a blog for Burnaby teachers
Mindset Mathematics 3-Part Series(Re)Discover the joy in math with Cari Derbitsky and Nicole Wilson
Sessions:
Nov 24 @3:30-5:00 Location TBA
Jan 10 @9-12 Location TBA (Half day TOC coverage provided by district)
Feb 23 @3:30-5:00 Location TBA
Participants will receive a copy of Jo Boaler’s Mindset Mathematics
*Registration is currently full. Email nicole.wilson@burnabyschools.ca to join the waitlist.
If you are available and interested in some math Pro-D on Monday, April 26, check out Carole Fullerton’s virtual sessions for Burnaby. Carole will be doing two sessions: Math and Literature in Primary from 10:45 AM to 12:15 PM and Good Questions for Addressing Diversity in Intermediate Math 12:45 PM to 2:15 PM. You can find the zoom links in Math Science News APRIL 2021
After last year’s COVID break, the District is again participating in the Grade 7 Gauss Contest. Gr 7 teachers at elementary schools will be running the contest on May 12th. Details and previous contest papers can be accessed here. Talk to your Gr 7 teacher about writing it. Burnaby also has two local math contests: The Abel is for students Grade 5 and lower who would like to challenge themselves. The Mirzakhani math contest encourages Grade 6 and younger students to write. Both are organized through the school’s teachers. The Abel and Mirzakhani will be written over May 12-14th.
Otrio is a fabulous update on Tic-Tac-Toe that encourages strategic thinking and can be played by anyone. Another great game for visual learners is Set. If you love games for your home or classroom, here is a great list of board games for you to play.
Head on over to our sister site, the B-Outside Place-Based Learning Blog to read about how one Burnaby teacher gets students doing math outside. We have also been running a book club with the books Messy Maths and 50 Fantastic Ideas For Taking Maths Outdoors. The remainder of the school year is a great time to take learning outdoors with your students–it is safer in terms of COVID and it is great for our students’ (and our) mental health.
February is Black History Month, and it is is a good place to start if you want to show students a diversity of Scientists in STEM. I’m putting together a calendar for each of the weekdays in February highlighting current and historical Black Canadians and others from around the world engaged in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Clicking on the name links in the actual calendar gets you to some biographical information about that person. You can find the calendar at Black in Stem 2021 Week 1 I will be updating it for each week in February.
You might also want to check out this assignment idea, A Scientist Like Me, if you want to diversify what your students think of as a mathemetician or scientist.