September 2024 CCTM Newsletter

Message from the Board: Brock Strickland

Welcome to the September 2024 CCTM Newsletter. CCTM is a non-profit designed to support educators with the teaching and learning of mathematics. This months board message comes from Brock Strickland, our new CCTM Treasurer

 Click Here to Read the Welcome Message 

Upcoming Events, Celebrations, Happenings, and Opportunities (ECHO)

Click here to view upcoming CCTM math events and happenings, including:

• The Colorado Math Pathways Task Force is hosting an in-person convening on Friday, October 25 at Pikes Peak State College, Centennial Campus. This full-day convening is designed for high school and postsecondary stakeholders to include: high school math teachers, postsecondary math faculty, school and district administrators, counselors/advisors, and others interested in learning more about math pathways in Colorado. Sign up today!
• The State Board of Education is required to review and approve the Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) for each content area every six years. During the 2024-25 academic year, the board will review four content areas: (1) comprehensive health, (2) mathematics, (3) reading, writing and communicating, and (4) science. As part of the board’s review process, they are seeking feedback on the current standards for the subjects under review. As a math teacher, your input is vital to the State Board. You have two ways to have your voice heard:
  • An exclusive focus group just for CCTM members will be held Tuesday, October 8 from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. If you wish to participate in this focus group, please register via Zoom.
  • The Colorado Academic Standards (CAS) Revision Survey is open until Friday, October 18.
• You are welcome to both attend the focus group and complete the survey, or only choose one. If you cannot attend the CCTM members-only focus group on October 8th, you can also register for a focus group for a general audience to be held at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, October 9. If you have any questions, please contact Raymond Johnson at [email protected].

Click HERE to view other math celebrations and opportunities, as well as to view additional information regarding the above CCTM learning opportunities.

Teacher Voice - Powerful Practice - Evidence Informed Math Teaching

Each newsletter we will highlight the voice of educators within Colorado to share some of their amazing work and ideas. In this issue, we are catching up with a Colorado educator, Carla Hass, who engaged in the CDE Course Powerful Practice - Evidence Informed Math Teaching.  

Click here to read more!

Practical Practices - Happy Birthday Principles to Action

In our Practical Practices section of the newsletter, we highlight practices that you can incorporate in your classrooms, including curated links to outside resources to build your knowledge of that practice.

Since Principles to Actions was first published in 2014, it has offered guidance to teachers, mathematics coaches, administrators, parents, and policymakers. This Limited 10th Anniversary Edition commemorates 10 years of useful and actionable guidance to educators as we work to strengthen the teaching and learning of school mathematics for each and every student.  This year CCTM will elevate the Teaching Practices and resources to support that practice in the classroom within each newsletter.  This month we will focus on Establish Math Goals to Focus Learning.

Click here to read more!

Trivia - A History of Mathematics

Each newsletter will have a trivia question. From those that answer correctly, five winners will be drawn and receive a CCTM Promotional Product.   

THIS MONTH’s TRIVIA QUESTION: 

This Bolivian was awarded the Presidential Medal of Excellence and was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. In 2016, the U.S. Postal Service honored him with a stamp. Who are they?

Submit Your Answer Here

Last month, we asked you, the members of CCTM “Which famous 20th-century mathematician, largely self-taught and originating from India, made profound contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions, and is known for his remarkable formulas related to pi and his intuitive grasp of deep properties of numbers, even though he had almost no formal training in pure mathematics?

The answer to this question was: Srinivasa Ramanujan Learn more about Ramanujan

Last month’s winners were: 

Get YOUR Word Out

Would you like to advertise or elevate an upcoming mathematical opportunity happening around you - in your school, district, region? Do you want to celebrate successes in your mathematical community? Share your happenings in the CCTM’s next newsletter?  Click HERE to submit your events, news or celebrations and be included in the next CCTM Newsletter’s ECHO (Events, Celebrations Happenings, and Opportunities) Section.