http://www.langensteketee.com/Nan_and_Scott/CMC_Asilomar_2008/CMC_Asilomar_2008.html Here are some notes from the 2008 CMC North math conference at Asilomar. (CMC is the California Math Council. The Northern Section of CMC holds their annual conference at the Asilomar Conference Center, a stunning part of the California State Park system on the Monterey Penninsula, just north of Pebble Beach. The setting is stunning, with many buildings designed by Julia Morgan, a pioneering architect from a day when women were not welcome in that occupation. I’m rooming with Jerry Murdock (author of Discovering Algebra and Discovering Advanced Algebra), and our room has a patio overlooking the ocean. We could look out at night from the patio to see the moon reflecting off the water.<br/><br/>This is always an exciting and stimulating conference, so I made an effort this year to make notes about as many sessions as I could. Here are a few of those notes. iWeb 3.0.1 http://www.langensteketee.com/Nan_and_Scott/CMC_Asilomar_2008/Entries/2008/12/5_Formative_Assessment_%28Steve_Leinwand%29.html 64c4d4e0-6001-44ea-aba8-c7800e55b42d Fri, 5 Dec 2008 23:26:00 -0500 Steve began his presentation on formative assessment with a short demonstration modeling what not to do, pontificating about the importance of formative assessment while showing and reading slides chock-full of bullet points, with lots of energy but no audience interaction. The only hint he gave was when, at one point he saw somebody taking notes, he said, “Don’t you dare write this down!” He made the role so believable that I spoke with one teacher last night who walked out during the first three minutes without any idea what he was doing; fortunately most of us gave him more time than that, and were rewarded with a thoughtful and interactive presentation and experience of formative assessment. http://www.langensteketee.com/Nan_and_Scott/CMC_Asilomar_2008/Entries/2008/12/5_Two_Mathematical_Presentations.html 87c8c97d-0a82-4f6b-86e7-be4105cb7ae9 Fri, 5 Dec 2008 08:27:00 -0500 For Friday Session 3 Philip Mallinson from Exeter gave a very nice presentation on the topic “What is a Straight Line?”<br/>We explored the concept of a straight line on non-Euclidean surfaces, including these and more: How should a straight line be defined. What properties does it have? How do you define parallel lines? How many lines are defined by two points? <br/><br/>We first explored straight lines on a cylinder, which was pretty easy to model using an overhead transparency or a piece of paper. We talked about our definition, addressed the questions above, and found particularly interesting the question: In how many points can two lines intersect? What special role is played by self-intersecting lines and by generating lines? The ease of moving between the cylinder and the net, by rolling and unrolling the transparency, facilitated our investigations. http://www.langensteketee.com/Nan_and_Scott/CMC_Asilomar_2008/Entries/2008/12/4_The_Crisis_of_Numeric_Literacy_%28Ruth_Parker%29.html 05f0f117-9dd0-41b4-b2bc-33036eed20ab Thu, 4 Dec 2008 22:56:04 -0500 Ruth began by laying out five things that parents, administrators, and others concerned about math education need ongoing opportunities to learn:<br/>• That the ability to reason with numbers is essential<br/>• Why and how math programs need to look different from what parents experienced<br/>• That their own math education and for the most part ill-prepared them<br/>• That drill and practice should be provided in motivating and mathematically important contexts<br/>• How to help their children with their mathematics.