I just submitted mine. I’ll share it here (with some light commentary) in case anyone’s interested in my process or proposal.

Process

Websites, browsers, the Internet. This stuff is great, and it usually works the way it’s supposed to. However, sometimes a site will crash or my router will restart for no particular reason. So I’ve made a habit of drafting conference proposals elsewhere, then copy/pasting once it’s all ready to go.

(This also makes it easier to share if you’re looking for feedback from a colleague before you hit that “finalize” button.)

Here’s my workflow for putting that draft together and ultimately sending it off into NCTM’s servers:

1. Go to www.nctm.org/speak, login, and click “submit a proposal.”
2. Pull categories (e.g., Title, Description) and requirements (e.g, max character count) into a document via copy/paste.
3. Write the title.
4. Write the description.
5. Write everything else.
6. Go back to www.nctm.org/speak.
7. Paste my responses in the appropriate boxes.
8. Preview (here I take advantage of the print feature to save a PDF copy for my records).
9. Press “finalize” and hope for the best.

Proposal

Here’s my proposal, minus some minutiae (e.g., whether I need a document camera) plus some other details (e.g., connections to NCTM’s Principles to Actions).

Categories are in bold. Details are in italics. My responses/choices are indented.

Title

Type title as it should appear in the program book. Your title should not be all capitals or all lower-case. Limited to 100 characters.

Applying the Five Practices to Visual Patterns

Description of Presentation

Write a concise, specific description of the essential content of your presentation. On acceptance of your proposal, the description will be printed in the program book, subject to editing by NCTM. Use appropriate capitalization. Limited to 350 characters.

In this session we’ll explore a rich context for making connections between multiple representations: visual patterns. Using Smith and Stein’s Five Practices as a guide, we’ll discuss best practices for facilitating classroom discussions around visual patterns, with special attention given to selecting, sequencing, and connecting student work.

Participant Learning

Write the participant learning outcomes of your presentation, including an explicit description of what participants will learn. Please also provide an overview describing how time will be allocated during this presentation. Limited to 1000 characters.

Participants will learn: (1) how to use visual patterns to build arithmetic and algebraic thinking while promoting reasoning and problem solving, (2) how to use the Smith and Stein’s five practices of anticipating, monitoring, selecting, sequencing, and connecting to facilitate productive mathematical discourse, and (3) how to use visual patterns to connect multiple representations including visual, verbal, numerical, algebraic, and graphical.

Participants will spend their time: (1) wearing their “student hats” as they work through a pair of visual patterns tasks, (2) wearing their “teacher hats” as they discuss the student thinking and teacher moves on display during these initial explorations and discussions, (3) engaging in the “anticipating” stage of the five practices as they imagine the various approaches and solutions students will generate, and (4) wearing their “authoring” hats as they create their own visual pattern task.

Focus on Math

What is the key mathematics content that is a focus of this presentation? Be specific. Limited to 500 characters.

Among other things, visual patterns provide a bridge from numerical thinking to algebraic thinking. In this workshop we’ll focus on establishing and strengthening that bridge. Participants will make connections between numerical expressions like 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 and 3 + 2 • 10, and algebraic expressions like 3 + 2 • n. Participants will explore recursive relationships and functional relationships in both linear and quadratic settings.

Interactive Workshop

How will you use the provided tables to create an interactive workshop? Be explicit about what participants will do together at tables. Limited to 750 characters.

The success of the session depends on engaged participants, smooth collaboration, and vibrant discussion. The table setting of an interactive workshop offers the most effective setup to support these elements. At their tables, participants will: (1) work through visual patterns tasks with paper, pencil, and manipulatives, (2) reflect on their experience in small groups before sharing out in the larger discussion, and (3) work together to create their own task.

Workshop Audience

6 to 8

(Quick note: I wish we could select more than one grade band. The content in the session is really geared to 6-12. But alas, there’s a one choice limit.)

Strand

Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum: Best Practices for Engaging Students

Strand choices (and descriptions) are available here.

Equity and Access

How does your presentation align with NCTM’s dedication to equity and access? Limited to 500 characters.

This session will equip participants will skills and strategies to support their work in ensuring that all students have access to a challenging mathematics curriculum, taught by skilled and effective teachers. We’ll also draw out principles for designing and facilitating effective learning experiences that can be applied to a wide range of topics in K-12 mathematics. Participants will also gain access to a large collection of free, ready-to-use visual patterns tasks.

Connection to NCTM’s Principles to Actions:

• [2] Implement tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving.
• [3] Use and connect mathematical representations.
• [4] Facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse.

Your Turn?

I hope that proves helpful to a few folks. Maybe you’ll carve out a couple of hours this week to submit your own proposal? Either way, I hope to see you in Washington, D.C. in April 2018.

