Igniting the Spark: Engaging Secondary Students in Real-World Mathematical Problem-Solving

Presented by Susan Patterson, a Texas high school math teacher; with Fred Dillon, a math coach and curriculum specialist for Ideastream/PBS in Cleveland
Sponsored by Spark 101

WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING

Within 24 hours after the live event, a CE certificate is emailed to live attendees who logged in online with their email address. To get your CE certificate for logging in live by phone, or for watching the recording, join the STEM Learning: Full STEAM Ahead community and go to the Webinar Archives folder to take the CE quiz. As a member of the community, you’ll also have access to additional resources and online discussions.

Most teachers agree that schoolwork relevant to real-world challenges and experiences plays a key role in keeping students engaged. But do you always have the resources necessary to bring your math concepts to life?

In this webinar, learn how to use Spark 101’s free real-world, standards-aligned case study videos to engage your students in problem-based learning—with authentic problems from business, government, nonprofits, and academia.

Susan Patterson, a high school math teacher in Texas and Spark 101 Teaching Fellow, and Fred Dillon, a math coach and curriculum specialist for Ideastream/PBS in Cleveland, shared how Spark 101 energizes classrooms, and helps engage and motivate students while improving their problem solving skills.

Topics that will be explored include:

• How to navigate the Spark 101 website to access free case study videos, lesson plans, and resource
• How to engage your students with real world scenarios, each with an authentic in-the-field problem to solve along with information about related career and education pathway
• How Spark 101’s unique three-part video structure and supporting tools can help your students make connections to prior knowledge, solve the problem, and shape future impact and meaning
• Examples of case study videos ready to be used in your classroom

Learn how to engage your own secondary math students in real-world problem-solving.

Grade 7-12 math educators and math coordinators/administrators will especially benefit from this interactive session. All educators are invited to learn how Spark 101’s free real-world STEM case study videos and supporting classroom resources can help your students apply the math they are learning to meaningful problem-solving.

Susan Patterson is a high school math teacher at the Uplift Summit International Preparatory in Texas, where she teaches Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus. She also is a Spark 101 Fellow. As a former research engineer for AT&T, Susan has brought excitement and rigor to her classroom in the form of real applications for more than 15 years.

Fred Dillon is a math coach and curriculum specialist for Ideastream/PBS in Cleveland, Ohio. Fred is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and he has taught on the secondary level (6th-12th grades) for a number of years. He is a current member of the NCTM writing team for Principles to Action.

WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING

Spark 101 unites educators and students with private- and public-sector employers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Through the use of “case study” videos, Spark 101 not only makes potentially difficult academic content more understandable for students in middle school and high school classrooms—it helps them envision potential careers.