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Ohio Council of Teachers of Mathematics Newsletter| Vol. 99 + n January, 2010

In this issue:Presidents Message

Recognition of OutgoingBoard Members

2009 District Award Win-ners

ODE Update

Puzzle Corner

OCTM Emerging LeadersConference

That Pesky Parallel Postu-late

Important Dates:

NCTM ConferenceSan Diego, CAApril 21 - 24, 2010

OCTM ConferenceAkron, OHOctober 14-15, 2010

OCTM

Joe Kennedy Wins Christofferson-FawcettAwardOn November 13, 2009, at the annual Awards Recep-tion at the conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Ohio

Council of Teachers of Mathematics presented JoeKennedy with the Christofferson-Fawcett Award forLifetime Achievement in Ohio Mathematics Educa-tion. His acceptance speech, as well as the introduc-tory speech, are included later in this newsletter.

Moreno, Moses, Rentner,and Dunham Win StateAwardsJerry Moreno from John Car-roll University and BarbaraMoses of Bowling Green bothreceived Kenneth CumminsAwards for Excellence in Col-lege Teaching. Pamela Rent-ner from Hill View Elementaryin the Sylvania school district re-ceived the Myrtle Miller-MaryJane Werner Award for Excel-lence in Elementary SchoolTeaching. Jodi Dunham fromValley High School receivedthe Buck Martin Award for Ex-cellence in Secondary SchoolTeaching.

State Awardees

Pictured l to r: Pamela Rentner, Barbara Moses, Jerry Moreno, Jodi Dunham, Joe Kennedy
http://www.nctm.org/conferences/content.aspx?id=23209http://www.nctm.org/conferences/content.aspx?id=23209http://www.nctm.org/conferences/content.aspx?id=23209http://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2009.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2009.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2009.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2009.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2009.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2009.htmhttp://www.nctm.org/conferences/content.aspx?id=23209http://www.nctm.org/conferences/content.aspx?id=23209http://www.nctm.org/conferences/content.aspx?id=23209

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Presidents Message- Kim Yoak, OCTM President

Even when we are not sure what to do, we must do something

As I write this message, I rst want to express my hope that each of you had a wonderful holiday season andthat you were able to nd a bit of time to relax, which I am nding is less and less simple to do as life progresses.However, I did nd time to see three movies during our winter break (more than I have seen in the last year), andone in particular The Blind Side really resonated with me, though perhaps not for the reason that I might haveexpected.

For those of you who are not familiar with this story: The Blind Side is based on a true story of a homeless Afri-can American high school student, Michael Oher, who is adopted by a Southern family and who eventually goes on

to play college-level and professional football. The title of the movie ostensibly refers to the fact that the positionthat he plays (left tackle) is heavily responsible for protecting the quarterback on his blind side.

However, as I left the theater, instead of the feel-good reaction that we might believe the movie-makers intend-ed (and perhaps they did), I was left with a feeling of sadness that so many children do not have the opportunitythat Michael Oher had to exit a life of poverty and, in many cases, violence. I wondered if perhaps the title was

also intended to allude to the blind eyes that we may tend to turn toward these children and their families. I began to feel a need, anurge, to do somethingto try to help.

As I have thought more about this, I realize that every idea I have seems insignicant relative to the monumental task of eliminatingpoverty, and many ideas that I have dont even seem feasible for me individually at the moment. However, I have determined that eventhough I am not sure what to do, I must do something. Many things that I, or any one person, can do will be helpful to some small

extent, so I have decided that I will start small and set a goal of donating $10 worth of food to Good Neighbors each week. I eventuallywish to move beyond this goal into more active kinds of involvement.

But this is where the power of an education-focused organization like OCTM, with over 3500 members, can become evident andmeaningful. Somethingelse that I will do in 2010 is to challenge OCTM leaders and members to work actively and intentionallyto collaborate with and to support educators and students who typically do not receive support that is sufcient to overcome the

enormous challenges that they face due to poverty. OCTM is involved in many new projects at the moment, so at this moment,I amnot sure how we will do this, but we must do something. Every service and activity that we provide allows us the opportunity to act inresponse to this challenge.

As educators, we know that high quality education forall is critical to reducing poverty in the United States and around the world,and it is much easier to do somethingtogether than it is individually. This is my challenge to us, myself included, for 2010 and beyond.

**it is much easier to do somethingtogether than it is individually

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OCTM NEWSLETTER

Published by the Ohio Council ofTeachers of MathematicsFour (4) times each year:January/March/June/September

Editor: Margie [email protected]

Change of address information forall OCTM communication to:

Sister M. Theresa Sharp, S.N.D.OCTM Membership Secretary

13000 Auburn RoadChardon, Ohio 44024-9330

[email protected]

1-800-449-OCTMwww.ohioctm.org

Click here to become anOCTM member.