I’m pretty pumped for this week. Here’s a few reasons why:

1. NCTM in CA! I get to attend the biggest math conference in the land—in my home state!
2. Desmos Happy Hour and Trivia Night. Sessions and talks are great. Conversation with colleagues is even better. Plus, trivia! Thursday, 6:30 pm, SoMa StrEat Food Park.
3. Ignite talks. 10 presenters. Five minutes each. 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. I gave an Ignite talk at CMC North in 2014, and it was both terrifying and exhilarating. Hoping for a repeat (well, at least the exhilarating part). Also hoping to see you there. Friday, 9:30 am, 134 (Moscone).
4. My Journey… The #MTBoS has had a massive influence on me over the last three years. Here I’ll share some insights from the journey. Friday, 12:30 pm, 3003 (Moscone).
5. The Desmos booth! In addition to the usual Desmos booth goodness (free swag! new features!), we’re hosting Activity Builder office hours. Stop by Friday between 1 and 5 pm to hang with members of the Desmos Teaching Faculty. Bring an in-progress activity, an idea, a question, or all of the above!
6. ShadowCon. I missed this at NCTM Boston, and am so excited to hear six inspiring speakers share their passion and issue a call to action. Friday, 5 pm, Marriott Yerba Buena 7.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

And if you can’t follow along in person, consider keeping an eye on #NCTMannual.

The only way it could have been any better was if it was 100% focused on math. (No offense other disciplines. Math is just my first love when it comes to teaching.)

Well lo and behold, guess what’s coming up on May 14-15?! An all-math CUE Rockstar!

And check out the crew:

Not too shabby, eh?

If you’re going to be anywhere near Los Gatos, CA in the middle of May (or if you’re willing to make the trek so that you are close to Los Gatos for that weekend), head over to cue.org/rsmath for info (schedule, speaker bios, registration details, etc).

Hope to see you in May!

Also not surprisingly, I found Steve’s presentation to be a wonderful blend of encouragement, challenge, and inspiration.

Resisting urge to tweet EVERY slide of @steve_leinwand’s #CMCN15 talk. Good thing there’s this: https://t.co/wENawxLXkR (cc: @mmmaaatttttt)

— Michael Fenton (@mjfenton) December 13, 2015

A Challenge

Toward the end of his talk, Steve invited everyone in the room to identify their 2015-2016 instructional shifts to-do list.

I’m still wrestling with the contents of my own list (and am pretty sure that’ll be the next post). In the meantime, let me pass my own version of Steve’s challenge along to you:

Before the week is out, write down your own instructional shifts to-do list for Spring 2016.

Don’t try to change everything all at once; you’ll likely end up with no change at all if you bite off more than you can chew. But commit to changing at least one (or maybe even 2-3) of your instructional practices in the next semester. Write them down. Pursue them. Use them to make a difference for your students.

Go one step further and share them. In the comments. On your blog.* On the Twitter. Better yet, share them with your colleagues and develop your practice together!

*What’s that! You don’t have a blog? Sounds like you have a great idea for your first post…

Some Inspiration

Coming up short on ideas? Get started with something here:

• Summary of Leinwand’s Accessible Mathematics (or just grab the whole book)
• Executive Summary of NCTM’s Principles to Actions (or download the e-book for $5)

Onward!

Good luck with your goal-setting, and your goal-pursuing! I’ll be back soon with my own to-do list, tweaked for my own current role at Desmos.

Which reminds me… If you’re not in the classroom, but you still interact with teachers on a regular basis, you’re not off the hook! Consider how this challenge might translate into your current setting.

Postscript

Have you been thinking about reading @NCTM's Principles to Actions? Here's a fantastic opportunity! #MTBoS #NCTMp2a https://t.co/b7EVaCULlG

— Michael Fenton (@mjfenton) December 14, 2015

I’m presenting twice this year:

I’m also co-presenting with a former colleague (Katie Reneau) who did an amazing job presenting at CMC South in Palm Springs. Here are her session details:

• Rich Discussions and Rich Tasks in the MS Math Classroom
• Saturday, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
• PC Middle School, Room 29

The One Conference Non-Negotiable

What you attend throughout the day on Saturday is up to you (though of course I’d love to see you in one of the sessions I’m involved in). However, there is one non-negotiable here:

No matter what, make sure you attend the IGNITE talks.

Saturday evening, get yourself to Merrill Hall. I promise you won’t be disappointed. The “party” starts at 7:30 pm, but you might want to get there a bit early.

Still Game Planning?

If you’re attending and still figuring out what sessions to attend, or you’re just lurking from a distance and want to add a little fuel to your #CMCN15 jealousy fire, you can access the full conference program as a PDF right here.

P.S. Sometime before the conference is over,  I’ll post session slides and resources on my speaking page.

Instead of writing a full-blown recap (bedtime approaches) I’ll simply share a question that’s been on my mind since my return flight touched down in Fresno late Friday night. Okay, it’s not really a question, but a series of questions. Here goes:

1. What makes a conference like NCTM Nashville (or conferences in general) special?
2. What can you get at a conference that you can’t get on Twitter/blogs?
3. What can you get on Twitter/blogs that you can’t get at a conference?
4. Is there anything these two formats could learn from one another that would make each one even better?

I’m still formulating my own answers to these questions. I suspect I’ll write another post in a few days with my thoughts. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you think. Drop a comment below, or give me a holler on Twitter.

