Professional Development for Mathematics
Currently, registration is open for a variety of math workshops for K-12 teachers.
ESC-2 can also provide custom math professional development to address the specific needs of the requesting LEA. The catalog below outlines a sample listing of workshops that can be made available. Additional workshops can also be developed upon request. For more information or to make a request, please contact one of the ESC-2 Mathematics Specialists.
PK - 5 Professional Development
| Audience | Workshop Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Grades 3-5 General Education and Special Education Teachers | Getting to Know the STAAR: 3rd-5th Grade Math | Teachers of all experience levels will greatly benefit from this opportunity to dig into the make-up of the newly released STAAR tests. Participants will spend time exploring and familiarizing themselves with many TEA resources that give teachers insight into the format and content of the exam. Participants will also spend time reviewing allowable accommodations. Teachers will identify and study high priority TEKS based on regional data, and analyze released items related to those student expectations. Finally, the most recent STAAR-related TEA updates will be debriefed. |
| Grades 2-5 Math Teachers, ESL, and Special Education Math Teachers | Building Math Vocabulary for English Language Learners: 2nd 5th Gr. Math | Research shows that vocabulary knowledge is the single best predictor of ELLs academic achievement. This training delves into Marzano’s Six-Step Process in building academic vocabulary. Participants will engage in strategies and techniques that support English Language Learners acquisition of math vocabulary. These strategies will provide mathematics teachers with effective practices for incorporating the TEKS and the ELPS into daily instruction in order to increase the likelihood of ELLs success in the mathematics classroom. |
| Grades K-3 Math Teachers, ESL, and Special Education Math Teachers | Number Talks | Who do you think does the talking in number talks? If you said the teacher, you are wrong! Number talks are activities focusing on mental math strategies. Learn to help your students discover new strategies that will boost their number sense and ability to think flexibly about numbers. Improve the foundation for process skills needed to be successful in STAAR testing |
| Grades PK-1 Math Teachers, ESL, and Special Education Math Teachers | Laying the Foundation for Mathematics Prekindergarten-1st Grade | You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. Much is the same for mathematicians. We must give students the strongest foundation possible in order to enable them to become strong mathematicians. Early Childhood Teachers in grades PK-1st will gain content knowledge that will allow them to help their students build a strong foundation in mathematics. A wide variety of content will be covered including mathematical process standards, number and operations, algebraic reasoning, geometry and measurement and data analysis. Several MAKE and TAKE activities will be practiced and created during the workshop. |
| Grades 2-5 Math Teachers, ESL, and Special Education Math Teachers | Motivate and Differentiate with Math Stations: Grades 2-5 | When do I meet with small groups to provide interventions? What do I do with the rest of the class while I meet with small groups? Math stations give teachers the opportunity to work with small groups while other students work on activities that give them multiple ways to review, practice, and/or learn concepts based on their diverse abilities. Implementing stations in your own classroom takes work. It takes time, persistence, consistency, and planning of purposeful station activities all students can productively engage in without you. This workshop outlines and details why math stations are necessary, how to organize and manage math stations, how to create purposeful and engaging station activities that empower students' knowledge, and how to get started! Participants will also have the opportunity to review sample station activities that could be used in the classroom. |
| Grades 2-5 Math Teachers, ESL, and Special Education Math Teachers | What’s the Problem? Comprehending Word Problems in Mathematics, | Math word problems often pose a big challenge to some students. For students who struggle with reading and comprehension, word problems are just a lot of meaningless words and numbers. In this session, teachers will engage in strategies that can help students make sense of these word problems. |
| Grades K-2 General Education and Special Education Teachers | Math Manipulative Mania, Grades K-2 | Let’s unpack your math tools and explore the many different ways you can use them! Participants will have the opportunity to explore using math manipulatives in many different ways. See how hands on learning will increase engagement, the use of math process skills, and your students’ ability to understand math concepts. Participants will receive a set of the math manipulatives used during this training, valued at $200! |
| Grades 3-5 General Education and Special Education Teachers | Math Manipulative Mania, Grades 3-5 | Let’s unpack your math tools and explore the many different ways you can use them! Participants will have the opportunity to explore using math manipulatives in many different ways. See how hands on learning will increase engagement, the use of math process skills, and your students’ ability to understand math concepts. Participants will receive a set of the math manipulatives used during this training, valued at $200! |
| Grades K-3 General Education and Special Education Teachers | Math Workshop and Guided Math | Differentiation, student discourse and engagement are key elements to a successful mathematics classroom. This session will provide training on the characteristics of math workshop. We will discuss the twenty days of classroom culture and implementation of guided math. This workshop will help create a vision of how math classrooms can be a space for providing ALL students with an opportunity to access mathematical concepts and skills. |
