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Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual resources- Brianna Rizzo  

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Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual resources- Brianna Rizzo  

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1) Your Name
Brianna Rizzo
2) Title of Webinar
Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources
3) Webinar Speaker Name
Marta Civil and Maria Zavala
4) Answers to the following questions: What stood out most to you?
Referring to parents as intellectual resources stood out the most to me. Although my school focuses on the parent-teacher relationship and promotes families as the first educator of their students, I have never heard parents referred to as intellectual resources on their own. Most of our work with families focuses on equipping them with the knowledge of their child's abilities and the content so they are able to support their child's development in the content. It is interesting to hear that parents are an intellectual resource without being taught or developed. There is value in understanding how parents think mathematically and using that in the classroom.
What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?
The audience commented that Black, Indigenous, and Latinx parents typically see the school as being the experts and knowing "everything". The parents of my students are majority Black and Latinx as well, and I agree that they tend to see the teacher as the main person who can aid in their students learning. My school focuses on the teacher-family relationship and promoting families as the first educators as their students. Often times, the parents of my classmates say they do not know enough to help their child in school. It is difficult yet necessary to empower parents to understand that they are the primary educators of their students.
What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?
A potential conflict between school knowledge and parent knowledge was noted in the webinar. Parents may have been taught differently in their original country than students are taught in school now. Therefore, a parent may be teaching a child a different mathematical method at home than is taught at school. That child may then look like they are doing the math incorrectly because they are doing it the way their parents taught them at home. Many of my students are either first generation American or were born in another country themselves. Therefore, many of my students may have parents who were taught math differently than we are teaching in our school. It is important that I keep this in mind and get to know parents' mathematical knowledge so I do not view another method as "wrong" and so I do not devalue parent knowledge.

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Equity in Education Series- Black, Indigenous and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Optional to Imperative

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Equity in Education Series- Black, Indigenous and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Optional to Imperative

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My Name: Karen Davis
Webinar Speakers: Dr. Marta Civil
Dr. Maria Del Rosario                   Zavala
Something that stood out to me was the mathematizing exercise. I took the time to reflect on my day and how I included math. I thought of how I had planned to divide my day which was filled with numerous activities, the time I would allot to each activity as well as the order in which I would complete them. This is an exercise I could also do with my math students. One activity I found quite interesting was  allowing the participant to examine some comments that were said of parents that had damaging and negative potential to the relationship between parents and the school. Participants had the opportunity to restate the comments into more positive and collaborative statements. I too have found myself making some of these comments about parents. In fact, I do not know the parents' situation at home or their family life, additionally these comments are not helpful. The most important take away from the webinar as I think about becoming a teacher of mathematics is that it is a must to foster a relationship with parents that show that they are important, valued and needed in the education of their children. The diverse methods of computations, cultural differences and prior knowledge that students bring to the classroom can lay a firm foundation for their mathematical identity.

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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My Name: Karen Davis
Webinar Speakers: Margarita Barraza
Marian Dingle
Linda Fulmore
Rochelle Gutierrez
One thing that stood out to me is the acknowledgement that math is indeed everywhere, even in a time when we feel math is the last thing on our minds. This creates opportunities for teachable moments so our students can make connections to real life situations using math as a foundation. I agree, wholeheartedly that some adults still have a fear of math, I am still apprehensive about learning and teaching math. There is however, hope as I am being exposed to mathematics in a very different light. One take away from this webinar as I think about possibly becoming a teacher of mathematics is the idea of reshaping how I think of learning and teaching math, not only has there been an awareness of the disparity of who can do math, but inequity in the teaching of math. As a future educator of math and a present student of math, I plan to do my part in ensuring fairness, community and that a high level of math is taught to my all students.
Link to video: https://vimeo.com/437355312

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Name: Dana Ramnarine

Title of Webinar: Equity in Education Series: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources

Webinar Speaker Name: Dr. Marta Civil and Dr. Maria del Rosario Zavala

What stood out most to you?

-          One thing that really stood out to me is the fact that during the webinar, the speakers mentioned that children are not far behind as an after effect of COVID-19 as many people believe. I encounter many parents and guardians that are contemplating putting their child in tutoring or already in the process of it. It is crazy that the pandemic has caused major concern in parents debating whether their child is mentally developing at an acceptable rate for their age or not. I think it is important for parents to recognize that their children are also learning during their play. This webinar would be great to share with a few parents who are still concerned.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

-          As a student of mathematics, myself, connected with the mentioning of “learning happening at home being the anchors into formal math knowledge”. When I was a child, my mother would sit with me after school too go over my homework. For math homework she would use examples with objects in our house to help me understand the different concepts. Personally, I believe this really helped me understand math in general.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?)

-          The most important thing I will take away from this webinar is understanding the major role parents can play in their child’s mathematics comprehension. I will utilize this information by creating partnerships with parents so we can work together in assisting their child in the best way possible.

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education Jesus. M

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education Jesus. M

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1) Your Name: Jesus A. Martinez

2) Title of Webinar: The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education: https://vimeo.com/437355312

3) Webinar Speaker Name: Maldonado Rodriguez

4) Answers to the following questions: What stood out most to you?

After looking at the conversation discussed about mathematical education. What stood out for me the most was seeing how these teachers, professors, mathematical group organizers, worked together to find solutions to the changing landscape of teaching math. The topics, problems and solutions brought up made amazing points, especially related to the common issue of covid-19 at the time of the filming. The group also related solutions to engaging students more into the subject of math by relating the work to their lifestyles and involving work that did not discriminate. They discussed that teachers should also motivate students of math and that mathematicians are similar to them in race or color. Students should not be afraid of the subject but should instead embrace it and gain knowledge to better the future.

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: 

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: 

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1) Your Name: Jesus A. Martinez

2) Title of Webinar:
Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources

3) Webinar Speaker Name: Marta Civil and Maria Zavala

4) Answers to the following questions:
What stood out most to you?

This webinar had a lot of information that was use full for teachers, parents and the community. But what stood out to me the most was the strong focus on and support this group discussed, in the ways they can come up with plans and connection to assist the black, indigenous and latinx community. As a student growing up learning the English language. There were set limits of support i was able to find or to have even existed. Even for my parents coming from Mexico it was hard for them to communicate with my teacher to identify sections i needed help on. Today we have organization, teachers and community groups adding these communities with a huge amount of resources to help the students progress throughout the school year and achieve greatness.

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Name: Dana Ramnarine

Title of Webinar: Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

Webinar Speaker Name: Joan Sullivan

What stood out most to you?

-          The mentioning of low-cognitive developing by Robert Berry really stood out to me. It is an unfortunate truth that many students’ mathematic experiences solely focus on memorization. We truly must prioritize the creating opportunities for students to have high-cognitive development that require them to build on ideas and make connections.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

-          I definitely connected with the teachers that spoke about their negative experiences with math growing up. In my experiences as a student, mathematics was never a favorite subject. But I believe this is because it seemed like a lot of information I had to memorize. I was not being taught to properly understand it. Now as a teacher I can see how students today have more opportunity to understand the process of the math problems they encounter. I think my negative experiences with mathematics will help me create more of a safe space when teaching my own students.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

-          The most important thing I will take away from this webinar is that math is an antidote to limitless possibilities. I think as I continue to grow as a teacher in general and as one of mathematics, it is crucial that I do not narrow the limits of my students. In order to not limit them I must introduce all of them to high quality materials. Students of color in particular need to be engaged in these materials as they are academically disenfranchised. All students deserve an equal amount of liberation.

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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Name: Dana Ramnarine

Title of Webinar: The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

Webinar Speaker Name: Maldonado Rodriguez

Panelists: Margarita Barraza, Marian Dingle, Linda Fulmore, Rochelle Gutierrez

What stood out most to you?

