This is your official dy/dan conference planner® for next week’s conventions.

My Sessions

I’ll be doing three lecture-y things, then a panel with the #netkidz, then happy hour with our hosts, Mathalicious and Desmos.

• Monday. 9:00AM. The Future of Math Textbooks (If Math Textbooks Have a Future). ASSM.
• Wednesday. 11:15AM. Mathematical Modeling in Three Acts. NCSM.
• Friday. 9:30AM. Video Games and Making Math More Like Things Students Like. NCTM.
• Friday. 3:30PM. Teachers Leveraging Technology in the Classroom [Panel]. NCTM.
• Friday. 6:30PM. Desmos + Mathalicious Happy Hour. NCTM.

Planning

The conference program is enormous. After making an initial list of every session I wanted to attend, I had three sessions listed for every hour of every day. Here’s how I decided where I’m going:

First, search for all the reliable people I’ve already seen or read.

That list includes:

Ani, Ball, Bass, Boaler, Callahan, Coffey, Danielson, Daro, Dougherty, Douglas, Garneau, Khalsa, Leinwand, Luberoff, McCallum, Mills, Milou, Murray, Olson, Pickford, Serra, Shih, Silbey, Wray, anyone from EDC, anyone from Math Forum, anyone from Conceptua Math, anyone from Key Curriculum Press, anyone from the #netkidz strand.

Then, admit your biases.

This year I’m partial to sessions on a) the transition from arithmetic to algebra, b) modeling with math, c) technoskepticism, d) technology.

In general, I shy from sessions on dead technologies and session titles with exclamation points. (Though exceptions have to be made sometimes!)

Use Google.

So I’m still looking at lots of session conflicts. There’s nothing quite as fun as discovering a new voice with new ideas at NCTM so I’ll head online and scan blogs, professional websites, or Twitter feeds. Occasionally, I’ll find the presenter’s slides online, which helps me make an informed decision.

How do you map out and prepare for an event as huge (in every dimension) as NCTM?

A Few Recommendations

I figure if you’re reading this you’re already going to Ignite, the keynotes, and the same #netkidz sessions I am. So here are some sessions I’m looking forward to attending that you may have missed. (Some of these are for ASSM and NCSM.)

Jere Confrey + Amplify

Jere Confrey has been working on Amplify’s tablet for the last four years as their chief math officer. She isn’t a technologist by training but obviously understands math and math education so I’ve been very curious to see what she’s been up to. She’s obliging my curiosity with three sessions at NCSM, all concerning digital curriculum.

• Monday. 9:30AM. Using Digital Environments to Foster Student Discourse.
• Tuesday. 11:15AM. Using Complex Problems, Rich Media, and Rubrics to Develop the Standards for Mathematical Practice.
• Wednesday. 2:30PM. Jazz Fusion: Uniting Curriculum, Pedagogy, Assessment, and Teacher Support in a Tablet-Based Environment.

Treisman’s Back

• Monday. 12:15PM. Navigating the Waters of Change and the Role of our Professional Organizations.

After his exceptional address last year, I don’t even check Uri Treisman’s titles or descriptions anymore.

Equity Strand

Treisman isn’t speaking at NCTM but we get Gutierrez and Gutstein in his stead.

• Friday. 11:00AM. Why “Getting Real” Requires Being “Radical” in High-Stakes Education. Rochelle Gutiérrez.
• Friday. 3:30PM. Mathematics for Social Justice: Possibilities and Challenges. Eric (Rico) Gutstein.

Technology + Technoskepticism

• Tuesday. 8:45AM. Beyond Graphing Calculators: Using Technology to Facilitate Classroom Discussions in the Common Core Era. Kevin Lawrence.
• Thursday. 9:30AM. How to Teach Geometry … without Technology! David Masunaga.
• Saturday. 8:00AM. Are Students Using Technology or is Technology Using Them? Avery Pickford.
• Saturday. 11:00AM. Two Birds, One Stone: Transformations, Functions, and the Common Core. Scott Steketee.

I don’t know Kevin Lawrence but it takes some nerve to throw the gauntlet down at graphing calculators so I’ll hear him out. David Masunaga is just endlessly fun, which would be enough, but I’m especially interested in his provocation here. Former blogger Avery Pickford has a background in computer science so you know his technoskepticism comes from an informed position. Steketee and his co-speaker Daniel Scher both blog for Key Curriculum Press at Sine of the Times and their recent postings have been outstanding.

Judging Books By Their Covers

These were my favorite titles:

1. Thursday. 2:00PM. The Mathematics of Casino Management. Micah Stohlmann.
2. Friday. 11:30AM. Avoid Teaching Rules That Expire! Sarah Bush.
3. Friday. 2:00PM. The Great Nutella Heist. Bonnie Spence.

Just Kill Me Now #1

• Friday. 8:00AM. The Hierarchy of Hexagons: A Geometric Inquiry. Christopher Danielson.
• Friday. 8:00AM. Math Teachers and Social Media: Professional Collaboration or Support Group? Raymond Johnson.
• Friday. 8:00AM. Real-World Lessons with Mathalicious. Matt Lane.

Just Kill Me Now #2

• Friday. 2:00PM. One of Us: Every Teacher a Blogging Teacher. Kate Nowak.
• Friday. 2:00PM. Setting the Scene: Designing Your Problem-Based Classroom. Geoff Krall.
• Friday. 2:00PM. Super Mathematics of Game Shows. Bowen Kerins.

What have I missed?

Also: be sure to say hello if we see each other.

And: I can’t recommend happy hour enough. It was one of my favorite sessions at Denver last year. Let’s make some memories.

PS: I may recap some sessions over at MathRecap. Toss your email address in the little slot if you’d like to receive those via email.