Singapore Math offers new summer webinar series for educators

Singapore Math publisher Marshall Cavendish Education has introduced a new, professional development webinar series for teachers of grades K-5 scheduled throughout August.

These Back-2-School with Math professional development math webinars give teachers confidence and inspiration as they learn math strategies on planning a successful school year for students, and parent involvement using Mathematical Practice Standards. After teachers in a recent customer survey listed back-to-school topics at the top of their wish lists for professional development, the new webinars were designed to help teachers establish routines and best practices at the beginning of the school year to improve student success in math. The live online trainings are provided by outstanding teacher presenters during a small window of time before school starts that saves most of a busy teacher’s day to get ready for back to school. Teachers can interact with the trainers and each other.

Back-2-School with Math webinars support any math curriculum or classroom style. Educators are invited to attend an affordable 60-minute webinar to learn methods on how to have a successful school year with some planning to improve students’ learning experiences and understanding of math concepts. Administrators can easily provide this support to their entire staff with whole school webinars that run 90 minutes. The focus is on establishing math routines as students transition to school after summer break. There are two types of webinars:  grade-specific for each grade K-5 for individual classroom teachers, and those grouped by grade-ranges of K-2 and 3-5 for whole schools. Webinars are available at multiple times in August, starting on Thurs. Aug. 4 and Fri. Aug. 5 for the West Coast. More opportunities are available on Aug. 8-10, and for the East Coast Aug. 29-Sept. 2.

When teaching math, teachers need to create an engaging and memorable experience for all types of learners in their classrooms. During this webinar, participants will:

• Hear directly from author Genevieve Collura of “Singapore Math Fact Fluency”
• Learn how to prepare and plan for math for the school year
• Discover strategies and tips for setting up math routines that will help to improve learning and have a productive new school year
• Follow the Singapore Math approach and Mathematical Practice Standards
• Learn current Best Practices for Math Instruction

According to a white paper published by the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) in 2015, as increased rigor in mathematics education and educational technologies rise, so rises the demand for quality professional development in both areas. It says that research strongly indicates a need to better prepare teachers in mathematics content knowledge and instruction. The paper mentions that professional growth can be pursued through online learning, as it offers a great wealth of resources and opportunities to interact with a national community of educators.

“Teachers are looking for professional development support as they adjust their classroom methods to implement the latest math standards, which call for students to gain deep conceptual understanding of math and to connect mathematics to their lives,” said Vivian Cheng, Area Director US, at Marshall Cavendish Education. “Our Back-2-School with Math professional development webinars bring together some of the best teacher presenters in short programs for teachers that can have a lot of impact in improving the math instruction experience for students.”

Teacher Trainers
Participants in Back-2-School with Math webinars will benefit from engaging, highly-qualified teacher presenters who are experts on elementary math education:

Presenter: Genevieve Collura, M.Ed.
An elementary teacher in Brooklyn for nine years, Genevieve Collura now works as a school-based instructional coach. Genevieve also trains teachers and administrators in K-8 classrooms and institutes across the U.S., facilitating the implementation of the successful Singaporean instructional approach at the core of Marshall Cavendish’s Math in Focus® curriculum. The curriculum intends for students to strengthen critical thinking and reach mastery of concepts, computational skills and problem-solving and its applications to real life situations. She recently presented at the NCSM conference.

Presenter: Jessica Kaminski, M.Ed.
During seven years as a teacher, Jessica served as a new teacher mentor and created curriculum to help new teachers adapt to teaching.  She was the Science and Math support teacher for her entire school and provided professional development for colleagues on technology and Singapore Math strategies. For the past four years, Jessica has worked with over 50 districts across the United States with Math in Focus focusing on Singaporean pedagogy and practice.  She has coached teachers, parents and administrators in grades K-8 and has modeled lessons in several different classrooms.

Moderator: Hoover Herrera, M.A. Mathematics Education
Hoover Herrera has background in public and private sectors, and worked with Newark Public Schools as a teacher, math tutor & coach, master teacher and coordinator. He currently delivers professional development as a Singapore Math trainer in English and Spanish by providing strategies around the Singaporean teaching philosophy and pedagogy.

The suggested purchase price for Back-2-School with Math is $49 per teacher, or $249 for a school site.