportunity to look at ideas in more than one way. Come
learn how to use the calculator to help your students understand ideas graphically, numerically, verbally, as well as analytically. Teachers
will learn how features on the graphing calculator will help their students. The TI-83 and TI-84 will be the calculators used in the workshop.
It is not necessary to bring a calculator with you. One will be provided for you to use in the workshop. We will look at how the calculator can
help your students achieve a more in-depth understanding of algebra, patterns, and geometry.
Teachers will leave the workshop knowing how to use the graphing calculator as a tool to help their students develop a richer understanding of
concepts on which they will be assessed in the HSPA.
HSPA: Help Students Pass Assessments - and Avoid the SRA Process!
Date: December 16, 2004
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor: Karin Rupp, Mathematics Consultant
If you are accountable for your students' results and teach the traditional college preparation courses, this workshop will provide
a close look at HSPA math concepts and open-ended questions not routinely covered in the traditional college prep curriculum.
You will take home classroom-ready activities for data analysis including scatter plots, and line of best fit; spatial sense;
coordinate geometry and fractals; discrete mathematics; and matrices. Open-ended questions with student responses will be provided
and discussed for use with your own students
An Introduction to Discrete Mathematics
Date: January 11, 2005
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor: Joseph G. Rosenstein
This workshop will address the second two strands of Standard 4, provide an overview of the discrete mathematics expectations in the
standards for middle and high school students, and will focus on some of the key ideas and applications of discrete mathematics that are
referred to in Standard 4. In the morning, we will discuss strategies for counting (including their use in probability), and in the
afternoon, we will focus on vertex-edge graphs and their applications.
Helping Students Prepare Adequately for the HSPA
Date: January 25, 2005
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor: James Rahn
What type of activities are you incorporating in your classroom to adequately prepare your students for the 11th grade HSPA?
Spend a day investigating how all students can use real data, manipulatives, and problem solving as they learn to think mathematically.
The activities included in this workshop will help you change your classroom from a traditionally textbook oriented atmosphere to one
that is standard-based. The NJ Mathematics Standards will be the foundation for all the activities presented.
Integrating Statistics and Probability into Your Classroom
Date: February 1, 2005
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m
Location: Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
Instructor: Angelo DeMattia
This workshop will address concepts related to the first two strands of Standard 4: descriptive statistics (collecting, generating,
and describing data), inferential statistics (analyzing and interpreting data), and probability (randomness, fairness, and counting
procedures). Simulations and analyses will use hands-on materials as well as technology (TI-83 graphing calculator and Fathom computer software).