MassMATE 2011 Conference
May 25, 2011
at Bridgewater State University

Preparing to Lead in Times of Change
Common Core State Standards - Response to Intervention (RTI)

The 2011 MassMATE Symposium was a resounding success with over 250 attendees!
As teacher educators, teachers of mathematics, professional development providers, district math specialists, and consultants, our members are regularly involved in supporting teachers as they work to bring the Common Core State Standards alive in their classrooms and with their students. Through this symposium we will explore strategies and resources that support effective instruction.
We thank everyone who worked hard to make it happen!
Talk descriptions and useful links provided by the presenters are below.
You can also buy a descriptive essay if you are interested in a specific topic. This is relevant for those who, for one reason or another, missed several presentations at the conference, but received from the lecturer the task of describing issues, problems with the education system, methods of teaching certain subjects, and options for solving them, which were voiced at offline and online meetings.

Keynote Speaker: Commissioner Mitchell Chester
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Mathematics Education in the Era of College and Career Readiness

Common Core State Standards Sessions
Forty three states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have adopted the Common Core for mathematics.В  The purpose of our sessions is to give participants an overview of the changes and impact of this new direction. The sessions will cover the elementary, middle and high school grade ranges.В  Some of the key components of the Common Core will be highlighted including those topics that have remained the same, the new additions and the standards that have been moved to other grades.

Pre-K - Grade 5:
William Kendall Braintree Public Schools
Heather Machado Braintree Public Schools

Grades 6 - 8:
Guy Roy Math Consultant

Grades 9 - 12:
Lauren Forger Braintree Public Schools
Ray Cooper Braintree High School

Jim Matthews
Siena College

Interesting Mathematics Content Connecting the Eight CCS Standards for Mathematical Practice
Grades 4 – 10
We will explore deep and interesting mathematics for students. The material is problem based and connects number and operation, geometry, and algebra. Most of the mathematical practice standards will be addressed by the selected examples. We will also discuss how this material can be used as part of participants' own teacher development programs.

Life LeGeros
& Sharyn Sweeney
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Common Core: Connecting Standards of Mathematical Practice to Mathematical Content
Grades 9 – 12
Participants will take a tour of the 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics, Incorporating the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. We will pay special attention to the high school conceptual categories and model high school courses and will watch a video clip to identify a Standard of Mathematical Practice in action.

Victoria Graham
Weymouth Public Schools

Raymond LeBlanc
Brockton Public Schools

The Use of RTI in Formative Assessment
Grades K – 8
Explore how the RtI initiative and the three tier level of instruction can be catered to your classroom/district objectives in math. Learn how to utilize RTI in your classroom with differentiated group instruction. This presentation will also include examples of various curriculum based measurements that can be used for progress monitoring and formative assessments at the school and district level. Other topics to be covered will be the role of ancillary personnel in the implementation of the RTI model. Special emphasis will be placed upon the use of technology in assessing formative assessments to design specific RTI initiatives.

Anne Collins
Lesley University

A Look At The Common Core State Standards and Their Implications for Formative Assessment
Grades K – 16
Effective teaching is responsive teaching and we, professional development providers, need to understand how the mathematical practices beg the inclusion of formative assessment. We will examine the practices and how they might play out in each grade level when evidence of understanding informs our instruction.

Alejandra Salinas
Boston University

The Elementary Pre-Service Teacher's Mathematics Project: The role of tasks and discourse in learningВ 
General Session
The purpose of the Elementary Pre-service Teacher's Mathematics Project is to develop materials for mathematics teacher educators to use with future elementary school teachers. These materials have led to pre-service teachers participating in highly cognitive demanding tasks and classroom discourse that promote deeper understanding of the mathematical content they will need to teach. This presentation will highlight how these tasks were implemented in order to promote effective learning.
NOTE: This session is a follow up to the 2010 Symposium Keynote Address by Suzanne Chapin

RTI - Aiming at Algebraic Intervention:
Not Business as Usual
Grades 8 - 11
Aim at intervention: learn about essential elements for algebraic intervention by examining a successful, conctually based, standards-aligned program that supports struggling students through modules targeting common barriers to algebraic success. The intervention provides teacher support for each lesson. It is flexible implementation for grade levels and schedules.