Math Community Gathers in Lawndale for 2015 CGI National Conference
Three-day conference sponsored in part by the Cotsen Foundation for the ART of TEACHING was largest CGI National Conference to date with Cotsen teachers comprising nearly 20% of attendance.
LOS ANGELES — The Eighth Biennial Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) National Conference took place June 25-27, 2015 in Lawndale, California, hosting hundreds of educators dedicated to furthering their understanding of children’s mathematics.
Presented by the UCLA Mathematics Project and Teachers Development Group, the CGI National Conference kicked off Thursday, June 25, with a selection of gourmet food trucks sponsored by the Cotsen Foundation for the ART of TEACHING. Other conference sponsors included the Orange County Department of Education and the Downey Unified School District.
Regarded as one of the most effective instructional approaches to developing deep conceptual understanding of mathematics in students, CGI presses students to develop mental perseverance by grappling with difficult problems, think critically about the problems they are solving and communicate their thinking related to their problem solving strategies.
While a majority of registrants were from Southern California, some attendees came from Northern California and out of state. The ART of TEACHING program had a strong presence at the conference, with Cotsen fellows and alumni constituting nearly 20% of the 500 educators in attendance.
“This was this first time I attended a math conference that focused specifically on a researched based pedagogy,” said Atoosa Abascal, Cotsen alumna from Culver City’s Linwood Howe Elementary.
“It was an inspiring experience to be at an event attended by professionals that choose to value and honor students’ thinking. There is an underlying act of integrity when educators decide to increase or develop their level of understanding of CGI for the benefit of their students,” continued Abascal.
Inspired by the newly published second edition of Children’s Mathematics, the theme of this year’s conference was “Equity, Access, and Students’ Identities in the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics.”
Featuring more than 100 presenters and 70 sessions, the CGI National Conference offered a diverse agenda suitable for educators with varying levels of experience teaching CGI. Among the presenters were Joan Case, Carolee Koehn Hurtado, Nick Johnson, and Angela Chan Turrou, math specialists and consultants who collaborate regularly with the Cotsen Foundation for the ART of TEACHING. Several Cotsen alumni also presented at the conference. They included Teri Malpass (‘07), Danielle Moore (‘13), Kim Morchower (‘08), Nicole Moscoso (‘10), and Cathy Nguyen (’05, ’07, and ‘10).
“The conference definitely helped to deepen my understanding of CGI,” said Carly Payne, Cotsen alumna from Coeur D’Alene Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles. “Linda Levi and Linda Jaslow really opened my eyes when they talked about children’s relational thinking strategies and how they apply them to fractional computation. I also was loving Angela Turrou’s use of counting collections and how they were not just for primary but for upper grades as well.”
Keynote speakers Megan Franke and Tyrone Howard opened the conference by exploring how teachers can support their students to engage in productive mathematical struggle. Dr. Franke, one of the nation’s leading CGI experts, has had a longstanding and collaborative relationship with the Cotsen Foundation for the ART of TEACHING and has presented at Cotsen’s annual ART of TEACHING conference on several occasions.
The following morning, Elham Kazemi and Allison Hintz delivered a keynote focusing on creating classrooms where children can participate equitably. Vicky Jacobs and Susan Empson presented the final keynote address at the conference. In it, they discussed the ways in which teachers can continue mathematical conversations even after the student has given the correct answer.
“The keynote speakers and presenters provided great insight and really helped deepen my understanding of CGI and the importance of using our student’s knowledge and thinking to guide our instruction,” said Celia Sosa from Braddock Drive Elementary in Los Angeles.
Currently in her second year as a mentor in the ART of TEACHING, Sosa remarked, “I am looking forward to implementing some of the ideas I learned with my fellows this school year.”
The Cotsen Foundation for the ART of TEACHING was pleased to co-sponsor the CGI National Conference and support the professional development of teachers in an effort to enhance student learning in classrooms throughout California.