Click here for a completedirectory of OCTM Ofcers

OCTM

Recognition of outgoingboard members- Kim Yoak, OCTM President

Bonnie Beach served as our president rom2006-2008 and as president-elect and past presi-dent during the years beore and ater her term aspresident. During her tenure on the board, Bon-

nie brought humor, compassion, proessionalism,and genuine commitment to her leadership in thisorganization, and we are ortunate to have her asa leader in Ohio and as the Dean o Education atOhio Dominican University. We know that she

will continue to serve her own students as well asOhio teachers in many valuable ways, and we areglad to keep her on the board as the new co-chairo the Memorial Committee with Becky Mag-gard.

Adele Cohn served as the Executive Director oOCM rom 2002 through April 2009. Duringthese seven years, she demonstrated an unwaver-ing commitment to OCM and to supportingthe members and leadership o this organiza-tion, as well as Ohio students. She representedOCM on the Ohio Resource Center board andat NCM conerences; she was the voice o our800 number; she worked with SECO and OEAin our partnerships with these organizations, and

she was responsible or many o the minute de-tails that have to be taken care o throughout thecourse o a year in any organization. Adele alsoreceived the outstanding teacher award rom herhome aliate, the Greater Cleveland Council oeachers o Mathematics, this spring. We missher smiling ace and her humor on the board, but

we are so glad that she is committed to stayinginvolved with OCM now in the uture.

Deb Gallagher served as our vice president at

the college level or the past three years and was a strong advocate on the board or support or teach-ers and or high quality mathematics teaching and learning. Her commitment to providing the bestkinds o resources and learning environments or teachers and students is inspiring, and we knowthat this commitment will continue to beneft her students at Ohio Northern University and col-leagues, as well as OCM, in the uture.

...and they are some of the nest leaderswho have served OCTM.

Four appointed members o the board lettheir positions in 2009, and they are some o thefnest leaders who have served OCM. Te frst

was Dan Brahier, our outgoing website editorand also a past president, who missed his frstOCM conerence in about 20 years to lead ameeting o an NCM Yearbook panel. Danredesigned the website last year and has main-tained it as our new site has been in develop-ment.

Mark Jafee has served as the OCM Con-stitution Chair since 2003. Board memberscan always rely on Mark to provide thoughtul

and logical recommendations or any possiblechanges to the constitution, as well as interpre-

At the annual conference in November, we hon-ored and thanked those colleagues who have

completed terms on the OCTM board...

[continued on next page]
http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/mailto:mcoleman%40cinci.rr.com?subject=mailto:mcoleman%40cinci.rr.com?subject=http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/mailto:tsharp%40ndec.org?subject=OCTM%20membershipmailto:tsharp%40ndec.org?subject=OCTM%20membershiphttp://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/join_octm.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/board.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/http://www.ohioctm.org/board.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/join_octm.htmmailto:tsharp%40ndec.org?subject=OCTM%20membershipmailto:mcoleman%40cinci.rr.com?subject=http://www.ohioctm.org/

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tations o it when questions arise. Te respect that Mark has earned or hisreasonableness, his humor, and his strong dedication to OCM will servehim well in his role as President when he assumes the position this October.

For the last seven years, whenever many o us have thought o the OCMournament (ormerly the OCM Contest), we have immediately thoughtabout our very hardworking and energetic director, Charlie Kobida. Char-

lie has led the organization o this multi-site competition on the last Satur-day in February since 2002, and she brought the ournament into the 21stcentury by coordinating the development o the ournament website, whichallows virtually all organization and data management to be done online.She has led the recruitment o participants, the development o questions,and the scoring o students work on the frst Saturday o March each year.Charlie has let a great legacy or uture ournament Directors to ollow, and

we will miss her humor and great dedication to the OCM board.Richard Glove, who is an assistant principal at Mayfeld High School near

Cleveland, has served as the chair o the Memorial Committee, that awards

our preservice teacher scholarships, or the past 17 years(wow!!), since thecommittee was ormed. Richard has worked to support OCM and pre-service teachers with proessionalism and generosity that are very clear to all

who have served with him. So, we thank Richard most heartily, and we weresorry that we were not able to do so in person as he was unable to attend theconerence this year.

OCM had our outgoing District Directors in 2009. Tese membersserve the board or three years and coordinate the teacher awards processin their regions, along with assisting with elections and providing regionaloutreach to members and nonmembers. Teir leadership has been vital to

the strength o our organization across the state, and we will truly miss theseantastic educators as they move on to new adventures.

