CMC 2021 was AMAZING! Is was so great to attend an in person conference with so many great presenters. Here are some of my biggest takeaways:

1. Attending a conference with a team of thinking partners makes it so much more valuable. Thank you Abbey Shaw Linder and Kristy Guerrero for spending two amazing days with me.
2. The California Math Framework vote for final approval was delayed until July 2022. That will have an impact on the State math textbook review and adoption timeline as one of the functions of the framework is to give direction to textbook publishers.
3. The textbook industry has taken a strange twist. The Gates Foundation funded the writing of a free and open source program in math, as well as other subjects. Our 6th grade has been using the free Open Up program for several years. Now several textbook companies have made a few minor changes and have repackaged that free program and have put it up for sale. Kendall Hunt, Desmos, McGraw Hill, and Amplify have or are in the process of repackaging that free program and selling it on the open market. I wonder how many districts will adopt some version of Open Up?
4. Jen Hunt’s All Gain Access Through Play: 8 Games for Learning Recovery workshop reminded that some of the best intervention and practice is in the form of games but sometimes the competition can cause kids to shut down. Turn competitive games into cooperative games to get the most from students in this setting.
5. For students who have not mastered a skill, some just need more time and practice while others need more prerequisite knowledge. For student who need prerequisite knowledge go back to concrete and conceptual understanding.
6. Steve Wyborney says, “the person doing the talking is doing the learning.”
7. Cathay Williams says do creative mathematics together to build a community of learners. She also emphasizes making learning visual, like this:                                                                                                          
8. Robert Kaplinsky used 162 slides to teach me that the best problems and tasks use many of these elements: simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and stories.
9. Annie Fetter reminded me that answers are one of the least interesting part of math class. How we get those answers is among the most exciting part of class.
10. Graham Fletcher created some really great math progression videos https://gfletchy.com/progression-videos/
11. Peter Liljedahl’s Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics is a MUST READ. The book describes 14 teaching practices to enrich math learning. He spent 15 years observing over 400 teachers and experimented in two week cycles to come up with this list:                                                                                                                              .                                                                                                                            In number 1, a thinking task is as simple as using a problem for your textbook, before you teach the lesson.
12. Annie Fetter taught me that when kids are stuck, have them go back and do more noticing and wondering.
13. Annie Fetter also suggested that we build in notice and wonder after each number talk to allow students time to process the strategies and student thinking displayed on the whiteboard.
14. CMC puts on an amazing conference. The top notch presenters, exhibitors, and attendees have made a lasting impact on my teaching.