PETERBOROUGH, N.H., Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Many teachers grapple with dealing with students who are discouraged with math and have grown to dislike it. Every year, teachers struggle with how to get their students to learn and retain basic mathematical skills and concepts—skills that they will need in the real world—and determining ways to best reach those struggling learners can seem like a full time job.
Not so, says Staff Development for Educators (SDE) educational partner and consultant, Anni Stipek. Stipek has developed innovative and exciting ways to reach those learners, which are illustrated in a special one-day seminar, Math Intervention: Strategies & Activities the Singapore Way, being offered this year for teachers of grades 1-5.
The seminar focuses on how to best uncovered common student misconceptions (and address them efficiently and effectively), implement quick assessments, and changing the way that certain content or concepts are taught. Stipek believes that children who are struggling in math best succeed when they try math in different ways. Her seminar introduces ways to change the manipulative or computation method in order to alter and correct a student's flawed thinking. Learning how to teach for reasoning—instead of memorization—can help turn students into successful math thinkers.
Stipek, an inspiring and knowledgeable classroom teacher with more than 20 years of experience, draws on her solid background of math curriculum design and implementation, along with key strategies she learned in her travels to Singapore to learn about the power of Singapore Math first-hand, to help teachers transform the way they teach math.
"Here is your chance to learn effective, practical interventions that maximize learning for all your students," explains Stipek. "You'll leave the seminar more confident and ready to equip your learners with the skills they need to become successful mathematicians.."
Teachers will explore specific and engaging strategies for re-teaching conceptually and through alternative methods to address all students' varying needs, and will learn how to best math each intervention activity to each learner at the appropriate time to maximize student success. Stipek presents a framework than will help teachers develop complete plans to move from concrete to pictorial to abstract math interventions. Using Singapore's proven concrete, pictorial, abstract method will help teachers identify alternative algorithms and to slot them in when appropriate.
Innovative, and hands-on in nature, Math Interventions: Strategies & Activities the Singapore Way introduces numerous games and activities to help make math fun, even to learners who feel disheartened and have been unsuccessful in math in the past. Stipek also demonstrates ready-to-use manipulatives—such as the RekenMathLine—to build success in number bonds, place value, and more. Teachers will discover not just what to practice, but how to practice it with their students. Real student samples and video clips are used throughout to help teachers see how easy it is to create intervention plans based on student work.
The later portion of the seminar is devoted to teachers creating and developing intervention plans for their own classroom, guided by Stipek. Taking the guesswork out of how to effectively plan concrete-pictorial-abstract math lessons allow teachers to confidently return to the classroom, ready to work effectively with struggling math students.
The seminar is designed for new and veteran teachers alike.
"I promise that teachers will return to their young mathematicians with unique math approaches and tools that they can immediately put to work in their classrooms," says Stipek.
Staff Development for Educators is America's leading provider of professional development for PreK through Grade 12 educators. SDE believes that educators have the most important job in the world. Through Onsite PD, PD Events, Web-based PD, and PD Resources, the company empowers teachers and administrators across the country with ongoing professional development that is not only research-based, innovative, and rigorous, but also practical, motivating, and fun. All SDE training is presented by the nation's top authors and educational experts, with the goal of creating extraordinary classrooms that prepare students for the evolving demands of the 21st century.
All SDE events include a free resource book of handouts, lesson ideas, reproducibles, and more, and a free 30-day membership at TeachingMadeEasier.com. With the paid registration of a staff member, SDE extends free tuition to a principal from the same building, and also offers group discounts for groups of 10+ and 20+.
Math Intervention: Strategies & Activities the Singapore Way will be offered in El Paso, Texas on November 20th , Arlington, Texas on November 21st, Manchester, New Hampshire on December 1st, and Albany, New York on December 2nd. Educators interested registering for this seminar, or learning about more about SDE's national conferences, upcoming SDE events, or other professional development opportunities, can visit www.SDE.com, call 1-800-462-1478, or email customersatisfaction@sde.com.