Janet Cummings Northwest DistrictFrank Hatcher Central DistrictLouisa Matthias Northeast DistrictDella McPherson East District

We also recognized the presidents o our aliates who completed theirterms on the board this year. We are grateul to each o these leaders whohave served dual roles as presidents o their groups and members o theOCM board. Many teachers become involved in OCM through the

aliates, and quality leadership is especially necessary when we have the op-portunity to support teachers in their local contexts.

Ginny Hamilton Ohio Mathematics Education Leadership CouncilAbbey Bergman Bowling Green Council o eachers o MathematicsJoyce Avery- Bowling Green Council o eachers o MathematicsTom Elsass Grand Lake Council o eachers o MathematicsElaine Shannon-Smith Greater Akron Mathematics Educators Society

Holly Aug- Greater Cincinnati Council o eachers o MathematicsTom Lanning Greater Cleveland Council o eachers o MathematicsMichael Davis Miami University Council o eachers o MathematicsJennier McKinney MSaERs (a graduate student aliate at Te Ohio

State University)Margaret Garner Muskingum Area Council o eachers o MathematicsMarissa Blewitt Ohio University Council o eachers o Mathematics

We must also thank our 2009 conerence general chairs,Judy Gerwe andMargie Coleman. We could not have asked or a better partnership to leadthe conerence committee, and the event was a antastic proessional experi-

ence or every participant. We are so grateul or their work over the last threeyears they are amazing leaders and ardent supporters o the OCM mission.

Finally, we send a heartelt thank you to Laura Anang, our awards commit-tee chairperson and District Director at large, who could not attend the con-erence because she was traveling in Europe; to Louisa Matthias who worked

with Laura to plan the reception, and to all o the District Directors, whosolicited many nominees or our educator awards and helped us recognize our hon-orees.

[continued from previous page]

The 2010 OCTM State Mathematics Tourna-ment will take place on Saturday, February27th. Grading will again be held at LakotaWest High School on March 6th. If inter-ested in volunteering to help grade next yearstest, please visit the OCTM tournament web-site at www.OCTMtournament.org and click onGraders in the left hand column to sign-upas a volunteer.
http://www.octmtournament.org/http://www.octmtournament.org/

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Northwest DistrictNora McDowell, Secondary

Fremont High SchoolPamela Rentner, Elementary

Hill View Elementary

West DistrictSherry Shuman, Secondary

Centerville High SchoolAnn Muth, Elementary

John F. Kennedy Elementary

Southwest DistrictLana Gerber, Secondary

Mt. Healthy Junior High

Judy Meicenheimer, ElementaryMarshall Elementary

Northeast DistrictAnita Cornish, Secondary

Keystone Middle SchoolCharlene Stephens, Elementary

Lt. Col. John Glenn

East DistrictDebbie Haverstock, Secondary

Caneld Village Middle SchoolTeresa Earnest, Elementary

Lakeview Intermediate

Southeast DistrictDeana Dye, Secondary

Waterford High School

Jill Butts, ElementaryUnion Local Middle School

Central DistrictRenee Runyan, Secondary

Granville High School

South DistrictJodi Dunham, Secondary

Valley High SchoolAmanda Mickey, Elementary

Bishop FlagetAngela Hickenbottom, Elementary

Portsmouth West Elementary

2009 District Award Winners

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OCTM 2010 ConferencePlease save the dates on your calendar now for the OCTM conference on October 14-15,

2010 at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio. The conference committee is diligentlyworking to plan a conference you wont want to miss.

The conference, Polymers to Polygons: Making Math-ematical Connections will provide a range of opportu-nities to nd innovative ideas and network with other

mathematics teachers from grades K-16. There will besomething for everyone including panels of specialtopics such as Math Coaching, Special Education, andFirst Year Teachers.

Keynote speakers will be Gail Burrill from Michi-gan State University and Carole Greenes from ArizonaState University. Gail Burrill is past president of the

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, winnerof the Presidential Award for excellence in TeachingMathematics, and author of numerous books and ar-ticles on statistics and mathematics education. CaroleGreenes is past president of the National Council ofSupervisors of Mathematics and author of over 70 arti-cles and 300 books and programs for pre-kindergartenthrough college and for teachers, including Ground-

work: Algebraic Thinking.This is just a sampling of the great connections you will nd at the conference in October.

Clickhere for more information.