-          What stood out most to me was when one of the speakers began mentioning the brilliance the brilliance of black and brown students. She suggests that we start asking those kind of questions. I one thousand percent agree with her because it is important to understand the minds of the people who are being hired. Their credentials alone are no longer enough if they have no desire to see all children succeed.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

-          I think I really connected with the portion of the webinar that mentions that the structure of certain things such as STEM careers can create trauma for many students and parents. Such programs give the impression that if a student does not place within it then they are not valuable. I have had experience with this myself. I had to explain to my own parents that just because I am not going into a STEM career does not mean I am considered not smart. Majority of the time the narrative of these careers and programs creates unrealistic standards in households.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

-          The most important thing I will take away from this webinar is that I must always consider how my words may impact not only a student, but their parents as well. We cannot continue the cycle of unrealistic mathematic education. Students should not feel shamed to count on their fingers.

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Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

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Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

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Name: Dana Ramnarine

Title of Webinar: Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

Webinar Speaker Name: David Shuster

What stood out most to you?

-          If a student is struggling with their math facts, they are going to have a hard time with computations and learning the new material. This causes students to fall farther behind, and this is something all teachers should monitor. We cannot assume that a student will be able to simply catch up on the learning. Especially if they are not comprehending the basis of the new material, we are teaching them. In order for them to truly grasp the information we must ensure that they understand the blueprint of each material we are introducing them to.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

-          Circling back to the concept of learning math facts, I share a similar experience as a student of mathematics. I remember that in high school I would struggle most with materials when I did not understand the facts. The math facts are the baseline for understanding computations. Therefore, in certain instances there was a chance I got the answer correct and a chance I would not. This confused me for a good while as I thought I understood how to solve certain problems. It was not until one of my classmates asked me if I recalled the blueprint for the computation that I realized I needed to take a step back before I could proceed further.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

-          From this webinar I will take away the reality that many students struggle with fractions. As I become a teacher of mathematics, I will keep in mind that I should ensure that my students are truly understanding the material. To do so I will go over the baseline facts of the fractional materials I engage them in. I think this will be highly effective as long as I do not speed through reflections.

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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Name: Karen Davis
Webinar Speakers: Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Dr. Ian Guidera, Lacey Robinson, Estela Lopez and Alison Yoshimoto-Towery.
One thing that captured my attention is the foundational thought of this webinar, which is creating an atmosphere in the classroom where math is utilized as a vehicle for growth opportunities during the teaching and learning process for success. For this to happen, a vision must be communicated of goals to be accomplished in math, incorporating a sturdy math culture so all stakeholders can love math, develop and maintain systems that support math teachers and lastly, creating strong math cultures.
I have been taught math the way many have been taught, I was forced to memorize facts and procedures without any knowledge of the "why" behind it and there was very little room for discovery let alone build a math identity. I feel hopeful though for the work that this foundation is doing to ensure that math is taught in an equitable manner to all students at a high level, that all students have access to the necessary tools they need to succeed and teachers are supported to enact these changes.
Most importantly is my obligation to my students to ensure that there is equity in how I teach math and how my students experience math. I have developed an awareness of the inequity among specific races of people, as a teacher, educator and facilitator I will do my part to close this gap. Hopefully my students will indeed think of themselves as math people as well as lovers of math.

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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1.Subivonne Ho-Shing

2. The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

3.Margarita Barraza, Marian Dingle, Linda Fulmore, and Rochelle Gutierrez

4. What stood out most to me is how passionate the speakers were during this panel. The ladies all shared a level of empathy toward math and how it plays a role in the lives of students.

The connections I made based on my own experiences is how much math this routed in a person self-esteem. One of the ladies mentioned that adults will assume she is extremely smart because she works in mathematics and seem remorseful that math was “something they (themselves) were never good at.”  This connected with me be because I feel the same way, but as a future educator I am trying my best to put this mindset behind me. I never want any student to feel like that remorse related to math.

The most important thing I took away from this webinar is how much our children need us. Today’s world is very different they are dealing with issues that we ourselves didn’t at that age. Our students have also experienced covid, social distance, racism, and police brutality in different cultures. They must navigate these emotions and still come into learn daily. As a future educator I must keep this in mind and be more aware. So that I can provide the best education for students feeling this.

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Building Equitable Systems- Brianna Rizzo 

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Building Equitable Systems- Brianna Rizzo 

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1) Your Name
Brianna Rizzo
2) Title of Webinar
Building Equitable Speakers: Moving Math From Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway
3) Webinar Speaker Name
Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Dr. Ian Guidera, Lacey Robinson, Estela Lopez and Alison Yoshimoto-Towery.
4) Answers to the following questions: What stood out most to you?
What stood out the most to me was the discussion around allowing creativity around math and establishing a math-based identity. Often times, math education is centered around the memorization of facts and computation drills. This is not conducive to students becoming invested in their learning or engaging in a high cognitive lift. Students become more invested in math when they are given the opportunity to see how math connects to their everyday lives and how math can help their growth. Allowing students to engage in math in this way also allows for a higher cognitive lift than simply memorizing facts.
What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?
I had a similar experience to the teachers who shared that they had a difficult time with math growing up. In school, math was usually my least favorite subject. It felt like a lot of information I had to memorize and repeat, and it was rare that I truly felt like I understood what was happening in math class. If there was more of a focus on understanding math and participating in math as the speakers suggested, I think I would have enjoyed the subject more and succeeded in it more.
What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?
As I continue to teach mathematics to my students, I will do my best to portray math as an opportunity gateway. I will continue to provide hands-on, quality math materials to my first graders to help them to truly understand mathematical concepts rather than just memorize math facts. This will help them to see math as something that can help them grow rather than something that will be difficult for them and holding them back.

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Solving the Fraction Problem: From Research to Classroom

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Solving the Fraction Problem: From Research to Classroom

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Name: Karen Davis
Presenters: Dr. David Shuster, Laura Chervenak
Two things that stood out to me is the alarming statistics that show many of our students do not understand fractions and the correlation between doing well in fractions at the elementary level as an indicator for future proficiency in algebra and mathematics generally.
Growing up I still remember being taught fractions in isolation to other numbers. I was taught the numerator and the denominator but not in a deeper way in order to understand the concept of fractions. The pie or pizza was often use, unlike the methods proposed by Frax such as using the number line, fraction magnitude and blocks or strips.
The most important takeaway from this webinar as I contemplate becoming a math  teacher is my approach to teaching fractions. My students will be taught that fractions are numbers too, I will build their understanding of fraction arithmetic, give many opportunities to defend their reasoning and explain their thinking. Students will be encouraged as they work and succeed. I will also incorporate appropriate games that further aid their understanding.

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Brianna Rizzo- The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education 

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Brianna Rizzo- The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education 

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1) Your Name
Brianna Rizzo
2) Title of Webinar
The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education
3) Webinar Speaker Name
Maldonado Rodriguez, Barraza, Dingle, Fulmore, Gutierez
4) Answers to the following questions: What stood out most to you?
Math is much more than memorizing numbers. We need mathematics education that does not only deal with black and white numbers, but focuses on relationships which lay the foundations of an inclusive learning environment.
What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?
I related to the part of the seminar which discussed the fact that students feel they are not successful if they do not do well within certain math programs or if they do not move towards a stem career. In high school and college, there was definitely the widespread notion that math subjects are the hardest and attract the smartest students while other academic disciplines were for students who weren't good at math.
What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?
I will take away the importance of empowering my students in mathematics thinking. They should walk away from a math lesson feeling smart and empowered rather than limited. My students should know they are capable of mathematical thinking, and not feel as though they are reduced to only counting on their fingers.

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Brianna Rizzo- Solving the Fractions Problem

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Brianna Rizzo- Solving the Fractions Problem

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1) Your Name
Brianna Rizzo
2) Title of Webinar
Solving the Fractions Problem
3) Webinar Speaker Name
David Shuster, Laura Chervenak
4) Answers to the following questions: What stood out most to you?
What stood out most to me is that many students lack the foundational math skills which are necessary for later success in higher level math. This webinar discussed how many students lack fractions knowledge, causing them to struggle in higher level math courses such as algebra. The statistics of the degree to which students struggle with foundational math such as algebra are alarming because students are moving into higher level math courses without the tools needed to succeed.
What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?
I remember how difficult it was to "catch up" in math if I had not yet mastered a foundational skill needed for more complex work. My mom was very aware of this difficulty for math students and did her best to combat it. For example, she made sure my siblings and I had all times tables (1-12) memorized before entering third grade. She stressed the importance of this because if we were missing this skill, we would struggle with more difficult math down the line.
What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?
I will take away the importance of progress monitoring my students early and often as well as tracking data about their math misconceptions and gaps in knowledge. Catching and addressing these misconceptions as early as possible will stop students from falling further behind.

