Dear Heroes of Adult Numeracy & HSE Math,
The 2019 ANN Under 10 talks have been posted!
Watch them here: https://adultnumeracynetwork.org/under10/
Some Background:
From its inception over 25 years ago, the Adult Numeracy Network has looked for ways to connect adult numeracy teachers across the United States.
In 2017, ANN started ANN Under 10, a networking event sponsored by ANN at the annual Coalition for Adult Basic Education (COABE) conference. At ANN Under 10, adult basic education (ABE/HSE) teachers give talks of 10 minutes or less in which they describe something that is driving them in their classrooms. Each talk shares a story and ends with a call-to-action for ABE/HSE teachers like yourself.
In addition to energizing the learning and teaching of the folks in the room, ANN Under 10 is trying to find ways to reach teachers in their own communities by live-streaming the event as it happens and then by posting the videos of the talks at www.adultnumeracynetwork.org/under10
2019 ANN Under 10
The third annual ANN Under 10 took place on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 in New Orleans. These are the teachers, themes, and titles of the talks:
- Abby Roza, a native of Queens NY, now teaches all subjects to students in a one-room schoolhouse at a county correctional facility in Minnesota.
In her talk, "Expectations, Outcomes," Abby reflects on the impact of low expectations have had on her teaching and her students and challenges herself, and all of us, to call upon the power of "yet" to imagine, and then build, a culture of higher expectations in adult basic education. Math education for our students is a social justice issue and Abby is suiting up.
- Patricia Helmuth has been an ABE teacher for eleven years. She specializes in working with classes of students at all ability levels. In 2018, she created a guide called, Push & Support Cards: A Bridge to Advanced Mathematics for the Multi-Level Adult Education Classroom Curriculum Guide. She also created a guide for hosting Student Numeracy Adventure Events, which have been staged throughout the Northeast. Patricia was in the founding cohort of the NYS Teacher Leader Project. She is a member of the ANN Board and the editor of this newsletter.
In "Take the Lid Off the Box", Patricia shares her vision of what high expectations can look like in the ABE math classroom. Adult basic education classes are often one-room school houses, and Patricia’s is no exception. She wanted to learn how to serve her students, giving individualized instruction while at the same time, providing all of them with equal access to the same high cognitive level math tasks. This is her story.
- Steffany Chaisson hails from Houma, Louisiana and taught 13 in a high school before coming to adult education. In addition to teaching, she serves on the state educational board for Louisiana.
Steffany is fascinated by her students reasoning, whether it resulted in a right or wrong answer and asks questions that focus on student thinking, multiple-strategies, and justification. In "How Do You Question Math?", she explains why questions are at the core of her math instruction and how she uses them to reframe students’ negative ideas about themselves and math. Her call-to-action dares us to imagine teaching a lesson only asking questions, without giving answers.
- Christin Eli Smith currently learns about teaching, math and art in Berea, Kentucky. She has taught high school and adult education math in New Orleans, and now develops mathy curriculum. Christin is an ANN board member, serving as the webmaster.
We’ve all had that experience where we tell someone we teach math and out pours the negative experiences and self-doubt. It feels like we are losing the battle to #IHateMath. But if everyone hates math, why is viral math a thing? In her talk, "Making Math Viral," Christin address the stakes, avows her math evangelism, and shares her hope that we can harness curiosity and controversy to transcend math trauma.
Watch the videos and be inspired!
These talks were given in the spirit of collaboration for a field that is passionate about doing the best for our students. They are meant to be watched and discussed. Please share the videos with your colleagues and talk about what resonates.