OCTM Scholarships- Richard Glove,

OCTM has awarded scholarships to future teachers of mathematics. This year six scholarships were awarded. Fifty-three students applied forthe scholarships and the scholarships were awarded to the individuals listed below. A committee consisting of Laura Anfang, Bunny Doebling,Linda Hallenbeck, Debbie Haverstock, Rebecca Maggard, and Richard Glove reviewed the applicants and selected the scholarship winners.Each scholarship winner received a $750.00 scholarship and a one year membership in the council.

2009 OCTM Scholarship Award Winners

Leesa Corken Bowling Green State University Junior Adolescent Young AdultMelissa Costell Bowling Green State University Senior Adolescent Young AdultAllison Green Lake Erie College Senior Adolescent Young AdultSarah Kucharski Ashland University Senior Middle ChildhoodSarah Piskos Wittenberg University Senior Middle ChildhoodEric Sustar Ohio University Senior Adolescent Young Adult

Special Interest Groups initiatedat conference

OCTM is very excited to announce the formationof several Special Interest Groups that will al-low members to collaborate about various topicsand work together to enhance collective wisdomabout these topics. All OCTM members will re-ceive a mailing in the next few weeks with de-tails about joining these groups, and informationwill also be on the OCTM website. SIG topicsinclude: the Ohio Core Curriculum, mathemat-ics for special needs students, rural mathematicseducation, middle school mathematics and Al-gebra I, the history of mathematics, early child-hood/mathematics and childrens literature, andassessment (and other groups are being addedas well!). This is a tremendous opportunity for

professional growth and collaboration plan tojoin at least one SIG!

Click here tolearn more aboutthe scholarship

recipients.
http://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htm

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RIDDLEWhat did the 0 say to the 8?

LEVEL ONEFind the sum of the rst ve even NAT-

URAL (counting) numbers

LEVEL TWOIf the height of a pizza is a, and its di-

ameter is 2z, nd the VOLUME of thatpizza.

LEVEL THREE

The ellipse x2 + 2y2 + 12y 10x 57 = 0has a major axis with two endpoints. Findthe coordinates of the endpoint that lies inquadrant IV. Express in ordered pair form,(x, y).

Puzzle Cornerby Duane Bollenbacher

Click here for answers

ODE Update- Vicky Kirschner, ODE Mathematics Consultant

The Mathematics advisory committee andworking groups met from July through Octoberto revise Ohios academic content standards.This state process ran parallel to the develop-ment of the Common Core Standards. Both theCommon Core Standards Initiative and Ohiosrevision process are based on similar criteria,including:

1. Fewer, clearer and higher standards that arealigned with college and work expectations;

2. Standards that have been internationallybenchmarked;

3. Rigorous content and application of knowl-edge through higher-order skills; and

4. Evidence- and/or research-based standardsbuilt upon the strengths and lessons of the cur-rent standards.

The Common Core State Standards Initiativeis a state-led effort coordinated by the NationalGovernors Association Center for Best Practic-es (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief StateSchool Ofcers (CCSSO). Governors and statecommissioners of education from 48 states (in-cluding Ohio), 2 territories and the District ofColumbia committed to developing a commoncore of state standards in English-language artsand mathematics for grades K-12. The college-and career-readiness standards were releasedfor public comment in September 2009. Youcan learn more about this initiative by visitinghttp://www.corestandards.org.

Ohios revision process has informed ourthinking about the Common Core Standardswhile inuencing the national dialogue as well.The Mathematics advisory committee andworking groups will be reviewing the Com-mon Core Standards after the public releaseof the draft K-12 Standards and Learning Pro-gressions in January, 2010.

The mathematics page on the ODE Web siteincludes links to contact information for themathematics team and updates on the revisionof the academic content standards. To accessthis information, go to http://www.education.ohio.gov and enter mathematics in the searchwindow and click on ODE-Mathematics.

To access information about standards re-vision, go to http://www.education.ohio.govand enter mathematics in the search window

and click on ODE-Mathematics.

Speaker Proposal Dead-line Extended!Are you interested in making a presentationat the 2010 OCTM Conference in Akron? Theconference will be taking place in October, andSpeaker Proposal Forms are available now.Clickhere to visit the conference page whereyou can download the speaker proposal form.Proposals are due by JANUARY 31, 2010.
mailto:bollenbacherd%40bluffton.edu?subject=Puzzle%20Cornerhttp://www.ode.state.oh.us/http://www.education.ohio.gov/http://www.education.ohio.gov/http://www.education.ohio.gov/http://www.education.ohio.gov/http://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.education.ohio.gov/http://www.education.ohio.gov/http://www.education.ohio.gov/http://www.ode.state.oh.us/mailto:bollenbacherd%40bluffton.edu?subject=Puzzle%20Corner

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That Pesky Parallel Postulate- David Kullman

For many students Euclid and the Elements are synonymous withgeometry. The work, composed around 300 b.c., is divided into thir-teen books or chapters, covering elementary plane geometry, numbertheory, geometric algebra, proportion, irrational numbers, and solid

geometry. Euclids greatest contribution to mathematics, however,was not the geometrical content itself, but the way in which it was or-ganized. No new discoveries are attributed to him, but his expositoryskills made the Elements the most widely read mathematics textbookfor the next 2000 years.