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Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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Name: Dawn Hoskin

Title of Webinar: TODOS The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

Speakers: Maldonado Rodriguez, Margarita Barraza, Marian Dingle, Linda Fulmore, Rochelle Gutierrez

What stood out to me the most was the emotion of the speakers behind their messages. This webinar was created at a turbulent time in our history. It was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter Movement. The pandemic highlighted the inequalities and disparities in education, and the difficult time teachers have trying to educate children with little resources.

A connection that I made to my math experiences was something said by Miriam Dingle. Math anxiety is a genuine fear that many children have and carry into adulthood. My mathematical history has been filled with many ups and downs. I have felt great success and significant failures when it comes to math. Miriam Dingle states that it is important for children to see themselves as capable mathematicians and not just memorize math.

The most important thing I took away from the webinar is something said by Rochelle Gutierrez; educators need to find a way to connect kids to math so that it doesn’t seem intimidating and unachievable. Removing the fear of math for a child can change their life into adulthood. This should be a goal of all math educators.

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TODOS Civil & Zavala~ Equity in Education Series: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Optional to Imperative

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TODOS Civil & Zavala~ Equity in Education Series: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Optional to Imperative

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Name: Dawn Hoskin

Title of Webinar: TODOS Civil & Zavala~ Equity in Education Series: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Optional to Imperative

Speakers: Dr. Marta Civil and Dr. Maria del Rosario Zavala

Moderators: Amy Chow and Dr. Karen Greenhaus

What stood out to me the most in this webinar was teachers’ misconceptions about parents. It is a misconception that parents do not know enough to help their children. Parents know more than many educators think; they have a lot to offer and can be an excellent resource for their children’s math learning. Part of the reason I believe leads to these misconceptions is the lack of communication between the parents and the teachers. The lines of communication must remain open, and parents should feel comfortable speaking to their children’s teachers. And as Dr. Zavala stated, language should not be a barrier to engaging parents in their children’s math education.

A connection I made to my experiences as a math student is the feeling that my mother was not capable of helping me with math. My mother was uncomfortable helping me with homework and was uncomfortable speaking to my teachers. Parent-teacher conferences seemed like a chore. My family could have benefited from school workshops which are an excellent resource for parents to learn math strategies, which will help them support their children.

The most important thing I will take away from the webinar as I think about becoming a mathematics teacher is something that Dr. Civil stated, which is to gain your parent’s trust.

Dr. Zavala made some suggestions on how to do this. Do your due diligence to research methods to engage parents, learn about the family’s relationship with math, and invite parents to visit the classroom to observe and host workshops to share some of their math methods. Dr. Civil suggests supporting parents in facilitating workshops, advocating for children and families, questioning policies, challenging deficit language, showing that you value home knowledge, and holding your school accountable to parents.

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education:

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education:

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- NaDaysha Cadle

"The changing landscape of Mathematics Education"

Speakers: Maldonado Rodriguez, Barraza, Dingle, Fulmore, Gutiérrez.

- What stood out to me most was many believing they have a fear of math therefore, they don't push themselves to be better at it. Having the fear of math is something I definitely could relate to. I have also seen the fear of math in many students I have taught as well as their parents.

- The most important thing I will be taking from this webinar is trying my best to imbed “you can do it” in not only my students and their parents, but also in myself.

- As a teacher, and soon to be parent this webinar taught me a lot about being aware of social and emotional needs of students and families. Allowing them to feel confident is something I will need to do in order for them to try things that may be hard.

- Something many schools should implement, that was stated in the webinar was back tracking on curriculum maybe with a familiar face and/or prior teacher. This is also something I took interest  in.

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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- NaDaysha Cadle

"Civil & Zavala - Equity in Education series: Black, indigenous and Latinx Parents as intellectual Resources"

Speakers: Dr. Marta Civil, Dr. Maria del Rosario Zavala

- What stood out to me most was the idea of how to come together to create a better space for students growth and opportunities to learning anywhere they are. I admired the educators within the video acknowledging the need for families to be just as involved as teachers if they wanted their child to be successful. They brainstormed about how they can get the families involved and help them with their confidence enough to encourage their scholars outside the classroom.

- The key takeaway from this video was diversity has to be first acknowledged in order to address and help everyone in the ways they need specifically. communication and relationships need to be built in order for helpful techniques to take place.

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway:

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway:

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- NaDaysha Cadle

"Building Equitable Speakers: Moving Math From Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway"

Speakers: Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Dr. Ian Guidera, Lacey Robinson, Estela Lopez and Alison Yoshimoto-Towery.

- What stood out to me most was making math more creative! When growing up, math was something that was forced or memorized, Math was never fun when growing up, therefore it was something I avoided as a child. Introducing math as a more interesting thing that has many methods that could be fun will naturally make students more intrigued. Using methods that students are more comfortable with because they'll be choosing it, will also allow them to be more determined to figure out methods that work for them. Rather than trying to memorize facts that they'll later forget due to it not being fun enough.

- I had a similar experience to the teachers who shared that they had a difficult time with math growing up. In school, math was usually my least favorite subject of course until I started teaching it. Whenever I sat at the table to do math I always felt very overwhelmed preparing myself for an extensive amount of information I had to memorize and repeat, and it was rare that I truly felt like I understood what was happening in math class or when my mom and dad were yelling at me when trying to understand what the heck was going on. If there was more of a focus on understanding math and participating in math as the speakers suggested, I think I would have enjoyed the subject more and succeeded in it more.

- As I continue to teach mathematics to my students, I will do my best to portray math as a fun opportunity rather than something they must memorize. I will continue to provide hands-on, quality math materials to my second graders in order to help them to truly understand mathematical concepts rather than just memorizing math facts. This will help them to see math as something that can help them grow rather than something that will be difficult for them because they'll have many ways to choose from to figure out what and how they are suppose to be doing.

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom:

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom:

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- NaDaysha Cadle

"Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom"

Speakers: David Shuster & Laura Chervenak

- What stood out to me most was actually how many students struggle with fractions! I hate fractions because I was taught the memorization way. But as a teacher we teach students ways that later connect to fractions. I feel the disconnect can be fear of seeing fractions rather than the fear of actually understanding and dealing with them. While being a teacher I've grown to understand when learning everything build on one another. If a student was not introduced or did not obtain the information they should have in prior grades then they will then start falling behind due to the lack of understanding of prior concepts.

-   From this webinar I will take away the reality that many students struggle with fractions. I will remember that not every student was given an opportunity to have time to learn and understand fractions. As I continue to teach, I will keep in mind that I should ensure that my students are truly understanding the material by asking them to explain their answers, or stand in the shadows as they work independently to see if they understand and if not where is the misconception taking place. Having students reflect without so much hands on support.

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Jamie Galeano - The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education 

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Jamie Galeano - The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education 

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Speaker: Maldando Rodriguez

What stood out to me was that there is the ability to create an empowering and productive for all – we rather than I. One of the panelists talked about a math teacher that had a significant impact on her and goes on to say that schools can be a “loving place.” We must be able to come together to create a place for equity

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Jamie Galeano -  Black Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option too Imperative 

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Jamie Galeano -  Black Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option too Imperative 

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Speakers: Marta Civil and Maria Zavala

The idea of having parents as intellectual resources is a new concept to me. I certainly see parent involvement to some degree, especially in students with IEP’s, 504 plans etc. but they do not necessarily treat them as resources or partners. The quote from Corlota describes how these relationships between teachers, students and parents should be like a family since there is a significant amount time spend with the child from both parties. I agree with this notion and think it has the ability to decrease inequities and make the learning experience stronger overall.

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Jamie Galeano - Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway 

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Jamie Galeano - Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway 

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Speaker - Joan Sullivan
One of the most prominent ideas of the webinar focuses on creating a positive learning environment to facilitate positive mathematical identities in students. They recognize that if we teach math as a one size fits all discipline students can easily get discouraged. It is crucial that we create a culture in schools and classrooms where ALL students have a positive experience so students can be enthusiastic about doing math.

