From the Editor’s Pencil
For the past couple of years, MCATA has been making a concerted effort to improve mathematical literacy in the classrooms of the province. The belief is that mathematics is more than a 45-minute class, more than the arithmetic we learned in early elementary school and more than the numerals and symbols on the pages of textbooks. Mathematics is a way of seeing and describing the world, and the arithmetic and symbols are only the grammar and spelling that allow us to communicate our understanding.
In these days of funding shortages and declining numbers of qualified math teachers, it becomes more and more incumbent upon us to encourage and support those for whom math is not a passion. In talking with colleagues, we often find that we are preaching to the converted regarding math literacy. The people we really need to reach are the others who are afraid of math.
Having not found my love for math until my 30s, I now find myself a bit of a zealot in promoting its wonders and beauty. It’s rather like the reformed smoker who is even more intransigent in dealing with smokers than someone who has never smoked. We must understand that for some of us math is scary, but the joy that comes with understanding is worth the risk of trying something different. Encourage those people to join MCATA, to network with other math teachers, to read delta-K and to experiment with problems that arise in the world. Make math meaningful, give teachers and students a practical reason to learn. Get energized. It truly is a wonderful and exciting way of thinking.
Anne MacQuarrie
From the Editor’s Laptop
Anne MacQuarrie
President’s Message
Cynthia Ballheim
NCTM/MCATA Regional Conference “Taking Mathematics to the Nth Degree”
Alberta Learning Update
Curriculum
Learning Technologies Branch
Learner Assessment Branch
NCTM Affiliate News
Affiliate Leaders’ Conferences
NCTM Website
Coming Soon to NCTM Members
Conferences
Executive Meeting Summary
Delightful Reads
TERM Meetings
Teachers of Mathematics in the Edmonton Region
Canadian School Mathematics Fora
Donna Chanasyk
MCATA Grants
Dr. Art Jorgensen Chair Award
Student Projects
Geri Lorway
Mentoring Experiment
Donna Chanasyk