Euclid attempted to deduce all of his propositions from ten basicassumptions ve common notions and ve geometric postulates.The fth postulate, known as Euclids parallel postulate (althoughit does not explicitly mention parallel lines) states: If two lines areintersected by a transversal making the interior angles on the same

side of it less than two right angles, then the two lines, if extendedindenitely, meet on that side of the transversal.

This postulate seems more verbose and less self-evident than Eu-clids other assumptions, and it was natural to wonder if it could be

proved as a theorem. As early as the second century a.d., ClaudiusPtolemy published a purported proof and, during the middle ages,several Muslim mathematicians, including Omar Khayyam, wrestledwith the problem. All these proofs were awed because they restedon tacit assumptions that turn out to be logically equivalent to the

parallel postulate itself.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries a number of substitutesfor Euclids parallel postulate were proposed. The one most oftenseen in todays textbooks was suggested by John Playfair in 1795:Through a given point P not on a given line only one line can bedrawn parallel to the given line. This, too, is equivalent to Euclids

postulate.In 1733 a Jesuit priest, Girolamo Saccheri, published a book, Eu-

clid Freed of Every Flaw, in which he tried to show that negating Eu-clids postulate leads to a contradiction. He was able to derive manyconsequences of his alternative hypothesis, but his claimed contra-

diction was a result of faulty reasoning. Blinded by a belief that

Euclids postulate had to be true, Saccheri missed becoming the discoverer ofnon-Euclidean geometry.

About 100 years later Carl Friedrich Gauss in Germany, Nikolai IvanovichLobachevsky in Russia, and Janos Bolyai in Hungary realized that changingPlayfairs postulate so that more than one line through P can be drawn paral-lel to the given line leads to a different mathematical system, known today ashyperbolic geometry. Unlike Saccheri, they accepted this non-Euclidean ge-ometry. Although it is just as consistent as Euclidean geometry, it was seen asa scandal at the time, and decades passed before it was widely accepted.

How important is the parallel postulate? There are literally dozens of theo-rems in elementary plane geometry that are true if and only if Euclids (orPlayfairs) parallel postulate is true. Here is a sampling:

1. The sum of the angle measures in any triangle is 180.2. An angle inscribed in a semicircle is a right angle.3. Rectangles (quadrilaterals with four right angles) exist.4. Opposite sides of a parallelogram are congruent.5. If two parallel lines are cut by a transversal, alternate interior angles are

congruent.6. If a line intersects one of two parallel lines it also intersects the other.7. If a line is parallel to one of two parallel lines it is also parallel to the

other.8. Two parallel lines are everywhere equidistant.

9. Similar triangles that are not congruent exist.10. The Pythagorean theorem.Today it is not fashionable in high school geometry courses to spend much

time on an axiomatic development of the subject. Nevertheless, we should notignore the crucial role played by the parallel postulate as it is the foundation formany other familiar theorems of Euclidean geometry, and its negation leads toan equally valid non-Euclidean geometry.

For further reading:Greenberg, M. J. Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometries: Development

and History (3rd ed.), W. H. Freeman, 1993.

There are literally dozens of theoremsin elementary plane geometry that are trueif and only if Euclids (or Playfairs) paral-lel postulate is true.

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Puzzle CornerAnswers

RIDDLENice belt

LEVEL ONE2 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 10 = 30

LEVEL TWO:Since d = 2z, then r = z.

V = r2h = z2a = piz2a = pizza. Hence the

volume of this pizza is pizza.

LEVEL THREE:Put in standard form by completing the squares:

x2 + 2y2 + 12y 10x 57 = 0x2 10x + 2y2 + 12y = 57

x2 10x + 52 + 2(y2 + 6y + 32) = 57 + 52 + 2(32)

(x 5)2 + 2(y + 3)2 = 57 + 25 + 18

(x 5)2 + 2(y + 3)2 = 100

The ellipse is centered at (5,3), and the major axis is

therefore horizontal with length

2a = 20; a = 10; the endpoint in quadrant IV is (5 +

10, 3) or (15,3).

