OAME Gazette Volume 54 Number 2 released and includes three articles, nine regular columns, the elementary school-focused Abacus insert, along with several other special features.
In their article entitled Ontario Mathematics Olympiad (OMO): An OAME Tradition, authors Paul Alves and Judy Mendaglio (OAME Past-President and President Elect, respectively) reflect on the history of, and local OAME chapter approaches to, the annual provincial OMO competition. Tim Sibbald offers an extensive exploration of the Morley Triangle using GeoGebra software as a vehicle for algebraic, geometric, and numeric insights into the intriguing properties of this unique trigon. Learning Elapsed Time Through Afterschool Activities, co-authored by Miwa Takeuchi and Robin Coyle, presents the reader with an effective strategy for using number lines along with analysis of authentic lived experiences of students to reinforce the often perplexing measurement concepts related to time.
Regular columns include the following highlights: OAME President, Tim Sibbald (President’s Message) discusses positive feedback, service opportunities, and a divisibility quirk; Assessment Abby (eponymous) focuses on group work assessment and parental/guardian involvement; Greg Clarke, Agnes Grafton, Ross Isenegger, and Markus Wolski (Provincial Digital Learning Resources) highlight their interactive Number Line by Mathies which allows students to represent numbers and to build deeper understandings of various operations; Mary Bourassa (Technology Corner) explores the Activity Builder feature in Desmos, which allows teachers to create investigations and visually track individualized student learning that may occur at different rates; and Carly Ziniuk (In the Middle) presents a math assignment focusing on Star Bucks’ new 916 mL cup size, the “Trenta” (reminds me of the 3L Coke bottles we witnessed in Ecuador last spring—mucho litros, amigos!).
Todd Romiens (OAME/NCTM Report) explains the privileges and benefits of NCTM affiliation; Shawn Godin (What’s the Problem?) heads out in search of buried pirate treasure; Ann Kajander (MB4T) examines teaching strategies and tools relating to the multiplication of integers; and Lynda Colgan (Hey, It’s Elementary) showcases her new resource toolkit, Inspiring Your Child to Learn and Love Mathematics, through which she encourages parents/guardians to act as teaching partners in their child(ren)’s mathematical learning. In the Abacus insert, co-editors Mary Lou Kestell and Kathy Kubota-Zarivnij continue their Volume 54 focus on relational thinking, here focusing on subtraction.
Volume 54 Issue 2 also includes several special features: (i) a letter to the editor by Tom Griffiths in response to the recent book review of Hoshino’s Math Olympian (2015); (ii) an overview of the upcoming OAME Annual Conference “Leap into Math” 2016 by co-chairs Victoria and Jim Baumgart; (iii) an obituary regarding the late Frances Schatz—former Abacus editor, NCTM Rep, and Gazette contributor—written by friend Jack Weiner; (iv) two Ontario mathematics education researcher profile highlights; and, (v) further excerpts from Lerman’s Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education (2014) regarding a variety of contemporary issues.