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Jamie Galeano - Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom 	

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Jamie Galeano - Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom 	

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I found the fact that learning fractions is in part a foundational skill for students to have, so naturally if they fall behind, they will continue to struggle. Some sort of assessment or extra support should be used for students, so they do not fall behind and continue to progress. As a child I struggled with mathematics – especially in elementary and middle school. I feel if my struggles were recognized, and I was able to receive additional support on certain concepts I would have been more confident as a mathematician. As a teacher I will be sure to track students’ progress and give extra help to those who may need it. Sometimes student’s feel discouraged and do not want to admit if they are confused or make mistakes – again, it is crucial to create an environment where students feel empowered.

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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Name: Dawn Hoskin

Title of Webinar: Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

Speakers: Robert Q. Berry, Alison Yoshimoto-Towery, Lacey Robinson, Estela Lopez, Ian Guidera

The webinar's focus is making math a gateway instead of a barrier to opportunity for people of color. Some key takeaways are that learning is liberating and math is an antidote to limitless possibilities. Education should also be affirming, meaningful, engaging, and grade-level. A high-quality math curriculum is necessary to close the equity gap, and children need opportunities to see themselves in math.

What stood out to me the most was the importance of educators determining what kind of mathematicians they are. Teachers must decipher who they are as a mathematician because the math identity of the teacher plays a role in what they put before their students. Estela Lopez stated that as a new high-quality curriculum is implemented, the teachers are learners as well as the students. Most of the math taught today is new for the teachers. If the teacher is not a confident mathematician, it will transfer to the class.

A connection to the webinar that I made to my experiences as a student of mathematics is not feeling confident in math during my K-12 years. Ian Guidera expressed that he didn't have great K-12 math experiences and didn't feel confident in math until after a few years of teaching. I hope that as I progress as an educator, I will gain more confidence as a mathematician and in math instruction.

The most important thing I will take away from the webinar as I think about becoming a mathematics teacher is that building math fluency depends on connecting ideas and that it takes effective teaching practices to help students achieve this. Robert Berry stated that effective teaching practices include tasks that promote reasoning and problem-solving. High cognitive demanding tasks where the students are posing problems, making connections, exchanging, and building on ideas.

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Changing the Landscapes of Mathematics Education

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Changing the Landscapes of Mathematics Education

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1) Your Name: Luis Perez

2). Title: Changing the Landscapes of Mathematics Education

3) Webinar speaker: Maldonado Rodriguez

4) What stood out most to you?

One of things that stood out to me is how a community of teachers work together to ensure that our students not only become proficient in math but to consider themselves Mathematicians. This is not a title you hear most often when we refer to our students especially our struggling ones. It is imperative that students are made to feel like that can and it is imperative that a classroom environment promotes a classroom that makes our students believe that they can. An equitable learning experience that targets students needs in a way where they are encouraged, confident in what they can achieve is important to student success. When all educators are on board and piggy back off of each other instead of it being a competition, which unfortunately i have witness more than i want to admit. Another thing that i found interesting was teacher led groups that allowed for students to share whatever they want. This is a good way to get to learn your students that sometimes a pencil and paper will not show you. Knowing you students will allow educators to put the students interests into their learning. Ive always felt then when a student feels an educator cares about them they will work hard for them.

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

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Name: Dawn Hoskin

Title of Webinar: Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

Speakers: Dr. David Shuster and Laura Chervenak

This webinar focuses on how proficiency in fractions by 5th grade is a precursor to how students will do in high school algebra. Dr. David Shuster presents research showing that if students have not grasped concepts surrounding fractions, they will not do well with algebra. Dr. Shuster stated that a low proficiency level in math would cause high school students to focus on graduation requirements instead of career possibilities in STEM fields. What stood out to me the most was how one math skill could change a child's life trajectory. When students are focused on meeting requirements, I believe they finish without a plan or clear direction. When you have a plan for after graduation, there is more intention to your actions as a learner.

A connection to the webinar that I made to my experiences as a mathematics student is the challenges that students face with fractions because I remember facing them myself. I understood that fractions are parts of a whole; however, I had difficulties performing math functions with fractions, such as adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing.

The most important thing I will take away from the webinar as I think about becoming a mathematics teacher is that every student can learn fractions. With the right program and instruction, it's never too late to learn fractions. The problem is that after elementary school, there's no time in the day for a high school student to learn by instruction. This webinar gives excellent tips for teachers to support students in learning fractions. Kids learn by doing; the more interactive the lesson, the more the children will learn. To help students grasp fractions, teachers have to recognize where students have confusion concerning fractions. One way to do that is by using number lines or length models. Laura Chervenak also discusses that computer game programs can be an excellent tool for teachers to use to reinforce student learning in a fun and interactive way. After working on the Frax program, Madeleine shifted her thinking about herself as a capable mathematician. Offline activities are also needed to strengthen understanding, such as verbally sharing their thoughts with other students. So, it's good to know that although there will be challenges, there are resources available to assist teachers in helping children grasp concepts that will give them opportunities to flourish.

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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1.Subivonne Ho-Shing

2. Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

3. Dr. Marta Civil and Dr. Maria del Rosario Zavala

4. What stood out most to me is that parents do need to help each other get more involved, this can be as simple as starting a parent s group to help translate the information coming from the teacher. This webinar gave me new look at how difficult a second language household can view the homework based on how different math is compared to how we learned it. If more parents felt comfortable enough to ask the teacher if when the information seemed confusing or to reach out to one another it would go a long way. Creating a village to help parents who are not as comfortable to speak directly to the teacher.

The connections I made based on my own experiences is how important parent engagement in school active can be. This can be a simple as attending a math night with their child, because showing negative feelings can lead the child to have negative feelings toward math. I made this connection based on my own experience, when I felt like the math was too hard to show to my parent based on whether they could help me or not.

The most important thing I took away from this webinar is that math is routed in the home. If the parents show any kind of negative view toward math a student can deem the information to hard. SO they will not ask for help at home when they need some extra help.

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Black, Indigenous, and Latinx parents as Intellectual resources.

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Black, Indigenous, and Latinx parents as Intellectual resources.

# data[].attributes.body
1) Name: Luis Perez
2)Title of Webinar: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx parents as Intellectual resources
3) webinar Speaker Name: Marta Civil and Maria Zavala

one of the things that stood out to me is the mention of the technology access gap within schools. They shared resources that our students can get in order to shorten the gap. to me this is the issue, resources are a great way to get our students what they need in order to be successful in the classroom, but in order to shorten that gap students must go above and beyond to find the resources that should be afforded to them which adds to the difficulties our students have compared to other places. Anther part that stood out to me is my experience students struggle with math, the video discusses how we view math outside the classroom. The scope in which we in a way judged how math is used and understood is based on how well students perform in the classroom. Interests is spoken about a lot in what information is used to help keep our students engaged, culture is one of those things. Being able to bridge how math is used at home culturally and incorporating that into their daily learning can be beneficial to their learning.

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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1.Subivonne Ho-Shing

2. Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

3. Joan Sullivan, Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Philips, Ian Guidera, Alison Yoshimoto- Towery, Esela Lopez, Ryan Smith, Lacey Robinson, Dr. Robert Berry

4. What stood out most to me is that today’s math is more about conceptual understanding compared to the math we grew up with which was focus on memorization. While in our math teaching groups, I have said this about the newer math curriculum, I enjoy the multiple strategies the students learn because they can choose which one works better for them out of four or five strategies. Instead of one way that you were taught to memorize.

The connections I made based on my own experiences is teachers today know what it feels like to be lost in math. This negative outlook on math has led these educators to change that narrative. I had a horrible math experience, that makes me feel insecure when teaching math to my current students. However, I don’t let my past feelings define me.

The most important thing I took away from this webinar is teachers today understand how negative feelings toward math can affect a student’s performance. Our goal as educators is to build math confidence and create a “math person” in all students.

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom 

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom 

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1.Subivonne Ho-Shing

2. Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

3. Dr. David Shuster, Laura Chervenak

4. What stood out most to me is that fractions are very intimidating. The best idea is to make fractions fun and interactive. The frax game is a great concept, it blended fun games fractions. I have seen students at my school excited for similar math games done on their chrome books.