Save the DateThe Ohio Council of Teachers ofMathematics Annual Conference

Polygons to Polymers Making Mathematical Connections in

Akron

October 14 - 15, 2010

Ohio Early College MathematicsPlacement Testing Program (EMPT)

The Ohio Early Math Placement Testing Pro-gram based at The Ohio State University has

been providing college readiness testing serviceto Ohio high school students since 1978.

School Testing: EMPT predicts college math placement at44 colleges in Ohio.

Students ACT score is predicted based ontheir EMPT score!

Each EMPT student report includes break-out sub-scores on pre-algebra items, beginningalgebra items, and intermediate algebra items.

Go to http://www.empt.org/signup_formfor school sign-up to test.

Individual Testing: Anyone in the state may take the EMPT

Test. In addition, test in pre-algebra/beginning

algebra, data analysis, geometry, intermediatealgebra, and college placement. For each itemmissed, the immediate electronic report will di-rect students to an on-line lesson (when lessonsexist) at the Ohio Resource Center for self reme-diation on the concept.

Send your students to https://tests.empt.org/index.php for individual testing.

Colleges have moved to on-line placementtests; so prepare your students for the experience

by using the EMPT on-line tests. At the sametime, students learn their potential college place-ment and possible ACT math score.

For further information see www.empt.org, orcontact Ed Laughbaum at [email protected].

OCTM Annual Conference in CincinnatiWas a Huge Success!Congratulations to the committee chairsand volunteers who presented another greatOCTM Annual Meeting in November. Ifyou missed this one, mark your calendar nowfor the OCTM meeting in Akron, October 14

15, 2010. You wont want to miss the nextone!

Second Annual OCTMEmerging Leaders Confer-ence this spring

In the spring, OCTM will sponsor a uniqueprofessional event: our second annual EmergingLeaders Conference for pre-service teachers andteachers who are relatively new to the classroom.Last years rst-ever conference drew over60 participants, and the veteran OCTM boardmembers who helped to facilitate the event allfelt that it was one of the most exciting OCTMevents we had ever attended. It is indeed ourresponsibility as an organization and as a state-wide community to support the development ofthose who will soon be at the forefront of our

profession. I encourage each of you to nominatea novice colleague to attend this years event, forwhich details will be publicized soon. Watch thewebsite for information in the next month
http://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htmhttp://www.empt.org/signup_formhttp://www.empt.org/signup_formhttp://www.empt.org/mailto:elaughba%40math.ohio-state.edu?subject=EMPTmailto:elaughba%40math.ohio-state.edu?subject=EMPTmailto:elaughba%40math.ohio-state.edu?subject=EMPTmailto:elaughba%40math.ohio-state.edu?subject=EMPTmailto:elaughba%40math.ohio-state.edu?subject=EMPTmailto:elaughba%40math.ohio-state.edu?subject=EMPTmailto:elaughba%40math.ohio-state.edu?subject=EMPTmailto:elaughba%40math.ohio-state.edu?subject=EMPThttp://www.empt.org/http://www.empt.org/signup_formhttp://www.ohioctm.org/conference_2010.htm

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More Pictures from the OCTM2009 Conference in Cincinnati

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Our Christofferson-Fawcett winner for 2009,

Joe Kennedy.

The winner of the Christofferson-Fawcett Award for 2009 grew upin small Midwestern town, as much interested in athletics as academics.This good high school athlete (football, basketball and track) competedwith modest success in track at Purdue. His nearest claim to fame camewhen he ran side by side with Harrison Dillard, an Olympic gold medal-

list. Dillard won.College was tough for our winner. He built the mobile home he and his

wife lived in for his nal three undergraduate years. They lived on the$20 a week she earned as a telephone operator.

Coaching was part of his rst teaching job, but he gave it up to concen -trate on teaching, his real love.

After the rst teaching assignment our winner taught in the lab schoolof the University of Wisconsin, then one of the top high schools in thecountry. Success there pointed to a career at the college level and hetaught one year in the University of Milwaukee. By this time our award-

ee had held ofces in ve math education organizations in Indiana andWisconsin.

He enrolled in Indiana University and while there worked in the Insti-tute of Educational Research and was Math Supervisor for the State ofIndiana. He had two entries in the 31st NCTM Yearbook on HistoricalTopics in the Mathematics Classroom.

He completed the doctorate at Indiana University while teaching at In-diana State University and moved to Miami in 1964.

While teaching at Miami he patented SAGE KIT, a set of geometric sol-ids and their sections and invented a metric trundle wheel sold by Delta

Education.He co-authored Kaleidoscope Math, published by Creative Publications

and co-authored A Tangle of Mathematical Yarns. He served seven years

as co-editor of the Ohio Journal of School Mathematics, changing it toa refereed journal. He and his co-editor, Diane Thomas, worked hardto publish material by school teachers rather than by college profes-sors pretending to know what was going on in the classroom.

