PETERBOROUGH, N.H., Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Most elementary school teachers struggle with teaching math effectively and meaningfully in their classroom, often times because they haven't been equipped with the right tools and methods to build success with their students. Math instruction is easy if you can transform complicated material into manageable bites for your students – and Staff Development for Educators' Math Academy, offered this Fall and Winter, can do just that.
SDE's Math Academy: Building Your Mathematical Toolkit, is a hands-on two-day Academy for teachers of grades K-5, designed to ease the difficulties teachers have with math instruction. It presents teachers with the necessary tools to help them attack tough math concepts, set anchor tasks, and develop meaningful math centers and guided practice strategies.
Led by renowned math experts and former classroom educators, such as Ricky Mikelman, Anni Stipek, and Kristin Hilty, this Academy is intended as a unique opportunity for teachers who are struggling with how to make math instruction doable and successful in the classroom. The experts focus on 10 key concepts that, when implemented, can change how your students learn. These concepts are used as foundational building blocks and are woven throughout the Math Academy to help teachers meet today's increased demands and succeed in their math instruction.
"The development of the Math Academy came from teachers who felt that they needed help making their math instruction effective—because they are also focused on so many other areas," explains Beth Brousseau, who programmed the event for SDE. "Internally, we call this Academy 'Darn Good Math,' because it's not just about getting students to give right answers, but instead on how to handle math problems."
The Academy is formatted in three two-grade-level bands, so that each teacher gets content tailored to meet the specific needs of their grade. With only two grades included in each band, teachers will find the ideas that they receive at the Academy are those are immediately implementable and relevant to their daily teaching. Presenters will rotate through each grade band, so that attendees have purposeful exposure to a number of different ideas and strategies.
The Academy is also designed for administrators, math coaches, or interventionists, and each attendee will receive handouts from all grade bands in a comprehensive resource book. This allows specialists to "float" between grade bands, and also allows teachers access to grade-up or grade-down materials that they may need when differentiating their instruction.
Over the two days, teachers will explore the building blocks of the mathematical toolkit, problem-solving strategies, getting the most out of guided math and math centers, using a three-part lesson to deliver content, teaching the toughest topics, and games and activities for grade-level content.
"You'll have plenty of opportunities to practice what you've learned," explains Brousseau. "You'll also leave with ready-to-use games and activity ideas that will help you implement the foundational skills you've already acquired and build on your mathematical toolkit."
The seminar is designed for new and veteran teachers alike.
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. That's 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 Academy: Building Your Mathematical Toolkit will be offered in Rochester, NY on November 6-7, 2014, Baton Rouge, LA on December 8-9, 2014 and Springfield, IL on February 9-10, 2015. Educators interested registering for this Academy, 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.