Submitted by: Pat Higgiston
We did a few rounds of the Rose/Bud/Thorn protocols to check in — first about where we were conferencing from (five Brooklyns, two Manhattans, one North Carolina, one Hawaii!), and then what has been working well in the time of distance learning and what has been challenging.
Many reported success in using tools like Seesaw, Classroom, and Jamboard, and in hearing more from students that we don’t often hear from in class. There was hope that we could bring some of our online tools back with us when we return to normal classroom teaching. Persistent challenges included using the brief time with have with our classes, and creating connections with students who are struggling.
We kept things light and short for all of the reasons meetings should be light and short right now. For our next and final meeting of the year, we hope to take advantage of NCTM’s 100 Days of Professional Learning, the program of livestreams and webinars, presenting the workshops that were intended for the Annual Conference this year but were cancelled along with it. We’ll also briefly look ahead to next year, acknowledging the persistent uncertainty while thinking about what recovery from this time will look like in the math program.