He was Membership Chair, Director, Secretary, President and Col-

lege Math Editor of School Science and Mathematics. He received theGeorge G. Mallinson Distinguished Service Award from that organi-zation in 1992.

Perhaps he was best known for his slide talks, especially Lights andStrings and Things. This talk was actually several different talks withthe same title. Slides appropriate to each audience were selected fromhours of material. Versions of this talk were given 400 times to stu-dents from the fourth grade up.

He co-authored a book of quilt designs based on tessellations and hespoke to quilt groups.

He has served more than twenty years on the MAA panel that pro-duces the American Mathematics Competitions, thirteen of those yearson committees including six as chair.

After a career of 49 years, 35 at Miami, he remains interested ingeometry. In 2008 he created a construction to locate the foot of thealtitude of an irregular pyramid.

Our Christofferson-Fawcett winner for 2009, Joe Kennedy.

Christofferson-Fawcett Award Introduction- Leland Knauf

Joe Kennedy with all previous C-F winners inattendance

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Engaging Students in Meaningful Math-ematics: Combining the Art of Teachingwith the Science of Learning

- George Viebranz, Executive Director Ohio Mathematicsand Science Coalition

I just nished reading an outstanding publication fromJohns Hopkins Universitys Center for Research and Re-form in Education. The title is Better Evidence-basedEducation: MATH.

It is available online at http://www.bestevidence.org/better/. One of the things this issue caused me to thinkabout is that effective education results from teachers andmentors who blend the art of teaching with the science oflearning and a commitment to effectively serve the stu-dents with whom we are entrusted. Some of our practicesmight be rmly based in evidence, while others may bermly based in belief and sometimes myth. Conven-tional wisdom about teaching and learning can be moreconvention than it is wise practice, and part of our jobis to determine how new learning shapes our improve-ment. If you are an educator who works to ensure thatyour students are getting the best opportunities to learnduring their time with you, Id strongly encourage you todownload the latest issue and assess whether the artistryyou use in the classroom is rmly rooted in what the re-search evidence supports. You may be surprised!

Thank you, Leland, and thanks to other winners of this award for your support. It isthe highest honor and I am grateful.

I was surprised when Dave Kullman called to say that I had won it. I hadnt triedfor it. That would be like going for the lottery; you dont improve your chances of win-ning when you buy a ticket.

Plaques are welcome when they come, but the rewards of teaching are in the class-room. The smile on the face of a student when they understand, a good test paper, thestudent who succeeds in the next course, the student who goes on to college and doeswell that student could not have done that if you had not taught him the quadratic for-mula!I had a letter this spring from Larry Rose, a former student and a good one. He thankedme for teaching him how to think and how to solve problems. I may frame that letterand put it on the wall next to this plaque.

Another good student, Jon Kopke, followed me into the ofce one day after class.It had been an uproarious class and all had gone well. Jon said, Dr. Kennedy, have youever worked a day in your life? Jon was an undergraduate and had not yet experiencedthe responsibility of teaching. He did not yet know how hard we teachers have to workto make it look easy. My workweek was always 60-80 hours and I dont think I was thatdifferent from others.

There are just a couple of things to add. First, always include a mathematicalrecreation in every class; it is the sugar that makes the medicine go down. In my rstschool we had in-class study time after the recitation. Students could choose extra-credit projects from a long list. These were puzzles, tricks, games, things to draw andthings to make. I cleverly said before each study time, Hurry up and do your assign-ment so well have time to work on the projects. Translated that means, Hurry up anddo your math so we can do some more math! Heres a cryptarithm for you: Add MATHto OCTM to get CINCY. There is at least one answer.

And the other point: This is a summary of my 49 years in the classroom. Whena student does not understand she looks down at her desk, forehead furrowed, perhapswith her eyes closed as if in prayer, Please dont call on me, I dont know the answer!

You keep working and nally she does understand. Her head comes up, and herforehead smoothes out. Light bounces off her forehead, her cheekbones, her nose andchin. She smiles and you can see her teeth. Finally she opens her eyes. Here it is, justtwelve words to sum up good teaching, DONT STOP TEACHING UNTIL YOU CAN

SEE THE WHITES OF THEIR EYES!

