Category: Professional Learning

Acknowledging the Land: #o34melearns

5/17/2022

The Ottawa Zone for Mathematics Education is situated on the traditional and unceded territory of the divided nation of the Algonquin Peoples.

We are aware that Land claim negotiations between the Governments of Canada and Ontario, and the Algonquins of Ontario continue to this day (Algonquin Land Claim).

As a result of these negotiations, the First Peoples of this Land, who have been stewards of this land for millenia and who have been petitioning the government for nearly 2 1/2 centuries

native-land.ca

to establish a proper agreement (Keeptwo, 2021) will be able to experience "...[restoration of] historically significant sites…; contributions to the social and cultural objectives of [their] communities; and a foundation for economic development for the region" (Algonquin Land Claim).

This is exciting news, yet as inspiring as it all sounds, we must recognize that as settlers, we have much work to do to decolonize our own approaches to teaching and learning, and to share this with our membership.

Much of this work will be rooted in listening, in feeling, in honoring the land and its people, and co-creating welcoming and safe spaces, with our Indigenous partners. Our work will also involve engaging with various mathematical perspectives that we might all "circulate together" (Wiseman et al, 2017).

We are thankful for the examples of Indigenous stewardship--that is, of the land and of relationships within and across peoples--that we have the opportunity to learn and work as a Council, and to provide leadership for our colleagues in Math Education.

Niá:wen, Miigwech, Nakurmiik, Thank you.

New Web Resource

Periodically, we will be posting artefacts of our Council's journey into Reconciliation through Indigenous Education to this site.

Our intention, with utmost sincerity and respect, is to share our learning about how we see ourselves becoming Treaty people--certainly, as we all move closer to finally experiencing a Land agreement for the Algonquins of Ontario. As leaders in Mathematics Education, it is also important that we share our openness and vulnerability towards new learning for the benefit of our members.

Before continuing to the next section, please take a moment to acknowledge the land you’re on, its people, and your own connections to the land.

Artefacts of Learning & Leadership

Below, you will find examples of Land Acknowledgements we have constructed and used to open our meetings and events. Notably, each one is of considerable length. Our purpose is simple, yet incredibly powerful and so important. As a chapter, we have decided that we will research and embed historical perspectives, stories, and examples of how we can encourage our members to counter oppressive narratives, thus making new spaces and opportunities for our Chapter to truly make good on its vision:

Making teaching and learning mathematics accessible for all

An incredibly important aspect to achieving this vision must and will involve partnerships and collaborations with First Peoples groups in the Ottawa Zone.

If you have questions or comments, do feel free to reach out to our Executive. As a courtesy, we also ask that you innovate from any insights drawn from our activities and writings: it's important that we each do the work of understanding ways of knowing, being, and doing for ourselves. If you are interested in using any part of an Acknowledgment or other resource, please reach out to us using the contact form provided.

Acknowledgements:

Sources:

Keeptwo, S. (2021). We all go back to the land: The who, why, and how of land acknowledgements. Brush Education Inc.

The Algonquin Land Claim. ontario.ca. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2022, from https://www.ontario.ca/page/algonquin-land-claim

Wiseman, D., Glanfield, F., & Lunney Borden, L. (2017, September 11). How we are coming to know: Report. Show Me Your Math. Retrieved May 6, 2022, from https://showmeyourmath.ca/comingtoknow/report/

0 Comments

O34ME Supports! Building Towards Thinking Classrooms

6/13/2021

0 Comments

Using Dr. Peter Liljedahl’s Building Thinking Classrooms, the Chapter ran its first book study with incredible success!

Screen capture of book study participants during a Zoom meeting

To support our members’ participation:

books were purchased for OAME-O34ME members;
bi-weekly meetings were held from late March to mid-June, 2021 to explore the Introduction and Chapters 1 to 11 (of 15 chapters); and
meetings were held on Zoom, with interactive components (e.g., Jamboard), and small and whole-group discussions based on focus questions associated with each chapter.

Box filled with copies of the book, Building Thinking Classrooms

A Jamboard from Session 2

Our Impact!

All sessions were built upon participant feedback, which modeled openness to co-constructing and mobilizing knowledge across the group.

All members were open to sharing their thoughts and ideas both in- and post-session--even their challenges to practice and successes in trying different pedagogical strategies.