The connections I made based on my own experiences is that visual representation for fractions is easier to understand. The fraction strips we made in class is a common practice for the third grade. The students would use it to understand the math problems they did in class.

The most important thing I took away from this webinar is to keep the students engaged for fractions. Fractions can be made to be fun which will keep them engaged. Instead of giving fractions the bad reputations of being impossible to understand. This can be accomplished with visual representation such as fraction strips or modernized games like frax.

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The changing Landscape of Mathematics Education. 

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The changing Landscape of Mathematics Education. 

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Stephanie Melo

Margarita Barraza
Linda Fullmore
Rochelle Guitierrez
Marianne Dingle.

What stood out most to me is how knowledgeable the four ladies were.  All of them were so engaged and shared great point of views.
I in particular had a lot of connection with the topic. Since , as a mother, I am afraid of doing homework with my eighth grade girl. Because I'm afraid of math. However, I don't let her know. Something that has helped me a lot is watching math videos on YouTube with her. Moreover, Something that has also made me think is the issue of social emotional, which is something that sometimes we forget and we do not have much empathy.

One thing I take away is how vulnerable our students are. And that as future teachers we have to teach them, but also have a lot of empathy for them.

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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Stephanie Melo

Marta Civil and Maria Zavala

Many parents simply view math with great discomfort. And at the same time is that many of our parents did not even went to school or only reached elementary school. Sometimes we judge, without stopping to perhaps communicate with them and see in depth if there is a possibility that this is a reason. Parents also believe that teachers are academic experts since they went to college, without also thinking that we are just ordinary human beings.
Something that I take with me is that teachers and parents are a team and that we have to work together. It is the only way to educate their children. It is important to create more workshops to help parents at least understand basic math and give them the confidence that they can do it.

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway:

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway:

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Stephanie Melo

Francisco Villegas
Myeisha Phillips
Lacey Robinson
Estela Lopez

It is sad that to hear that a lot of students don't have access to grade level Math text.
Our students are not being challenged and have a better student performance.
An interesting comment is that teacher themselves are being switch form their own way of teaching.
it was great to hear that even teachers struggled with math while growing up. I learned math by memorization. I really don't know myself the (Why) we do this that way. moreover, I don't agreed with the speaker in which she said that their are many training and coaching. During the day there is no way you can even take a prep. In the school that I am working teacher's barely have a lunch break and there is no subs to support.

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom:

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom:

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Stephanie Melo

Dana Ramnarine

Mathematics is a bit complex, if you don't learn the basics. Later it will be more difficult for you to learned and it will become more complex. I love that in  North America, math is taught by a lot of manipulatives, which is very visual. Unfortunately, the way I learned was by memorizing. And if a didnt memorize the times table by the following week, it was an F.
I take away from this video, that just like me there are many students who fear doing math.  I also had a lot of difficulty in high school and college with math. Since things that were in a simple way, I did not know. I particularly turn into an eight with fractions. but I was never exposed to games, nor coding. And I did not have the opportunity to create an understanding of magnitude.
Sadly.

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Name: Crystal Santana

Title of Webinar: The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

Webinar Speaker Names: Margarita Barraza, Marian Dingle, Linda Fulmore, Rochelle Gutierrez.

What stood out to me the most is the importance they placed on building relationships with the students. Another thing that caught my attention was the conversations they had about race and inequality. I liked how passionate all the panelists were about the topic and how they related mathematics with real-life problems. I agree with what Rochelle said about restoring mathematics and changing the views on how the subject is taught in school. Mathematics is a subject that produces a lot of stress for some students. As teachers, we need to create an environment where students feel safe to make mistakes, ask questions, and create lessons that cater to all students while making the subject culturally relevant.

One of the things that I related to the most through the video was what Rochelle said about mathematics and how some people feel ashamed for not being good at it. I can relate to this because it is a feeling I still carry. Math is one of the subjects that I get anxious about, even when I was younger. This is something that I want to work on because, as a teacher, I want to help students create a good relationship with the subject.

After watching the webinar, something that I took away was the idea of doing things differently when it comes to teaching mathematics to students. I will continue to form relationships with students, listen to them, and think of ways about how mathematics can be practiced outside of the classroom.

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Name: Crystal Santana

Title of Webinar: Equity in Education Series: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources.

Webinar Speaker Names: Dr Marta Civil,   and Dr. Maria del Rosario Zavalas.

Something that stood out to me the most is the ideas they presented about parents’ involvement in school. I like their idea about viewing parents as resources and bringing what they know into the classroom. We need to communicate with parents, learn from them, and integrate their views into our instructions. Moreover, I like the scenarios they presented in “Good Intentions Gone wrong” because it invites us to think about how sometimes the way we express ourselves can position parents into different categories.

This webinar made me think about the number talks we have in class. They mentioned in the videos how instead of shutting down students when they bring  methods of how their parents helped them solve the problems in the classroom, we could create a number talk for them to show the different methods and for students to realize that there is more than one way to solve math problems. This is an amazing idea, I learned math in the  Dominican Republic, and this was something I struggled with because sometimes I knew how to solve a problem, but the teacher explained it another way, and it confused me. I was never encouraged to share the method but rather instructed to learn how to solve the problem using the new strategy.

Something I took away from this webinar is how we can engage and involve parents in our instructions. I liked the idea of listening to parents’ way of doing math and observing and learning from them, as well as the actions schools can take to integrate parents. One of the ideas they mentioned that I found interesting was doing math in laundry mats, this is an idea that I believe would engage and help parents be more involved in their children’s math class. This can be done by inviting them to join the class and later have a conversation about it.

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Name: Crystal Santana

Title of Webinar: Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

Webinar Speaker Names: Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Ian Guidera, Joan Sullivan, Ryan Smith, Robert Berry, Lacey Robinson, Alison Yoshimoto-Towery, and Estela Lopez.

What stood out to me the most were the graphic presented in the webinar, which showed that only 19% of middle schools and 13% of high schools are aligning their instructions to common standards, common core instructional shifts, and materials. I found this problematic because students are the most impacted by this. It means the majority of students are not receiving a good quality of education. Another thing that stood out is the advantages of integrating the high-quality curriculum. Using this curriculum, students learn the material in a conceptual way, and teachers serve as facilitators and learn along side the students instead of teaching the material.

The video shown in the webinar about teachers using high-quality curriculum resonated with me. As they mentioned in the video, growing up, I, too, learned math the traditional way, through memorization. I had to learn how to do math using the new approach as an adult, which was a struggle because I had to relearn the strategies. As the video stated, the way students do math nowadays involves a conceptual understanding. In my opinion, that is more fun because students are encouraged to draw, explain their thinking, resonate, and collaborate. They are also given more room to make mistakes.

One thing that I took away from this webinar is what Robert Berry said about the types of questions we ask students during math. He called them "fat" and "skinny" questions. He explained that skinny questions have one-word answers and fat questions are questions that require students to come up with multiple ideas, make connections, and explain their thinking. This is something that I found interesting. I will ensure to include this in my teaching as I want my students to gain automaticity as well as explain their thinking, come up with solutions and create problems.  Another important takeaway from this webinar was what Lacey Robinson said about "learning is liberation" and the importance of teaching high-quality curriculum and providing the materials for minority students. She expressed that if they are not receiving this kind of education, we are taking away their liberation. Also,  as teachers, we need to know how to identify ourselves as mathematicians and what role it has played in order to facilitate students' learning experience. I think, as future teachers, these are concepts that we need to revisit and think about in order to provide students with the high-quality education they deserve.

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Name: Crystal Santana

Title of Webinar: Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom:

Webinar Speaker Name: David Shuster

What stood out to me the most is how important fractions are in determining students' success in later grades. I was surprised by the example he presented about a fraction problem included in a test in 1978, and only 24% of students could solve the problem correctly. The same question was included again in 2014, and the number didn't improve much; only 27% solved it. Another thing that caught my attention is how essential it is for students to understand fractions early on, as research shows that it impacts students' math performance in the future.