P.S. I’ve really enjoyed Cathy Yenca’s and Tracy Zager’s recap posts.

P.P.S. The #MTBoS booth was so much fun!

Huge fun @ #MTBoS booth! #NCTMregionals @Trianglemancsd @mjfenton @mathinyourfeet @mpershan @MikeFlynn55 @talita624 pic.twitter.com/5bTzUtzr1R

— Tracy Johnston Zager (@TracyZager) November 19, 2015

Presenting online feels a bit like talking into the void, especially with everyone else’s mics turned off. The chat window scrolling by—and a series of great questions from hero-of-the-night Michael Pershan in particular—helped a bit in that regard.

Whether you were there for the party, or are just now peaking in:

• Video of the talk will be available here by Wednesday evening.
• Resources from the session (including slides, and a few other helpful links) are here.
• You can also check out #slowmathchat on Twitter where the focus all week is #openmiddle.

If you use any open middle problems with your students to close out this semester, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

I’m giving a free online presentation for the Global Math Department on Open Middle style problems. We’ll explore how to transform closed, uninspiring problems into rich, engaging tasks. I’d love to see you there.

To learn more (or to sign up):

bigmarker.com/GlobalMathDept/19May2015

Backup Plan

If you don’t make it in (registration is capped at 100; there are 38 seats available as of right now) or live presentations on a school night just aren’t your thing, check back later for a link to the recording.

The event was organized by the wonderful folks at The Math Forum. They’ve begun posting video of the talks on their website. I’ve embedded mine below for your viewing and/or heckling pleasure.

Technology and the Curious Mind

Postscript

I wrote a few words about the experience (and posted the slides and manuscript) in a previous blog post.

I gave a 90-minute presentation on Desmos, the “free and fantastically beautiful online graphing calculator.”

I had a blast during the session and received a lot of positive feedback, but something felt a bit off. This is more or less the same Desmos presentation I gave twice in CMC South, but after those sessions (particularly the one on Saturday morning) I felt like I was on top of the world.

After this session at CMC North, I had a nagging sense that I need to make some core improvements. I spent some time reflecting over the rest of the weekend and the first half of this week, and (with the help of a few online math friends) have settled on three things to address:

1. Do a better job nailing the “why” of Desmos. Let’s say someone attends my session. And another half dozen sessions over the course of the weekend. Then rapid reintegration into family life on Sunday afternoon/evening, and rude awakening/come-down-from-the-mountain re-entry into school life on Monday. Why would anyone—even those who enjoyed the session and were momentarily impressed or inspired—deviate from their longstanding routine to spend time and energy changing the way they teach and their students learn? That’s the question I need to answer, whether in relation to Desmos, Posers + Solvers, Twitter as My PLC, Technology and the Curious Mind, or any of the other sessions I’ve been about lately. And whatever the answer is, it needs to bleed through in every part of the session.
2. Less is more. I think I crammed too much into this one. My goal was not to provide an everyone-watch-me-and-try-to-do-the-exact-same-thing experience. Those almost always explode into frustration within minutes (at least for me as a presenter) when working with a group of that size. Instead, my aim was to inspire participants with some new ideas for how Desmos could be used. I assumed some previous Desmos experience, which was a safe assumption for many (though not helpful for those few who were new to the tool). However, I think everyone wins if I slow down, take a few more breaths, and invite people to try a few things along the way instead of just near the end.
3. Bump regression to the middle or end. Regression was launched literally the day before CMC South. It was like candy, or a new toy, or… I don’t know, something entirely awesome. So what did I do? I crammed it into the beginning of my session, since that’s the piece of I was most excited about. But I derailed an otherwise fun and engaging lesson—Hundred (Thousand) Meter Dash—with some rapid-fire regression keystrokes and a few rounds of “don’t worry about how to do this, just watch me do it.” The result? More than a few lost (and/or bored) participants. The fix? Push that piece to the end, and/or modify it considerably. In particular, I could “fast forward” through the keystrokes and instead load a pre-made graph to show off some already-built slider-based models, then some regression-based models. I think I’ll better understand how to revamp this portion of the session after I nail down the “why” of my presentation.

Speaking of the why, I’m debating between one big takeaway, or three key ideas. Whether the list includes one item or three, this will definitely be on it:

The whole point is to get to the math conversation.

Desmos paves the way to that conversation better than any tool I know.

Your Turn

With that as the backdrop, I have two questions for you:

• What is the “why” of a session you’ve given recently? If you haven’t nailed it down, how could you?
• What is your “why” for Desmos? If you had 15 seconds to convince someone that they cannot live without Desmos in their classroom moving forward, what would you say?

Note

I decided to pull my own session out of my two-part CMC North Sessions Recap series because it was less a recap of my session and more a reflection of how to improve the material for a future conference or workshop. If you’re interested in reading more about my experience at CMC North 2014, check out these posts:

• CMC North 2014 Recap: The Sessions, Part 1
• CMC North 2014 Recap: The Sessions, Part 2
• CMC North 2014 Ignite