Gettin' my math on

So my last post was just about the first 2 sessions on the first day I was there (Thursday).  Now it is time for the other 3. Nix the Tricks (#436) (Tina Cardone @crstn85 and Ashli Black) First, go here Nix the Tricks I have read this before and worked with it in my department. Check out "13 Rules That Expire"  by Karp, Bush, and Dougherty. "If the student can explain the math behind it, then it's a shortcut.  If they can't, it's a trick." - Tina Cardone (@crstn85) "If you truly understand something, you should also understand the inverse." - Tina Cardone Ex:  Cross multiplication.  What undoes that?  Uncrossing?  Cross division? What does "cancel" mean?  (Basically, I need to stop saying cancel.  I can say "divide to be 1" or "add to be 0", etc.) -  http://mathmistakes.org/ -  http://www.visualpatterns.org/ - Notice and Wonder from The Math Forum - Illustrative Math's Progression of Frac...

@MrLewis_Math and I were fortunate enough to present in San Antonio at the 2017 NCTM Annual Meeting and Exposition.  Presenting was great but the sessions where we got to learn were the BEST! El Chapo & Geometry:  Using Current Events to Teach Proofs #300 (Erin Talley, Miranda Sanders, Jennifer Glendenning) This was a great session where the teachers used a current event to teach proofs.  At the time, they used El Chapo.  Important part to remember when choosing the event:  Make sure it is not too polarizing.  They had the class argue whether or not he should be extradited to the US. We were given handouts on how they organized the trial, formed the prosecution and defense, and taught the students the vocabulary. This moved to Geometry proofs and how they were handled in much the same way.  Students were asked to make a convincing argument.  They were given a packet of the theorems and postulates that they may need a packet of 8 proofs...