The seminar made me think about my own experience with math. Fractions is a subject that a lot of people struggle with. I believe students get confused on the subject because of the rules and steps we have to implement to solve the problems. This could create confusion for students and cause them to feel discouraged from learning. Growing up, I learned the subject the traditional way. I was taught the procedures to solve fraction problems and given worksheets to solve fraction problems. I don't recall being presented with visuals or manipulatives to solve fractions or scenarios of how the problems looks in real life, which makes it hard to remember the concept.

Something that I took away from the webinar is how important it is for students to understand fractions. I will incorporate different strategies, such as the Frax platform presented in the webinar. Using this tool, students learn fractions in a fun way as they are given missions they have to complete. It also measures students' performance which teachers can access and use to create lessons based on their understanding. Moreover, I will include visuals, manipulatives, and make fun activities for students to understand fractions more deeply.

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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Name: Dylan King
Speakers: Maldonado Rodriguez, Margarita Barraza, Marian Dingle, Linda Fulmore, and Rochelle Gutierrez

What stood out most to you?
I appreciated how the speakers approached this conversation with their students at the forefront of their minds. I have had experience with many educators who do not have that mindset and it's so frustrating when you see someone who is not in the field for the sake of the children they teach. I thought it was refreshing to hear from a group of people who are clearly caring and empathetic and want to see the educaiton field change for the better.

What connections can you make to your own experiences?
I can certainly relate to the speakers' experiences with students who feel anxiety about mathematics. I believe math is like learning a new language, but isn't taught that way. Students need a strong understanding of the basic vocabulary and number sense in order to eventually become fluent in math and speak the language. It's important we focus on these foundational skills so that students don't end up feeling like they are being taught in a language they don't understand.

Important takeaways?
As the panel of speakers pointed out multiple times throughout the video, the way we think about and teach mathematics must change, not just due to the problematic history of how it's been taught, but also along with the new normal we now live in. The pandemic has given us a glimpse of a future in which we are more reliant on technology. We need new, diverse ideas in education so that our students can learn math in this new environment. They also need us educators to find ways to reach more students than we were previously able to by expanding our own methods to include a more culturally diverse approach, making math relatable to minority students.

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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Name: Dylan King
Speakers: Dr. Marta Civil and Dr. Maria del Rosario Zavala

What stood out most to you?
What stood out to me the most from this webinar was just how underutilized a resource parents are in the education system. Parents are not currently central in this system and they need to be given more opportunities to guide and help their children. It is self-evident to me that implementing some of the principles and methods that the speakers explained in the webinar would certainly help increase academic success among our students.

What connections can you make to your own experiences?
In my experience, the direct involvement of my mother in my education was crucial to my academic success throughout my childhood. My mother was a school principal and was able to access resources to ensure I was able to read and understand basic math before I even went to school. If all parents were given the knowledge and available resources that I was given, our students would be much more successful if their parents could give them that support. I also currently teach in an elementary school and find the lack of parent outreach to be highly concerning. We only have a few opportunities a year to meet our parents face to face, and even then those meetings are for a very short period. It would be great to increase parent involvement within my school.

Important takeaways?
One of the most important things I will take away from this seminar is that teaching in a diverse neighborhood means that I will need to find different ways to help different parents and meet their needs. This webinar is a great resource for achieving that lofty goal.

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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Name: Dylan King
Speakers: Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Dr. Ian Guidera, Lacey Robinson, Estela Lopez and Alison Yoshimoto-Towery.

What stood out most to you?
One of the main points made in this webinar is that we need to get more creative and positive when it comes to teaching mathematics. Too often we close the door to learning by teaching with a one-size-fits-all approach that leaves out many students who learn best in a variety of ways. It is important that we continue to transition to a more open-ended, conceptual understanding of mathematics, rather than a focus on memorization and finding the right answer.

What connections can you make to your own experiences?
I also learned math in the traditional method of memorization and repetition. I was successful in doing so, and had the opportunity later on in high school to dive deeply into the conceptual side of mathematics in Calculus. I agree that this way of learning is not for everyone, even though it worked for me. I also found it boring many times, which would understandably turn off many students that were not as naturally interested in math as I was.

Important takeaways?
I agree that I have seen more students open up to learning mathematics this year as the new curriculum and standards move toward a conceptual focus. However, I have also seen students struggle to grasp concepts mainly due to a lack of the foundational skills that are necessary to begin to explore math concepts. Memorization and other archaic math methodology, while flawed, can help facilitate conceptual understanding because a person with a strong grasp on the rules of the language of math can then explore how this language can become a tool with real-world applications. I don't agree with abandoning these methods, but rather adding new methodology to teachers' toolkits.

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

# data[].attributes.body
Name: Dylan King
Speakers: Dr. David Shuster, Laura Chervenak

What stood out to you the most?
What stood out to me the most is the vast and rich amount of resources available to math teachers that we just may not be aware of most of the time. Prior to watching this video, I didn't really recognize just how modernized math education can be. We can approach math in an encouraging, fun way that allows more students to get involved and play during math class. Play is at the heart of a child's learning journey; it is vital that we teachers begin to create opportunities for our students to play as they learn.

What connections can you make to your own experiences?
I went to a catholic school in my neighborhood growing up in which traditional teaching methods of memorization and facts were the only method used to teach math, as well as most other subjects. Students were not given many opportunities to play or gain deeper understandings of real-world connections. As a result, I and many of my classmates found these subjects boring and many of us suffered academically as a result. I believe with a modernized approach to education, we can better facilitate learning, especially in a usually "boring" subject like Math.

Important takeaways?
The most important takeaway for me is that my students' learning will be greater the more fun I can make math for them. My approach needs to reflect a positive, encouraging philosophy of approaching mathematics. If students approach math with fear and boredom, they will not grasp the foundational concepts necessary to succeed at higher levels. Our teaching also needs to focus on a deep conceptual understanding of fractions rather than simply repetition and memorization that does not allow students to grasp the "why" of math learning.

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway:

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway:

# data[].attributes.body
Name: Jesus A. Martinez

Title of Webinar: Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

Webinar Speaker Name: Joan Sullivan

What stood out most to you?
what stood out from this webinar is the focus of how much these speakers want to build a new way for teacher and even administration to accept the way mathematics should be presented to students. Some students can't relate to some math work in class when it doesn't relate to them at all. Best to build up math work on students culture or community. that way the problems can seem more relatable to understand.
When i took math during my time in elementary school. I remember this one problem that explained to me the number of farming tools used to build a fence. The words use for the tool were confusing for me. especially since i don't farm and live in the city. I remember i continue to always have issues with that problem. Later on in my school year i did start to see problems related to the subway or any other form of public transportation. This problem related to me because i use those forms of transportation. related problems to me, my community and my culture helps me. I believe that would also help my students in math as well.

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom: 

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom: 

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Name: Jesus A. Martinez

Title of Webinar: Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

Webinar Speaker Name: David Shuster

What stood out most to you?
The strong point of this webinar is the discussion of fraction in general. This is one of the subjects even I myself had trouble with. But i understand how its importance can impact the students math skills and skills they can develop outside of schools with fractions.
I definitely agree in that teacher should introduce models and visual samples to represent the fraction methods in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Computerized programs can help, but i feel like using technology would best be more helpful for students when they are at home and during practice time. that way they can reach their goal at their own time and pace. While also having fun playing the program using math. these programs can also help parents as they can also aid their children and work together on practice problems at home.
As a teacher, i feel the need to introduce fraction in a positive relatable way helps students.In my class i would bring pizza pies and make fraction problems based on who took which slice with different toppings. Many of the students enjoyed it as an introduction to fractions and enjoyed the food. Once we began with the pizza, i also introduce other tools in class so students can enjoy the hands on activities. When it came to testing them many draw out the solution using the tools we used in class and many got the answers correctly. students were engaged and focus on how to answer the fractions.

