Welcome to the *NEW* Math and Numeracy Group

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the *NEW* Math and Numeracy Group in the LINCS Community!  I am the Subject Matter Expert for this group.  You can find out more about me on my profile https://community.lincs.ed.gov/users/brookeistas.

As new members to the group I would like to ask you to post a little introduction about yourselves and share how you plan to utilize this new on-line community (i.e., looking for lesson ideas, a forum to gather with other math and numeracy instructors, share challenges or successes in teaching, etc.). 

Please explore the NEW LINCS Community; I believe you are going to like our new look and feel.
Best,
Brooke

Comments

Hello Everyone!

My name is Faith Schauermann and I teach Mathematics at the University of New Mexico. I work at the Adult Learning Center where I instruct GED and Adult Basic Education students in mathematical concepts. I have been with this center since 2008 and enjoy encouraging students to strive for their goals.

What I hope to see in this forum is a place to share constructivist lessons that are GED specific, retention strategies, preferred texts and materials, and best practices of members.

I look forward to this opportunity to learn from others in this field.

Sincerely,

Faith Schauermann

Hello

My name is Maranda Miller and I'm presently a full-time doctoral student at University of Kentucky.  I was a mathematics professor at a private school with a focus on intermediate algebra and supervising the math lab.  After my first year as a professor I knew I needed to get another degree so I earned a Master's in Adult Education with a focus in mathematics and I was set..Hence why I'm working on my present degree with a concentration on mathematics education for post-secondary learners(GED bound and college degree bound).  

I hope to learn from this group and gain further insight when it relates to adult learners of mathematics.  I will say my focus area is math anxiety and how adult learners handle it.

Thanks!

Maranda Miller

I'm Susan Kidd, from the state of Washington. I work as a Progam Administrator for the ABE office of the State Board for Community & Technical Colleges. That's way too many words, but it gets across the idea that I work at the state level to support Adult Basic Skills. I am part of a team of Program Administartors responsible for program development. A few of my areas of interest are: messaging, learning standards, EL Civics, and math.

Fun fact: Washington is a geographically diverse state. I live on the eastern (dry) side of the Cascade Mountains where my husband and I have a winery and use sheep to tend our vineyard.

   Hello I am Carol. I have been teaching public school for 25 years now. The last 6 years have been as a teacher in our school disctrict's adult education program. My program is basically a one room school house where students can come and go as they need to. I am responsible for all the GED subject matter and all the high school subject matter as teacher, tutor, coach, and motivator.

  With the increased demands of our high school proficiency exams I need to increase my math/teaching knowledge so I can assist my students. In order to pass the Nevada Proficiency exam in math you must be proficient up to the Algebra 2 level (basically a C student) and you must be confident in doing complex multistepped problems. It is providing interesting challenges in educating adults, most of whom come with deficiencies in their understanding of math. (Warning Soap Box moment coming) What my students most need is an understanding of how to do fractions. I think 95% of the students come in unable to do basic problems in fractions. Something has to change in how we teach this essential skill! With the higher math I am so tired of the constant battle to find the links between items like the fact that our formula for areas of rectangles is length times width, but what you really need to know is it is base times height. This is because then it will make sense that 1/2 base times height would be a triangle's area and that a triangle set so that its base is one complete side and with its bisector  equal to the height/length/width/base of the rectangle is therefore by definition half the area of the rectangle....Breath..ok. For those to whom math and patterns come easily little things like this were obvious and really it isn't obvious to all of us, but too often that is forgotten in math education materials. My job is to find these spots and make the links where they are missing and that is a huge challenge for me because math and I are not always the best of friends.

My name is Kimberly Johnson and I am an Assistant Professor and the Director of ATLAS (ABE Teaching and Learning Advancement Systems) at Hamline University in lovely St Paul, MN.  ATLAS is the professional development center for Adult Basic Education and Adult ESL in MN, and professional development for numeracy teachers has been a priority for a few years now.

Through this list I am hoping to make some connections and keep abreast of new ideas and research.  In Minnesota we are exploring the best ways to indentify the critical content knowledge needed by teachers, find better ways to meet the math + language needs of English language learners, and help prepare all teachers for the math demands of the new GED. 

My name is Charles Burkitt. I usually go by Chip. I've been known to volunteer teach at our local GED center, though at present my work schedule does not allow it. I've had a lifelong, keen interest in math. I moved here from the Math and Numeracy Discussion List.

As a project director for the U.S. Division of World Education, I coordinate the online professional development initiative, managing the development and delivery of courses for adult educators.  We offer courses on the topics of college and career readiness, adult student persistence, differentiated instruction, and reading through ProfessionalStudiesAE.  

I also co-direct the LINCS Region 1 Professional Development Center, promoting and disseminating evidence-based resources and training materials, and partnering with states to provide evidence-based professional development. We just recently added Adult Numeracy Instruction Professional Development to our offerings.

I have worked in adult literacy since 1980, serving as an instructor and local program director, state consultant, program development director, training coordinator, and state outreach coordinator. 

My interest in joining the group is in learning more about the reseach and resources available as we think about new ways of teaching math/numeracy.

My name is Dani and I supervise adult education programs in various community and corrections sites.  I am interested in learning how to teach applied math in a way that reflects the new 2014 GED--integrated math with reading, responding in writing, etc. (contextual, multi-step math).  We want to prepare our instructors to meet the challenges of the new GED exam to fully support successful student outcomes.

Looking forward to this discussion!

d.