Think back to the last time you were told about a new restaurant and how you needed to go check it out. Your connection has told you that it was sure to be tasty, but you still weren't too sure. It's pretty hard to live up to the expectations that grammy and Aunt Erin have set the bar to in terms of food quality, presentation, and overall feel-goodness (sure, it's a word). This weekend, Matt Vaudrey and I had just that task.
Got a car packed full and headed north with @Jstevens009 for #LaCucinaMC. Picture Lewis & Clark, but with whiteboards and pipe cleaners.
— Matt Vaudrey (@MrVaudrey) January 9, 2014 To start with, any time you can get within arm's reach of Matt Vaudrey, enjoy it. He's funny, insightful, and above all else, personable beyond belief. OK, I'm done complimenting him for now.
Our theme for the day was La Cucina Matematica, and if you want the links, feel free to go HERE.
Appetizers:
The premise was to start the attendees with something tasty to whet the appetite. At the very beginning of the day, we had pitchers of water at each table. Even before introducing ourselves, we had the teachers in attendance estimate how many cups it would take to fill the pitcher. They didn't even know who we were, and we were already putting them to work. This could've either been disastrous or served as a springboard for the rest of the day.
Our theme for the day was La Cucina Matematica, and if you want the links, feel free to go HERE.
Appetizers:
The premise was to start the attendees with something tasty to whet the appetite. At the very beginning of the day, we had pitchers of water at each table. Even before introducing ourselves, we had the teachers in attendance estimate how many cups it would take to fill the pitcher. They didn't even know who we were, and we were already putting them to work. This could've either been disastrous or served as a springboard for the rest of the day.
Following the answer and introductions, we jumped right into the appetizers for the day. Thanks to the amazing people in the MTBoS (Math Twitter Blogosphere - don't yell at me about the name), there are tons of free kickstarters for any math classroom out there. Our job was to merely expose the teachers to each and get them excited about incorporating something into their classroom. For our appetizers, go HERE.
@jstevens009 doing a "would you rather" lesson! http://t.co/SIm8cCmD8k
— jcorippo (@jcorippo) January 10, 2014 
Entrees:
Looking for a delightful and hearty meal that your students can chew on? How about a delicious entree full of vitamins, nutrients, and common core Standards for Mathematical Practice? During this segment of the day, we went through some of our favorite performance tasks and 3-Act math that students can do while being tricked into completing math. Whether it was Barbie Zipline, the famous Mullet Ratio, or many of our other favorites, the members of the audience were chomping at the bit for more ways to engage their students. Our hope is that we didn't disappoint, and you can check them out HERE.
Looking for a delightful and hearty meal that your students can chew on? How about a delicious entree full of vitamins, nutrients, and common core Standards for Mathematical Practice? During this segment of the day, we went through some of our favorite performance tasks and 3-Act math that students can do while being tricked into completing math. Whether it was Barbie Zipline, the famous Mullet Ratio, or many of our other favorites, the members of the audience were chomping at the bit for more ways to engage their students. Our hope is that we didn't disappoint, and you can check them out HERE.
Side Dishes:
Any good meal has side dishes that accompany the flavor and essence that the main dish is attempting to bring out. During this section of the day, our goal was to show teachers that it's more than just the lesson that makes the content pop. Whether it is the integration of technology, costumes, musical cues, going outside, or simply adding hype, the need to pair a delicious lesson with a succulent side is pertinent. You can check out the side dishes HERE.
Dessert:
What good is a meal if you can't top it off with some dessert? This is the way that teachers find out how sweet the lesson really was, so we wanted to give them some options that break the norm. The big one is the Choose Your Own Assessment and you can read more about it HERE. One of the big points of emphasis was student choice and letting a student choose his/her strength to prove mastery. It was incredible when one teacher raised her hand and commented about how she never realized that she was being unfairly judgmental about getting student products that weren't in their wheelhouse. For our other dessert choices, go HERE.
Any good meal has side dishes that accompany the flavor and essence that the main dish is attempting to bring out. During this section of the day, our goal was to show teachers that it's more than just the lesson that makes the content pop. Whether it is the integration of technology, costumes, musical cues, going outside, or simply adding hype, the need to pair a delicious lesson with a succulent side is pertinent. You can check out the side dishes HERE.
Dessert:
What good is a meal if you can't top it off with some dessert? This is the way that teachers find out how sweet the lesson really was, so we wanted to give them some options that break the norm. The big one is the Choose Your Own Assessment and you can read more about it HERE. One of the big points of emphasis was student choice and letting a student choose his/her strength to prove mastery. It was incredible when one teacher raised her hand and commented about how she never realized that she was being unfairly judgmental about getting student products that weren't in their wheelhouse. For our other dessert choices, go HERE.
Take-Out Menu:
To wrap things up, we talked about Twitter and how effective it has been for the improvement of our teaching and the support that it provides. Seriously, all of you (math or not), thank you for being there for me whenever I need it. For our Take-Out Menu, go HERE.
Following the training, we offered an opportunity to go over some of the tech tips that we were using to make the presentation or some of our lessons. How did you do that video thingy? Where did you get that image? All of that fun stuff. One of the best conversations that I overheard was a guy asking for help with using Desmos. Yes, Matt and I are members of the Desmos Fan Club.
All in all, it was extremely exhausting. The planning, the time, the effort, the working around each other's schedules, the thinking about how to make it a day where people walk away with something meaningful, was a lot of stress. However, when we finished, I felt like a chef who had just endured rush hour at one of the best restaurants in Maricopa County. We are looking forward to bringing our meals to any district hungry enough to have us.
If you're interested, please let us know!
To wrap things up, we talked about Twitter and how effective it has been for the improvement of our teaching and the support that it provides. Seriously, all of you (math or not), thank you for being there for me whenever I need it. For our Take-Out Menu, go HERE.
Following the training, we offered an opportunity to go over some of the tech tips that we were using to make the presentation or some of our lessons. How did you do that video thingy? Where did you get that image? All of that fun stuff. One of the best conversations that I overheard was a guy asking for help with using Desmos. Yes, Matt and I are members of the Desmos Fan Club.
All in all, it was extremely exhausting. The planning, the time, the effort, the working around each other's schedules, the thinking about how to make it a day where people walk away with something meaningful, was a lot of stress. However, when we finished, I felt like a chef who had just endured rush hour at one of the best restaurants in Maricopa County. We are looking forward to bringing our meals to any district hungry enough to have us.
If you're interested, please let us know!
Thank you @Jstevens009 and @MrVaudrey for the great PD today. You really helped me see the resources for media that I don't have to create
— Jeran Ott (@jottedd) January 11, 2014 
Happy Fishing (and eating)
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