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Puget Sound Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a professional organization dedicated to improving Math Teaching in the Puget Sound Region. PSCTM is an affiliate of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and one of the organizations that rotates in hosting the Northwest Math Conferences in October. We offer an annual scholarship to PSCTM members for the conference to honor Elden Egbers, who was a big supporter of attendance at the conferences. Talk to one of the board members at the next dinner for more details.
If you teach Mathematics in the Puget Sound region, consider joining PSCTM, Washington State Mathematics Council (WSMC), or both.
PSCTM was founded to encourage continual professional growth among local mathematics teachers. The organization sponsors three major activities during the year: a fall, a winter, and a spring dinner. A variety of topics of interest to K-12 math educators are presented at these events.
Purposeful Fluency:
Purposeful Fluency:
Using mathematical structure to make practice meaningful,
differentiation straightforward, and mathematics irresistible
Like any art form, mathematics requires its students practice to develop a mastery of foundational skills. Historically this practice has taken the form of drills. This is fine for some students, but many students (and adults) can trace their dislike - even their trauma! - to these drills. In this talk we'll explore what a more purposeful approach to fluency might look like. We'll see how exploiting mathematical structure can create situations where students drill and practice in the service of motivated problem solving. The benefits of this approach are numerous - we'll argue that it can make differentiation nearly automatic, the mathematics students experience richer and more authentic, and math class work better for everyone.
Dan Finkel is the Founder of mathforlove.com, a Seattle-based organization devoted to transforming how math is taught and learned. Dan is a game creator, curriculum writer, puzzle author, and speaker. His TEDx Talk - 5 Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching - has been viewed over a million times.
Dan’s Math for Love Curriculum has been used by thousands of students, and is known for its combination of rigor and play. The math games he created with his wife, Katherine Cook, have won over 30 awards. They include Prime Climb, Tiny Polka Dot, Multiplication by Heart, and Rolly Poly.
Dan is also Cofounder of earlyfamilymath.org, which provides free, quality math resources. His new math book for kids, Pattern Breakers, was published in 2023.
Schedule:
5 pm social
5:30 pm dinner
6:15 pm: announcements
6:30 – 7:30 pm presentation
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