The PCMI 2018 Summer Session has three strands:

Math Course: Developing Mathematical Ideas

(2 hours per day, 14 days in session)

How do we find rational approximations of irrational numbers like pi and sqrt(2)? What happens to the solution sets of equations when we look only for integer solutions? In this course, teachers will deeply investigate fractions (of many flavors), greatest common divisors, and irrational numbers. The course is a set of intricately sequenced questions that engage participants in doing mathematics, providing participants with the opportunity for authentic mathematical discovery. Through this experience, participants develop habits of mind for thinking about and doing mathematics, deepening their mathematical intuition, sense-making, and reasoning skills.

 

Reflecting on Practice: Teaching for Learning

(75 minutes per day, 14 days in session, plus opportunities for informal sessions in late afternoon and evenings)

Teaching consists of many moving parts including choosing tasks, managing discussions, providing feedback, and motivating students to learn. Participants will consider research related to teaching and learning mathematics with a particular focus on developing both conceptual knowledge and procedural fluency. The discussion will be grounded in the study of lessons and classroom practice in both the United States and other countries as participants work collaboratively to better understand how they can design experiences for all of their students that will enable them to grow as learners of mathematics.

 

Working Groups

(2 hours per day, 14 days in session)

As part of their summer activities, each participant selected for the Teacher Leadership Program will be assigned to one of three options: 1) a small team that will focus on an developing an activity related to providing resources to support teachers as they implement standards for mathematical proficiency in their schools and districts or on an TLP academic year outreach project, 2) a special working group attending a course related to the PCMI research math topic Harmonic Analysis or 3) a working group on lesson study, which will design and deliver a lesson to area high school students during the three-week session and revise the lesson for use by other mathematics educators.