| Grades PK-K General Education and Special Education Teachers | Early Childhood Math and Science Tools | In this workshop, participants will utilize tools that can be used in math and science for children ages 3-6. Become familiar with 5 frames, 10 frames, rekenreks, and science tools in order to increase engagement and understanding in math and science. Participants will take away many activity ideas that can be easily implemented in the curriculum! |
| Grades 2-5 General Education and Special Education Teachers | Fractions: From the Ground Up! | This workshop is vertically aligned and designed to build and/or enhance teachers' knowledge of the development and progression of concepts and skills around fractions from grades 1-5. Knowledge of these skills at each grade level will assist in developing a better understanding of the fraction concepts so that teachers can design effective fraction instruction that is scaffolded for purposes of closing student gaps. Participants will unpack the grade 1 to grade 5 fraction TEKS and engage in the use of strategies, models, tools/manipulatives and best practices. |
Secondary Professional Development
Audience |
Workshop |
Description |
|---|---|---|
| Grades 6 and 7 Math Teachers | Getting to Know the STAAR 6th and 7th Grade Math | Teachers of all experience levels will greatly benefit from this opportunity to dig into the make-up of the newly released STAAR tests. Participants will spend time exploring and familiarizing themselves with many TEA resources that give teachers insight into the format and content of the exam. Participants will also spend time reviewing allowable accommodations. Teachers will identify and study high priority TEKS based on regional data, and analyze released items related to those student expectations. Finally, the most recent STAAR-related TEA updates will be debriefed. |
| Algebra 1 Teachers | Getting to Know the STAAR: 8th Grade and Algebra 1 | Teachers of all experience levels will greatly benefit from this opportunity to dig into the make-up of the newly released STAAR tests. Participants will spend time exploring and familiarizing themselves with many TEA resources that give teachers insight into the format and content of the exam. Participants will also spend time reviewing allowable accommodations. Teachers will identify and study high priority TEKS based on regional data, and analyze released items related to those student expectations. Finally, the most recent STAAR-related TEA updates will be debriefed. |
| Secondary Math Teachers | Proportional Reasoning |
Proportional Reasoning is a HUGE topic in the middle grades, and many times our students struggle with related concepts on STAAR assessments. In this workshop, teachers take time to pin down the big ideas in proportional reasoning, and then we work through engaging activities that challenge students' misconceptions and that reinforce those underdeveloped concepts. Participants will be introduced to the ratio table and will explore using this simple tool to support proportional reasoning. Teachers will also take time to apply ratio tables to the most common types of proportion problems such as missing value and comparison problems. |
| Secondary Math Teachers: Grades 6-12 | Differentiate & Motivate With Math Stations | This workshop is designed to focus on the necessity of math centers. Participants will experience how to set up and manage math centers, and how to maintain engaging centers that empower students’ knowledge. |
| Secondary Math Teachers Grades 6-12 | Elevate, Enhance and Enlighten Your Math Classroom with a Digital Escape Room! |
Learn how to create a highly collaborative and engaging “Digital Escape Room” challenge for your students. The only tools required are a computer and access to your Google Drive! Use one of our computers or bring your own device to explore this unique approach to leveraging technology to engage with math content. Digital Escape Rooms are inclusive, easily differentiated, foster group collaboration and problem solving, and can even be used as STAAR/EOC review. You will walk away with a free example, the methodology behind the use of these games, ideas, and step-by-step instructions to create your own! |
| Secondary Math Teachers Grades 6-12 | Teaching with Desmos Technology: Secondary Mathematics | In this workshop, teachers explore activities that Desmos considers best-practice examples of teaching with technology, and they will also experience activities that have been developed by fellow teachers. After getting a feel for the best practices and the website's potential, teachers will dig in and practice using Desmos' Activity Builder to create new lessons and enhance existing lessons. For teachers who are looking to incorporate an easy-to-use online component into instruction, this workshop is a no-brainer. |
| Grades 6 and 7 Math Teachers | STAAR/EOC Stations for Mathematics: 6th and 7th Grade | There are lots of resources for STAAR review, but so many of them are booooooooring!!! Implementing stations and small groups is a great way to keep students engaged and vary activities so that student work on the standards that they need. Once they are working smoothly, they also free up the teacher to work with the struggling individuals and/or small groups that need the most help. |
| Algebra 1 Teachers | STAAR/EOC Stations for Mathematics: 8th Grade and Algebra 1 | There are lots of resources for STAAR review, but so many of them are booooooooring!!! Implementing stations and small groups is a great way to keep students engaged and vary activities so that student work on the standards that they need. Once they are working smoothly, they also free up the teacher to work with the struggling individuals and/or small groups that need the most help. |
| Algebra 1 Teachers | How to Teach Algebra 1 with the TI-Nspire | With a particular emphasis on Reporting Category 2: Describing and Graphing Linear Functions, Equations, and Inequalities, teachers will explore activities that facilitate development of linear concepts in Algebra 1. Technology can be a powerful lever for moving students’ understanding of linear concepts forward, and teachers will learn best practices for doing so. Common EOC strategies will also be reviewed. |