Overall, all members were open with sharing how much they appreciated and learned through the study, including their shifts in practice, as well as wonderings and challenges to the strategies detailed in the book. This provided a backdrop for respectful discussion, and on occasion, outreach to the committee for further support.

What else? Membership has grown through the study; new relationships have been built; continued interest in the study and chapter’s activities have been expressed; and opportunities for members to join Council have been created and shared.

Looking Ahead: Fall 2021

Although it was not possible, at this time, to study all chapters of the book, many members have expressed a desire to continue working with Building Thinking Classrooms during the 2021-22 school year. And we’ll be doing our very best to meet our members’ professional learning needs!

What to expect? With more educators exploring this pedagogy in their own practices, we'll be enriching our shared time with practical findings from the field--in the #OttawaZone!

In the meantime, we'd like to offer up some encouragement! And a sample of resources as insight to some of the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of the study’s organization, facilitation, and degree of participation.

Encouragement!

Check out our latest book study tweet on Twitter. Follow us :)
Join our Facebook Math Sharing Group! We're almost at 100 members!!
Bookmark our website! and blog!!

Invite a friend/colleague! Bring someone along to the next iteration of the book study. Recall: If they're an OAME member, we'll buy them the book! There's so much value in becoming an OAME member!! Here's how.

Sampling of Resources:

Session 1 slides (complete with active links embedded)
Free Book Study Guide from Corwin Education (includes an amazing set of focus questions)

Let's Connect!
On behalf of the O34ME Council and Professional Learning Committee, we wish you all the very best for a strong finish to the year and for a relaxing Summer.

Contact: Need to connect with O34ME? Use our Contact Form to ask questions, share concerns, and/or provide suggestions.

Contact

Yours in #mathedu

Chris Stewart
2019-22 O34ME President

0 Comments

2019 Fall Social: Getting Started with Networked Professional Learning

9/27/2019

0 Comments

On Sep 26, The Ottawa Zone for Mathematics Education, O₃4ME, held its annual Fall Social.

The Fall Social is the Chapter's first opportunity for members and non-members to meet one another, share and discuss their educational goals and plans for the year, and to do some networking--networking that can further support their professional learning.

2019/20 Council Members, Natalie Robinson & Chris Stewart

The evening began with introductions by this year's Chapter President, Chris Stewart, followed by an inspiring address by Dr. Marian Small, with networking between educators for the remainder of the evening. If you were unable to take part in this event, the introductory address (and slideshow) and highlights from Dr. Small's address are included in the remainder of this post.

President's Welcome Address & Slideshow

Welcome Address

*Highlights from Dr. Small

OAME 2019 Conference
The conference was a huge success:

Due in large part to the hard work and organization of a variety of teams
Reporting positive feedback from delegates--everything from the attributes of the venue to the quality and organization of food services
Well-attended even with constraints surrounding teacher release time and coverage
Revenues that will support OAME/AOEM and The Ottawa Zone for Math Educators (Zone d'Ottawa pour Enseignants en Mathematiques) in meeting their missions
In partnership with the University of Ottawa, OAME/AOEM promoted sessions and speakers in both official languages

Dr. Marian Small

Key Messages for Math Educators
Dr. Small also shared her perspectives on how educators might best navigate tensions associated with political unrest in Education. Essentially, leading in ways that promote conversation about the key issues is how we'll move forward to better meeting students' needs. Speaking clearly, acting respectfully, and being enlightened (educating oneself) are a few criteria for successful conversations with various shareholders in Math Education. To clarify one of these issues--"Back-to-Basics"--Dr. Small reminded the audience that students are performing well on knowledge-related items on provincial testing; where students are falling down is in relation to thinking and application problems. What this means is that we first need to distinguish and understand the differences between knowledge questions and those that promote student thinking. The latter type of question can result in deepened student understanding while helping students build the types of skills critical for employment and citizenship in today's world.
*NOTE: The highlights presented are not directly quoted; rather, they paraphrase the key aspects of Dr. Small's message to attendees.

Slideshow

Connecting to Our Guiding Principles
During Chris' address to attendees, he mentioned that every decision made on behalf of Membership is done through the lens of the Chapter's Guiding Principles. Below are links to examples of how events, like the Fall Social, demonstrate our commitment to supporting our Membership and the greater, Math Community.

Seeking Alignment to Our Strategic Priorities

☑A-To promote meaningful and actionable reflections on practice

Maintaining Your Focus