Math  Shifts  Symposium  for  High  School  &  College  Practitioners  

October  31,  2014  -­  College  of  DuPage  -­  Room  SRC  2000  -­  8:00-­12:00    

The  purpose  of  this  symposium  is  to  analyze  and  study,  from  a  practitioner’s  perspective,  major  shifts  that  are  occurring  in  mathematics  education,  with  a  lens  focused  on  the  the  successful  transition  from  high  school  to  college.  While  a  June  28  New  York  Times  editorial  indicted  both  K-­12  schools  and  U.S.  colleges  for  PISA  math  scores  that  leave  the  U.S.  “battling  it  out  for  last  place  among  developed  countries,  along  with  Hungary  and  Lithuania” ,  1

there  has  been  little  attention  paid  to  the  pragmatic  concerns  that  must  be  addressed  in  order  to  implement  a  major  shift  in  math  expectations  and  performance  at  both  the  high  school  and  college  level.  

 This  shift  took  on  a  new  sense  of  urgency  this  summer,  when  ISBE  announced  it  would  implement  the  PARCC  Algebra  II  /  Integrated  Math  3  end-­of-­course  assessment  as  an  accountability  measure  for  high  schools.  This  new  assessment  has  two  different  sub-­tests  that  include  a  “performance  based  test”  in  early  spring  and  an  “end-­of-­year”  test  in  late  spring.  Students’  scores  on  the  PARCC  assessment  can  exempt  them  from  placement  in  remedial  level  college  courses,  and  some  expect  that  these  exams  may  be  used  for  college  admissions  decisions  within  the  next  five  years.    The  new  PARCC  exams  are  built  to  assess  student  mastery  of  skills  identified  in  the  Common  Core  State  Standards  standards  that  Illinois  adopted  in  2010.  Many  suburban  high  schools  administered  the  PARCC  field  tests  last  spring,  and  the  feedback  we  received  from  our  students  who  participated  reflected  a  broad  consensus  that  these  tests  are  very  different  than  the  math  exams  they  had  taken  previously.  Not  only  do  the  tests  expect  a  much  higher  level  of  proficiency  from  our  students,  but  they  expect  them  to  apply  math  in  scenarios,  not  just  complete  operational  /  “naked”  problems.  

 The  agenda  for  the  symposium  centers  on  three  key  shifts  that  are  being  asked  of  math  educators  as  a  result  of  this  changing  landscape.  Panel  participants  are  actual  professionals  from  the  field  who  are  currently  grappling  with  these  changes  in  suburban  high  school  and  college  classrooms.   Sponsored  by    

 

   

   

1  “Americans  Think  We  Have  the  World’s  Best  Colleges.  We  Don’t.”  from  The  New  York  Times,  June  28,  2014  

   8:00  -­  9:00  -­  Panel  1  -­  The  New  Tests  Assessing  The  “New  Math”      Learn  about  the  skills  the  Common  Core  math  standards  emphasize  and  how  the  PARCC  

test  questions  ask  students  to  apply  these  skills  to  novel  real-­world  scenarios.  While  this  

emphasis  on  applied  math  problems  is  not  really  “new”  it  is  certainly  a  departure  from  the  

focus  on  operational  /  “naked”  math  curricula  that  was  prominent  prior  to  the  Common  Core.  

Hear  from  high  school  and  college  math  educators  about  the  instructional  shifts  these  

combined  forces  demand  in  their  classrooms.  

 Jim  Bradley,  Professor,  College  of  DuPage  Robert  Cappetta,  Professor,  College  of  DuPage  Matt  Foster,  Math  Specialist,  Waukegan  Public  Schools  Chad  Shepherd,  Math  Department  Chair,  Pontiac  High  School  Paul  Stevenson,  Math  Teacher,  Downers  Grove  South  High  School  Scott  Miller,  Math  Department  Chair,  Naperville  Central  High  School  Susie  Morrissey,  Professor,  Illinois  Institute  of  Technology  Joann  Purcell,  Math  Teacher,  Downers  Grove  North  High  School  

   

 9:00  -­  10:00  -­  Panel  2  -­  Forcing  Kids  to  Love  Math!  :)    Listen  to  mathematics  educators  from  the  high  school  and  college  levels  discuss  the  

challenge  of  making  math  education  appealing  to  students  with  a  broad  range  of  interests.  

Policymakers  obviously  think  it  is  important  that  American  students  become  more  proficient  at  

applying  math  skills,  so  how  do  we  motivate  students  to  feel  the  same?  

 Jim  Bradley,  Professor,  College  of  DuPage  Erica  Hotsinpiller,  Professor,  College  of  DuPage  Sachin  Jhunjhunwala,  Math  Teacher,  Evanston  Township  High  School  Jeff  Keller,  Math  Teacher,  Lincoln-­Way  High  School  Scott  Miller,  Math  Department  Chair,  Naperville  Central  High  School    Gorjana  Popovic,  Professor,  Illinois  Institute  of  Technology  Candice  Sagliano,  Math  Teacher,  Lake  Park  High  School  Neil  Weisman,  Math  Teacher,  Oak  Park  River  Forest  High  School  

         

     

   10:00  -­  11:00  -­  Panel  3  -­    Opening  the  Gates  to  Positive  Experiences  in  Math  Courses    Too  often,  at  both  the  high  school  and  college  level,  math  courses  are  seen  as  rite  of  

passage  courses  that  serve  as  gatekeeping  mechanisms  to  sort  “math  kids”  from  “not  math  

kids”.  How  can  we  make  this  threshold  less  imposing  to  help  students  stay  on  a  rigorous  

course  pathway  in  high  school  and  make  a  positive  high  school  to  college  transition?    Listen  

high  school  and  college  level  educators  discuss  possible  strategies  for  keeping  more  

students  in  rigorous  high  school  courses  and  reducing  the  number  of  students  who  begin  

their  college  math  experience  in  a  remedial,  non-­credit  bearing  course.  

 Jim  Bradley,  Professor,  College  of  DuPage  Robert  Cappetta,  Professor,  College  of  DuPage  Peter  Decraene,  Math  Teacher,  Evanston  Township  High  School  David  Elliott,  Math  Department  Chair,  Glenbard  East  High  School  Jonathan  Heldman,  Math  Department  Chair,  Downers  Grove  North  High  School  Mary  O’Sullivan,  Director  of  Mathematics,  J.S.  Morton  High  School  Chris  Rugg,  Math  Division  Head,  Elk  Grove  High  School  Kristen  Yoshida,  Math  Teacher,  Hinsdale  South  High  School  Kathy  Young,  Math  Department  Chair,  Lemont  High  School  

   11:00  -­  12:00  -­  Buffer  Time  if  Panels  Go  Long  /  Table  Conversations  /  Networking