Affiliate News

AMTEC (Connecticut)

 

The Connecticut chapter of AMTE, AMTEC – the Associated Mathematics Teacher Educators in Connecticut, convened its board additional times this summer in an effort to determine how to best support our members during these uncertain times. To respond, we are hosting a 3-session series during July and August on Teaching Teachers at a Distance, Engaging Preservice Teachers in Higher Order Math Online, and Student Teaching and Clinic Placements, where we engage guests from the CT State Department of Education. Looking ahead, a major goal for the fall is to keep our community connected and supporting one another in this constantly evolving context. We also hope to find time and energy to pick our heads up from the pandemic situation and discuss issues related to race, justice, and equity in mathematics education.

 

We held elections in March, at a Business Meeting we were lucky enough to get in a week before shut down, and are embarrassed to say we mis-reported our newest elected officials. In our corrected statement, we are pleased to welcome to our executive board Mary Truxaw (University of Connecticut) and Elizabeth Salgado (Central CT State University)!

 

AMTE-TX (Texas)

 

The Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators in Texas welcomes all mathematics teacher educators who are affiliated with the state of Texas. At our 2019 Fall Conference, we hosted Dr. Michael Steele, President of AMTE, as we gathered at Baylor University to discuss research and issues around mathematics teacher education. Due to COVID-19, we were held our AMTE-TX Business Meeting virtually, and we had to postpose the 2020 Fall Conference that was slated to be held in Corpus Christi. We plan to host the 2021 Fall Conference in San Antonio, TX, and we welcome any and all mathematics teacher educators who are affiliated to attend. In Fall 2022, we will hold the conference in Coprus Christi. Visit our web site for more information, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter@AMTETx.

 

This calendar year, we plan to meet virtually as an organization and to provide support for mathematics educators in Texas as they continue to support practicing and up and coming teachers in our state. Common concerns among our membership are the challenges of doing our work with limited opportunities to work directly with teachers and students in K-12 schools, and re-designing our professional development, research plans and teacher education courses with these limitations. We know that despite these challenges, Texas math educators are using the best approaches, innovative methods, and learning to use technology to ensure effective mathematics teaching and learning is happening in Texas.

 

As of the date of this submission, we are discussing possible seminars and dates to support our members this fall and possibly in the spring of 2021. We encourage our Texas Mathematics Educators to follow us on Facebook and Twitter@AMTETx, or check our AMTE-Tx Website for updates on upcoming opportunities.

 

MI-AMTE (Michigan)

 

MI-AMTE is glad to share that we have a new Professional Development Committee to enhance our work as teacher educators and professional developers. Meghan Shaughnessy is leading the committee and will work with Elizabeth Petit Cunningham, Nicole Garcia, and Denny St. John. They are currently surveying the membership to make some data-informed decisions about this committee’s work. Some of the potential activities of this committee include: (1) webinars focused on the four core teaching practices that have been adopted by Michigan Department of Education to work on in teacher preparation; (2) discussion sessions to follow up on the webinars in grade-band specific ways; (3) online book clubs; and (4) unstructured meeting times to talk and collaborate with other MI-AMTE members on topics of mutual interest.

 

WI-AMTE (Wisconsin) 

 

WI-AMTE is hosting three professional develop opportunities in September and October: 

1) A Dynamic Discussion on NCTM/NCSM statement on online learning. It will be on September 24 at 7 PM at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81647806966. 

2) A paper study on the article Design Principles for Examining Student Practices in a Technology-Mediated Environment on September 10th at 7 PM. People can sign up at https://forms.gle/c3w2xJwrJdfqoGM78. 

3) A book study on the elementary and middle school Catalyzing Change Books on Thursdays in October. More information can be found at our website wiamte.org.

 

AMTE-NC (North Carolina)

 

The North Carolina Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators [AMTE-NC] affiliate hosted our third annual Back to School Event on August 3rd. We had approximately 30 members from across the state come together for a half day virtual mini-conference. This year’s opening session was focused on developing as anti-racist mathematics teacher educators. We had a wonderful lineup of speakers to jump start our discussions for the day: Jared Webb (North Carolina A & T), Brain Lawler (Kennesaw State University), Eva Thanheiser (Portland State University), Stacy Eleczko (Wake County Public Schools), and Lisa Ashe (NC Department of Public Instruction). We followed this session up with breakout sessions in which the discussion was continued with a focus on identifying actions each of us might take in our own work this semester. The second part of the conference was spent in small groups of similar instructional contexts for the fall (e.g., hybrid, socially distant face to face, fully online synchronous or asynchronous) to discuss concerns and identify solutions to best meet the needs of our students. While we were sad not to gather in person, it was a wonderful day together and a great way to kick off the semester! 

 

As we move into the fall semester we are transitioning more of our traditional events to virtual experiences. For example, each fall we host a preservice teacher poster session at the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference. This event is a great way for our preservice teachers to participate in the conference and learn about the proposal process in a low risk setting. Since the conference has been cancelled, we have decided to host a virtual poster session. It will take place during the week of November 9th with posters hosted online and slow chats occurring throughout the week. We are excited about the expanded accessibility of the event for preservice teachers who might not have been able to make it to the conference to participate under normal circumstances. To read more about the AMTE-NC Preservice Teacher Virtual Poster Session check out our new AMTE-NC website at amtenc.org! 

 

 

Managing your Affiliate Page in the AMTE Affiliates Directory

 

Is your affiliate’s page in the AMTE Affiliates Directory up to date? One representative from each affiliate can be granted access to edit that affiliate’s information in the online directory. Each affiliate page includes an overview section that can link to the affiliate website, a list of affiliate leaders, and a section for additional information.

To find out more about managing your affiliate’s webpage, go to https://amte.net/affiliates/manage  The link to the AMTE Web Team provides an easy way to register or change your affiliate representative. 

Your AMTE Affiliates Connections Committee

The 2020 ACC members and the regions/affiliates they serve appear below.

Hartono Tjoe	ACC Chair	Facilitates all ACC Reps
Torrey Kulow	West Region	OR, CA, UT, TX, WME
Diana Moss	Midwest Region	MI, IA, IL, IN, MO, WI
Dana Franz	Southeast 1 Region	MD, NC, SC, GA, VA
Jennifer Fillingim	Southeast 2 Region	FL, TN, MS, AL, KY
Hartono Tjoe	Northeast Region	MA, CT, NJ, PA

The Affiliates Connections Committee and Chair can be contacted through the email address: amteaffiliate@gmail.com or through contact information provided at https://amte.net/committee/affiliate-connections-committee.