I just finished presenting a workshop for the Association of Illinois Middle Schools Annual Conference in Normal, Illinois (home of Illinois State Univ.) and enjoyed it tremendously. I had the pleasure of interacting with 150 middle school teachers and once again working with the AIMS staff – a real class act! Here’s what the AIMS Executive Director had to say in her March Newsletter:
Deb Discusses… The Aha! Moment
A brief chat with Deb Schrock, AIMS Executive Director
Back in December of 2006, I was facilitating the Bill Lombard workshop in Lisle. His topic was Activities to Engage ALL students in Algebra. That’s when I had my first aha! moment for math. From that moment on…..it made sense to me.
Let’s be truthful …math and I were never square (clever) with each other. I struggled with it and it struggled with me. For some reason, math just didn’t’ click until Bill Lombard’s training.
The funny thing is…I heard others saying the exact same thing. Math educators saying, I never thought about doing an activity like that (menu math activity) to help students pick up on the meaning and use of variables.
During Bill’s training I had an opportunity to sit and do work with one of the teacher teams attending. I know – they were thinking about how they were going to use this really ingenious strategy in their classroom and how their students would be able to engage in a more active role in the learning. Not me…..I figured out the problem ….I got the X and I knew how I got it!
Don’t get me wrong…..I was able to stumble my way through the many levels of math classes in high school, college and graduate school….but for the first time in my life. I got why X was X.
I tell you this story because AIMS is having this incredible man back in our state.
In the book, You Can Do It! How to Boost Your Child’s Achievement in School by Michael E. Bernard (Warner Books 1997), Bernard talks about “teachers presenting an appropriate level of academic challenge, the educator adjusting the difficulty level of the assignment and project so that students find that, with effort and some guidance and instruction when they need it, they will be successful. The more your child spends time stretching and reaching to master academic material, knowing that his teacher is available when needed, the higher his achievement will be.” Hooking into what connects with your students is a huge motivator for keeping your students moving forward and upward. That’s why I ‘m so excited about the opportunity to have Bill Lombard help you connect with your students in math!
The Summer SPLASH will be on Tuesday, June 23rd in Normal. The trainer is math wizard Bill Lombard. He is what I call a “gentleman’s trainer”. He moves quickly through activities that engage adults and translate amazingly into teaching your students.
Bill called the other day to check in about some of the details about Summer SPLASH…..he was sharing some of his most recent math activities…it was incredible. I know that you will be amazed, too, when you come be part of the day and have your aha! moment. You will definitely grow as an educator and instructional strategist.
Please call the AIMS office if you have any question about the Summer SPLASH. Remember - AIMS is always looking for a way to bring you the best in professional development,
Come grow with us and Catch the MATH Wave!
Deb
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