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Building Equitable systems: moving math from Gatekeeper to opportunity

Speakers: Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Dr. Ian Guidera

One of the things that stood out to me in this video is how students judge themselves as math and non-math people. It is either one or the other which is unfortunate. These students who struggle in my experience I have heard them say too many times "i'm just not good at math". To make an equitable classroom I feel students should understand that no one is ever born an expert at anything. So creating a classroom environment where a shared understanding of what mathematics is, and allow our students to build off their strengths will promote success. Most of out students have a hard time grasping with the fact they don't even know their own strengths at times. Math has changed dramatically over the years especially how we were taught as kids. Teachers are expected to teach math in a way that we weren't taught, so it is imperative that teachers are not also teaching for all learners but also finding ways in which our children feel successful in at least trying. I have seen so many times that when a student feels confident in what they can do the sky is the limit. But we must find and create those ways that lead our students towards success. I like to use the analogy "teachers are the GPS of the classroom we can show them the way but it up to them to get to their destination we just have to make it a little less challenging."

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Title: Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom.

Webinar Speaker: David Shuster

One the things the things I struggled with growing up was math overall, but one of the most difficult tasks I had was understanding fractions. It wasn't just creating the usual pizza pie, and counting the amount of shaded or non shaded, its also equivalent fractions, finding common denominators to add/subtract fractions, and simplifying just to name a few. Those things did not come easy to me and just could not grasp those concepts, so much so I questioned myself as an educator because of this. How can I teach something I didn't understand myself? As an educator you must fully immerse yourself into what your are teaching in order to set your students up for success.   there are so many resources like the Frax program that is used that breaks down fractions in a way that everyone can understand. In my classroom we have used a program similar called Amplify fractions that will allow students to complete lessons strictly based on fractions, they will only be able to move on t more advanced lesson once they mastered previous ones. Student progress is also monitored just like the frax program this can allow for teachers to see where students are having difficulties as well as create lessons to help our students. exposing students to other methods of understanding fractions by using a multiplication chart to see equivalent fractions. Creating games that strictly focus on certain parts for example finding common multiples for 4 and 7 can help they to eventually apply this in more advanced parts. it is essential that we continuously find ways to set up to achieve student success.

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1) Your Name: Donald Noll

2) Title of Webinar: The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

3) Webinar Speaker Name: Maldonado Rodriguez, Barraza, Dingle, Fulmore, Gutierez

4) Answers to the following questions:

What stood out most to you?

What stood out the most to me is how the speakers related math to everyday things in our lives. Even when we do not think there is math going on, there usually is. Math teachers should keep this in mind when they are looking to make connections from the students' lives into the math lesson.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

One thing I can connect to is when they talked about how kids or adults can have a “fear of math.” When I was way younger and in school I used to also have this fear of math where I would just say “I hate math.” I definitely think a lot of other people also say they dislike math and typically it is because we are afraid of doing it and failing.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

I think what I will take away the most from this webinar is making sure my students do not have the fear of math that so many have faced, including myself. When a student already has a negative attitude towards something, it will be hard for them to make progress. I want to make sure they come in with an open mind because the best way to make progress is to want to make progress. I will do my best to make sure the fear of math does not sit in my classroom.

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1) Your Name: Donald Noll

2) Title of Webinar: Black, Indegenious, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

3) Webinar Speaker Name: Marta Civil, Maria Zavala

4) Answers to the following questions:

What stood out most to you?

One thing that stood out to me was the talk about parent involvement and how they can be utilized. They spoke about how parents are underutilized in education, which is an issue. Implementation of parent utilization will result in less stress for the parent, the student, and the teacher. Having everyone on the same page is super important in order for student’s to get the education that they need.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

The connection I can make is something that goes on at my job. We have acknowledged that parents are not utilized enough and we stress to make sure our classes are as transparent as possible. We do that by keeping google classroom up to date with the work that's going on and any other things that parents should see.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

One thing that I get from this is to make sure you do your part to keep the parents as involved as possible. In today’s world it is easier than ever with technology. In my school google classroom is heavily utilized and is a way for parents and students to see exactly what work is being done, or what is owed by the student. This is a great way for parents to remain involved and be utilized.

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1) Your Name: Donald Noll

2) Title of Webinar: Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

3) Webinar Speaker Name: Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Dr. Ian Guidera, Lacey Robinson, Estela Lopez and Alison Yoshimoto-Towery

4) Answers to the following questions:

What stood out most to you?

One thing that stood out to me was the emphasis on the importance of creativity inside of the math classroom. Student’s can easily lose their urge to pay attention when being lectured or taught something in a not so fun or creative way. It is our job as teachers to make sure our students are engaged and intrigued by what they are learning or working on. It is a great idea to connect students’ math work with what they can connect with outside of the classroom in their everyday lives.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

One connection I can make is that I did not have a very creative type of math education. I was always given teachers that lectured at us and made minimal connections to our everyday lives. This made it tough for me and other students to stay engaged and intrigued with our math work. I do believe that times have changed and teachers empathize more with students now and make efforts to connect their lives with the math work.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

One thing that I can take away from this webinar, as well as my experience in school as a student and teacher is that we need to make connections to students. It is our job to keep them engaged and by making relevant connections to their lives is a great way to do so. I have witnessed no connections through my own experience as a student, and now as a teacher I have seen connections being made inside the classroom. Student’s seem to be way more engaged when the connections are being made.

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1) Your Name: Donald Noll

2) Title of Webinar: Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

3) Webinar Speaker Name: David Shuster, Laura Chervena

4) Answers to the following questions:

What stood out most to you?

One thing that stood out to me is how important it is for students to understand fractions, and how that understanding can affect them in higher grades. Student’s see more fractions than they realize, like when they get a pie of pizza and they see it cut in 8 slices. A student is probably not going to think about how one slice is 1/8th of the pizza pie. Understanding fractions can be helpful not only in later grades in school, but in life in general. It is important for students to learn fractions early in their life in order to set up the foundation for learning math in later grades.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

Growing up, and in my school now, whenever students see fractions or even hear the word they instantly become uninterested in the math. I believe that fractions continually get a bad reputation and it just get passed around from person to person. It is important to stress the need to understand fractions to the students to try and break through some of that hate for them.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

The take away I got from this is to prepare for difficulty with fractions but find ways to get students to appreciate and understand them. Use creative ways to get students intrigued and engaged, because without that you will usually have a stagnant session. As future educators it is up to us to kill the negative norms in math that we dealt with when we were in school. Our students will always deserve better than the education that we received. Time and minds are constantly evolving and the future generations need to be set up for success.

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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Name: Juan Rodriguez

Title of Webinar: The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

Webinar Speaker Name: Maldonado Rodriguez

Panelists: Margarita Barraza, Marian Dingle, Linda Fulmore, Rochelle Gutierrez

What stood out most to you?

-What stood out most to me was began speaking about how teachers should build relationships with students. I always find it important for teachers to build relationships with their students. Students are often told strangers are bad and to stay away from them so if they view their teachers as strangers it becomes impossible to learn as they are disconnected from you as a person.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

- What I connected with was the part of the webinar that speaks about STEM. Many schools and homes place importance on doing well in STEM subjects. They see it as the defining subject that will decide a student's future. This is due to many careers and fields focusing on those subjects. However, parents often fear their children not succeeding, and teachers are told to focus on mainly STEM subjects. I even went through this myself when I decided to focus on my undergrad in film. Especially since I went to my first 4 years of college to study film.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

- The most important thing I will take away from this webinar is that I should be wary of how to address students and parents. I should word discussion as if it's shameful for students to be using tools such as their fingers or manipulatives.

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

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Name: Juan Rodriguez

Title of Webinar: Equity in Education Series: Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Parents as Intellectual Resources

Webinar Speaker Name: Dr. Marta Civil and Dr. Maria del Rosario Zavala

What stood out most to you?

- One thing that really stood out to me was their opinion on parents. It seems like they think parents aren't sufficient enough to help their kids. However, the real issue is the language barrier. There are many parents who are extremely intelligent, however, in a society where the curriculum is constantly changing and more students and teachers from different walks of life end up in schools there are going to be instances where parents will be unable to help. The underlying issue is that parents' methods may not best fit the curriculum. Therefore they are considered to not know enough but in reality their methods may differ.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

-  As a math student I come from a family of mathematicians in a sense. Before becoming a social worker my mother was an accountant for the majority of my life. My father was a doctor in the Dominican Republic which also involves a good deal of math and science. So math was considered one of the most important topics in my home. Even my little brother is studying computer science which requires math that I cannot physically read.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?)

