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

 

-          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.

-          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.

-          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.

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

Webinar Speaker Name: Joan Sullivan

 

-          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.

-          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.

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 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. 

-          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.

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.

 

-          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.

 

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. 

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.

 

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. 

 

 

 

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 

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. 

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. 

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 5^th 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.

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

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.

 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.  

 

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.

 

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.

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

Webinar Speaker Name: Joan Sullivan

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.

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

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

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

3) Webinar Speaker Name: Marta Civil, Maria Zavala

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

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

3) Webinar Speaker Name: David Shuster, Laura Chervena

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 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 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.

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

- 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.

-  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.

-          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

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 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 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.

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?

 

- 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.

 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. 

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. 

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.

 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                                                  

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.

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.

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.

 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. 

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. 

 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. 

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.