Christofferson-Fawcett Award Acceptance Speech- Joe Kennedy Conventional wisdom about

teaching and learning can bemore convention than it is wise

practice.
http://www.bestevidence.org/better/http://www.bestevidence.org/better/http://www.bestevidence.org/better/http://www.bestevidence.org/better/

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Leesa Corken is currently a junior at Bowling Green StateUniversity majoring in adolescent/young adult mathemat-ics education. She would like to teach math to students ingrades 7 - 12 at a rural junior high or high school upongraduation. Leesa is from Bowling Green and graduated

from Eastwood High School in Pemberville, Ohio. Oncampus, Leesa is involved in four honor societies the Bowl-ing Green Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Bowl-ing Green Student Education Association, and the BGSUCollegiate 4-H club. Besides being a full-time student,Leesa is also a Varsity cheerleading coach for EastwoodHigh School, a volunteer for many community serviceevents, and a Wood County 4-H club advisor.

Melissa Costell grew up in Perrysburg, Ohio, where sheattended Perrysburg High School. She is currently a se-nior at Bowling Green State University and plans on grad-uating in December of 2010 with a Bachelor of Science

in adolescent/young adult integrated mathematics. Sheworks part-time at Ann Taylor Loft and also in the univer-sitys School of Teaching and Learning Mathematics andScience Department. She is currently the co-president ofthe Bowling Green Council for Teachers of Mathematics.In her spare time she enjoys reading, traveling, singing,and spending time with her family and friends.

Allison Green, is a senior at Lake Erie College inPainesville, OH, but lives with her parents and threeyounger brothers in Mentor. She graduated SummaCum Laude from Mentor Public Schools in 2006. She

will student teach this upcoming spring and will gradu-ate this May with a B.S. in Mathematics, an Adolescent/Young Adult teaching license, and a minor in Spanish.She plans on teaching while working on her Mastersdegree, and she aspires to get her Ph.D. in mathemat-ics education after many years of teaching experience.She currently works in the Professional DevelopmentDepartment at school and has worked as a mathematics

tutor and aide. She also works for her familys business. In her free time, sheenjoys spending time with her family, boyfriend and friends. She also enjoysskiing, hiking, scrap booking, shopping, going to movies, and baking. Some ofher favorites are Ferris Buellers Day Off, Led Zeppelin, basset hounds, DisneyWorld, and of course mathematics!

One of Walt Disneys philosophies was, ifyou can dream it, you can do it. SarahKucharskis dream is to become a middlegrades educator. Sarah was very active atMentor High School and remains highly in-volved in college at Ashland University,where she has a 4.0 GPA. She is currentlynishing her student teaching at CrestviewMiddle School in Ashland, OH, where shehas created and implemented effective les-sons in 7th grade mathematics and language

arts. She has been President of the Collegiate Middle Level Association, Secretaryof Campus Activities Board, Treasurer of Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Soci-ety, member of the Deans Advisory Council, member of Pi Mu Epsilon Ohio RhoChapter National Mathematics Honor Society, and President of Ski Club. As ateacher, Sarah will give students the encouragement and condence that they cansucceed at anything and follow their own dreams.

Sarah Piskos is currently a senior Middle Childhood Edu-cation major at Wittenberg University. She graduated Sum-ma Cum Laude from Westlake High School in 2006. Shereceived the Provost Scholarship and the Key Club Inter-national Scholarship at Wittenberg University and has beeninducted into Alpha Lambda Delta, Omnicron Delta Kappa,

Mortar Board, Kappa Delta Pi, and Gamma Sigma Alpha.Sarah decided to minor in math at the end of her sophomoreyear and is excited to be specializing in this area since math-lovers run in her family-- her father was a math major. Sheis currently studying and analyzing gender differences in

perception regarding middle school math as part of her se-nior honors thesis through the University Honors Program.

Sarah participated in numerous community service and volunteer opportunities,such as hurricane relief work through Habitat for Humanity in Biloxi, Mississippi.She also hopes to complete a masters degree in Administration or Special Educa-tion. She enjoys working with children, scrapbooking, playing the ute, jogging,shopping, spending time with friends, cooking, and reading, although family andreligion are the most important parts of her life. She is eager to share her knowledgeof, and passion for, mathematics with her future students.

Eric Sustar is from Wickliffe, Ohio, and graduated fromWickliffe High School. He currently attends Ohio Universityin Athens and will graduate in June 2010. Upon graduation,he plans to nd a job teaching high school mathematics inthe Columbus area. Presently, he is the President of the OhioUniversity Council of Teachers of Mathematics and an activemember of Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society ineducation. He also plays outdoor and indoor intramural soc-cer. Because of his interest in sports, he plans to coach soccerin the future.

OCTM ScholarshipsFollowing are short biographies of this years recipients. All recipients alsoexpressed their sincere thanks to OCTM for this scholarship.

January Issue - 2010-01-25

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