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Monday, March 24, 2014

Mathagogy: Math + Pedagogy (classroom and teacher videos)



Hear from fellow math educators on how they teach different math concepts. Each is illustrated in a quick, 2-minute video created by the teacher.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Michigan Students Still To Receive Free College Entrance Exam

March 20, 2014
LANSING – All Michigan high school juniors will continue to receive a free college entrance exam when the state transitions to the Smarter Balanced Assessment, State Superintendent Mike Flanagan said today.
“The college entrance exam is a vital component of the Michigan Merit Exam given to Michigan high school students,” Flanagan said. “That will remain when we move over to the Smarter Balanced Assessments beginning next year.”
Flanagan met with a group of school counselors this week during the Michigan School Counselors Association’s Lobby Day in the state capital. The counselors told Flanagan they've been informed that the ACT college entrance exam will be eliminated.
“You've been badly misinformed,” Flanagan told the school counselors. “State law requires that students be given a college entrance exam.
“Michigan high school students will continue to receive a free college entrance exam as long as the legislature continues to fund it,” he said. “Principals, guidance counselors, parents, and students can be assured of that.”
ACT won the competitive bid to supply the college entrance exam in 2006 as part of the Michigan Merit Exam. That contract has expired and the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget and Michigan Department of Education are competitively bidding the contract again and likely will be awarding the new contract in May.
“This will be one of the traditional college entrance exams,” Flanagan said. “Smarter Balanced doesn’t have a college entrance exam.”

Contact: Martin Ackley, Director of Public and Governmental Affairs (517) 241-4395

Monday, March 17, 2014

Division and Multiplication of Whole Numbers MOOC-Ed


  • How do children move beyond the notion that "multiplication is repeated addition" (MIRA)?
  • What mathematical distinctions do students make when reasoning with multiple contexts for multiplication and division?

TurnOnCCMath will soon take up these and other questions with its next free, Massive Open Online Course for Educators (MOOC-Ed).

"Division and Multiplication of Whole Numbers: Bridging to Fraction Understanding" will explore how students begin to recognize contextual problems and model with multiplication and division problems, properties, and number facts. Along the way, the MOOC-Ed will identify "where some of the key misconceptions are hiding."

Open to elementary and middle grades educators seeking to understand student multiplicative reasoning, this free MOOC-Ed runs through early May. Even though it begins today, Monday, March 17, registration for this self-directed course will stay open through Monday, March 31. REGISTER NOW.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Stoplight exit slips

Do you ever wonder if
  • your students got out of a lesson what you wanted them to? What did they learn?
  • your students formed any questions based on your lesson? What questions do they have?
  • your students were stopped in their tracks during your lesson? What are they confused about?
If so, watch this quick 1-minute video that outlines an easy-to-use, daily procedure for getting this information from each of your students.