-          The biggest takeaway is that parents should be seen as more of a resource than educators think. If we have to depend on them for students to finish assignments at home then then should also be allowed to help those students in anyway possible even if it doesn't mean standards

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

# data[].attributes.body
Name: Juan Rodriguez

Title of Webinar: Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway

Webinar Speaker Name: Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Dr. Ian Guidera, Lacey Robinson, Estela Lopez, and Alison Yoshimoto-Towery.

What stood out most to you?

- What stood out to me was making math creative. The way math is taught in schools is in a manner that encourages students to just memorize equations and remember vocabulary. Making math creative would not only invigorate their passion but would also be helpful for students to retain information

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

-  What I connected with was when they spoke about their negatives with math. Math was probably my worst subject and because of that I often had negative experiences with it both inside and outside school.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

-   What I took away from this webinar was how important it is the math is an experience, not just a lesson. Math is such a cornerstone in life aside from school students should all learn from it and that learning should have a positive effect on them.

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

# data[].attributes.body
Name: Juan Rodriguez

Title of Webinar: Solving the Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom

Webinar Speaker Name: David Shuster

What stood out most to you?

- What stood out to me was the statistic of how many, students did not understand fractions. It was eye-opening because the correlation between fractions and future math topics perfectly explains why I myself had trouble in advanced math classes.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

-  My own connection would be the correlation between fractions and how well you did in math topics such as algebra. My entire career in middle school and high school consisted of below-average grades in math. I wondered during this webinar if math was more creative would I have understood it?

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a teacher of mathematics?

- I will take away the reality that many students struggle with fractions. I will need to focus more on helping students understand fractions as it correlates to their future math courses, as those courses will frame their relationship with math.

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education

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1) Your Name: Rolando Barthlett

2) Title of Webinar:The Changing Landscape of Mathematics Education:

3) Webinar Speaker Name: Marian Dingle, Linda Fulmore and, Rochelle

What stood out most to you?

Even though the video took place several years ago, the topic of equity is still applicable today.  This topic has been brought up repeatedly over the years, and while a variety of strategies have been presented, there has yet to be a clear way to address the issues around equity.  Due to the video taking place during the height of the pandemic, many social issues were discussed, such as the Black Lives Matters movement and the lack of equity in black and brown communities.  The video reiterates that students who are living in impoverished communities are not given the same amount of opportunities as students living in suburban areas.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

The topics that this video addressed was both equity and social and emotional learning. I do not teacher math, but as an educator, I can see where students come into the classroom with a lot of gaps in their learning.  Social and Emotional Learning and equity are large factors in why many students are falling behind in their learning. Due to the lack of these two components, it can be challenging to teach students who are not provided with the opportunities to express thier emotions as well as providing them opportunity to access the material at their level.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar as you think about becoming a mathematics teacher?

A takeaway I have from this webinar the reminder that our students will continue to come into our classrooms with gaps in our learning and they will not be given an adequate amount of time to catch up.  The students who are behind, especially in math and reading, will have to close those gaps at a rapid pace in order to minimize disparities. As I teacher, I will try my best to incorporate more of my students’ likes or interests into the curriculum in order to help them to make a connection and understand the relevance behind their learning.

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative 

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Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative 

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1) Your Name: Rolando Barthlett

2) Title of Webinar: Black, Indigenous, and LatinX Parents as Intellectual Resources: From Option to Imperative

3) Webinar speakers: Dr. Marta Civil, Dr. Maria Del Rosario , and Zavala

What stood out most to you?

The topic of the video that stood out the most to me was that many black and brown parents could not assist their students while at home. The shift in the way mathematics was taught to students in recent years was a drastic change in the way the parents were taught when they were younger.  While the solutions to many of these math problems are the same, the journey to the answers has drastically changed. These new paths to solutions have created challenges for parents.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

In my first year of teaching, a large number of students were unable to complete homework assignments. One day I asked one of my students if someone in their household could assist them with the assignments.  One student responded that his mother was, in fact, in the home, but she was unable to assist with any of the work because she could not understand the material.  Sometimes, I feel as though teachers forget that not everyone has someone in the home, whether it be a parent or an older sibling, to assist them. There are a variety of challenges that could result in students not having help at home. As educators, it is our job to ensure that the students are being sent home materials that can support their learning and are not a challenge or a burden on the household.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar you think about becoming a mathematics teacher?

A takeaway from this video was that if my students are not able to be successful with the material, it is my responsibility to provide them assistance in the form of the following: Youtube tutorials for the child and the parents to watch together to support the learning process, provide an online version of the lesson so that the students can review it with their parents, and having open communication between myself and the parent to discuss what is being taught in class and how we can all work together to bridge any education gap.  I will always try to help as best as I can because it takes a village to teach a child, and with a common goal, we can be successful.

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway: 

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Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway: 

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1) Your Name: Rolando Barthlett

2) Title of Webinar: Building Equitable Systems: Moving Math from Gatekeeper to Opportunity Gateway:

3) Webinar speakers: Francisco Villegas, Myeisha Phillips, Dr. Ian Guidera, Lacey Robinson, Estela Lopez, and Alison Yoshimoto-Towery.

What stood out most to you?

Something that stood out to me was the question about fractions that was asked at the beginning.  The fraction mentioned was 12/13 plus ⅞, and the answer was 2. This question was used as a guide to determine people’s understanding of math.  It was shocking to me that most people could not come up with the correct answer to this question.  They were trying to demonstrate that math is not always as complicated as we make it out to be. Over the years, teachers have put pressure on students to get the correct answer to math problems when asked.  These anxieties around math that develop as a child continue to grow into adulthood, which ultimately causes people to overthink when it comes to math equations.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

My initial answer to the question posed in the webinar was incorrect because I overcomplicated what was presented to me.  This made me think about my students and how I may overcomplicate the equations for them.  I believe the reason I got this question wrong is that I always think that there is more to math equations than there appears to be.  Sometimes the answer is simple and straightforward, and there aren’t any hidden tricks needed to get to a solution.  Many times the answer is right there in front of you the whole time.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar you think about becoming a mathematics teacher?

When I start math with my students, I will try to simplify what they see instead of making them overanalyze what the question is asking them. I will try to provide them with an environment that is stress-free to relieve the pressure of immediately getting the correct answers. These pressures are what cause people to have math anxiety, and I would like to prevent that for my students if at all possible. I will teach my students that every equation should be approached separately.  Similarly to how ELA teachers chunk a text, I think it is equally imprinted to look at math equations in pieces and have small victories along the journey to the ultimate solution.

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom: 

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Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom: 

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1) Your Name: Rolando Barthlett

2) Title of Webinar:  Solving The Fractions Problem: From Research to Classroom:

3) Webinar speakers: Dr. David Shuster and Laura Chervenak

What stood out most to you?

The webinar mentioned alarming statistics of students who are having difficulties understanding what fractions are. Also, it was evident that many students were having trouble conceptualizing and differentiating fractions from whole numbers. Even when presented with visuals, the students were not able to make a connection to the visual or manipulative with the fraction it represented. Since factions can deal with multiple facets of math, such as multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction, they are difficult because students are lacking the basic fundamentals.  Furthermore, students have struggled to identify how a faction makes up a portion of a whole, which causes difficulties in solving more complex faction problems.  Many of these skills were taught at early elementary grade levels, but students are still not grasping them.

What connections can you make to your own experiences as a student of mathematics or teacher of mathematics?

Even though I am a person who likes math and the process of solving mathematical equations, I always felt as though fractions were a difficult topic to master because I knew that there was a connection between factions, decimals, ratios, and so forth, Being unable to have an understanding of fractions, meant that I also struggled with its counterparts. Slowly, I was able to visualize mentally what fractions might look like in real life.  Using a pizza pie or a dollar and quarters helped me to better understand that fractions are everywhere and they don’t need to be intimidating.

What was the most important thing you’ll take away from the webinar you think about becoming a mathematics teacher?

For teaching the section on fractions in the math curriculum, I will try to provide my students with multiple entries points to master the concept of fractions.  It is important to allow students to start with the basics, such as using larger fractions and then also provide them with visuals and manipulatives to help them conceptualize these concepts.  As a teacher, I want to welcome mistakes in my classroom and to have students understand why they made those particular errors.