WINTER 2024, Vol. 1
JAN. 2024
Published by: Montana Office of Public Instruction
MT Math Minute
MATH INITIATIVES
Math Innovation Zones
MIZ has kicked off and is in full swing with 13 participating schools and 5 districts receiving funding to increase student agency and engagement, foster teachers’ innovative instructional practices, and generate community and family involvement in mathematics instruction.
Schools are planning many cutting-edge approaches, including the use of choice boards, student data journals, and learner-driven placement and enrichment. Keep an eye out in future editions for school spotlights.
Math Standards Revision
The Negotiated Rulemaking Committee is deep into the review process of the proposed 2024 Math Content Standards, due for district implementation in the summer of 2025.
Some key elements of interest from the proposed math standards include:
- A cultural connections mathematical practice, which, if approved, would make Montana the first state in the country to prioritize cultural and community connections to mathematics in this way.
- An increase in clarity and accessibility of language used in the K-12 standards.
- Prioritization of multiple strategies for problem-solving, widening the options for students to demonstrate mathematical knowledge.
pROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Teacher Learning Hub Offerings:
Addition and Subtraction Strategies (5 PDUs)
But What About Fact Fluency (2 PDUs)
Indian Ed & Math Seamless Integration (2 PDUs)
Mathematical Practices (K-8) (3 PDUs)
Multiplication Strategies of Basic Facts (4 PDUs)
Multiplication Strategies: Multi-Digit Numbers (5 PDUs)
Playing with Pythagoras (4 PDUs)
Problem Solving: Bring Your Classroom Alive! (3 PDUs)
The Hub offerings are free and self-guided. While each training can be applied towards licensure renewal, we encourage you to check with your district administrator or collective bargaining agreement to verify these meet district requirements.
Upcoming Approved Provider Offerings:
Professional Development F.A.Q
RESOURCE HIGHLIGHT
Discovery Ed
and DreamBox
Now free for all Montana K-12 teachers and students! Materials include:
- Activities
- Videos
- Interactive Games
- Lessons
- And More!
Montana
EdReady
Free resource for all Montana 4th-12th+ teachers that offers:
- Math placement assessments
- Math course preparation
- Study and review math concepts
- Teacher access to student data
- And More!
IEFA Math Resources
Pre-k through 12 math lesson plans and classroom resources. These lessons are aligned with the 2011 math standards.
Desmos Activity Builder
A tool for teachers to:
- Assign and build interactive activities for their students.
- Allow students to learn through discovery.
- Build classroom conversations around mathematics.
- See real-time data on student understanding and provide direct feedback.
Fresh Idea
This 2-minute video can be shown to your class to demonstrate the connection between math and nature, through the behaviors of snowflakes and spiders. You can adapt the conversation to all age groups, K-12, depending on how in detail you would like to go, or which applications you’d like to show. It touches on topics relating to the Fibonacci sequence, hexagons, spirals, logarithms, arithmetic sequences, math in nature, and intuitive mathematics.
This video was prepared by Dr. Jo Boaler and her team at YouCubed. You can find more resources like this one on their:
YouTube Page
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