Learning Opportunity

Making Mathematics Learning Visible Introduction

Facilitator: John Almarode
Date:May 01, 2020
Time:9:00 am to 3:30 pm MTN
Cost:
$150.00
(includes lunch [which is not prepared in a nut/gluten-free environment] and a copy of the book "Visible Learning for Mathematics" by John Hattie et al.)
Location: Edmonton (Fantasyland Hotel)
17700 - 87 Avenue
Google Map
Session Code: 20-MA-070
Focus: Mathematics and Numeracy

Target Audience

K-12 Teachers, Numeracy/Math Teachers, Administrators

About this Learning Opportunity

Is this going to be on the test? Why do we have to know this? Is this for a grade? Can you tell me what I need to do to get this right? These questions haunt each and every mathematics teacher that is on the receiving end of such inquiry. When inspired and passionate teachers create an environment that fosters and nurtures deep learning, questions like these evaporate from our schools and classrooms while our students deep dive into learning. Over the past fifteen years, the science of learning has provided many insights into how we learn mathematics – the process of progression from surface, to deep, to transfer learning. Furthermore, these promising principles provide a starting point for inspired and passionate teachers to build the capacity in learners for deep and transfer learning in the mathematics classroom. This workshop shows you how! Participants will experience targeted and specific strategies for finding the right level of rigor, striking the ideal balance between surface and deep learning, and identifying the perfect level of challenge for each student regardless of their mathematics level. Practicing what we preach, participants will take part in an out-of-your-seat experience that models the promising principles from science of learning for deep thinking and understanding: simple to complex, concrete to abstract, and the idea that memory is the residue of thought.

This session addresses the LQS competencies

  • 2. Modeling Commitment to Professional Learning
  • 4. Leading a Learning Community
  • 6. Providing Instructional Leadership

This session addresses the TQS competencies

  • 2. Engaging in Career-Long Learning
  • 3. Demonstrating a Professional Body of Knowledge
  • 4. Establishing Inclusive Learning Environments

This session is being offered on a cost recovery basis.

About the Facilitator

Dr. John Almarode is an Assistant Professor at the College of Education at James Madison University. As a teacher, he has worked with all age groups in education, from pre-kindergarteners to graduate students. John began his career in Augusta County, Virginia, teaching secondary mathematics and science to a wide range of students.

As a staff developer, John has presented locally, nationally, and internationally in countries as far away as Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Korea, and Thailand. He has worked with thousands of teachers, dozens of school districts, and organizations including the Council for Exceptional Children, National Science Foundation, International Schools Group, Division of Early Childhood, Virginia Association for Early Childhood Education, Tennessee Association for the Education of Young Children, Southeast Regional Professional Development Center, The Leadership and Learning Center, Jensen Learning, Virginia Department of Education, Virginia’s Training Technical Assistance Centers, Campus1, P. Buckley Moss Foundation, National Science Teachers Association, and the Virginia Association of Science Teachers.

John has conducted staff development workshops, keynote addresses, and conference presentations on a variety of topics including student engagement, evidence-based practices, creating enriched environments that promote learning, and designing classrooms with the brain in mind. John’s action-packed workshops offer participants ready-to-use strategies and the brain rules that make them work. He has authored several articles, reports, book chapters, and two books including Captivate, Activate, and Invigorate the Student Brain in Science and Math, Grades 6 - 12 (Corwin Press, 2013) and a children’s book (Author House, 2010) to help educators inform students about their amazing brains.

In addition to his work with schools and in-service teachers, John is a member of the faculty at James Madison University in the College of Education. As a member of the Department of Early, Elementary, and Reading Education, John works with pre-service teachers, and actively pursues his research interests including educational neuroscience, the design and measurement of classroom environments that promote student engagement, interest and engagement in STEM disciplines, specialized STEM high schools, interventions for low socioeconomic populations, college and university laboratory schools, and the translation of American education pedagogy in international schools. The work of John and his colleagues has been presented at the United States Department of Education as well as the Office of Science and Technology Policy at The White House.

John holds a Doctoral Degree in Science Education from the University of Virginia, a Master’s Degree in Teaching with an emphasis in Gifted and Special Education, and a Bachelor’s Degree, with Honors, in Physics and Mathematics.