Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Jarvis, professor in the Schulich School of Education, on launching  a new online resource, Crossing the Divide: Critical Transitions in Student Mathematical Development (Grade 8 To 9), designed as a support tool for teachers, students, and parents/guardians. This project is part of the Mathematics Knowledge Network (MKN), which represents a four-year, $1.4M grant from the Ministry of Education via the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research.

The MKN is comprised of four distinct Communities of Practice: Mathematics Leadership, Indigenous Knowledge, Computational Thinking, and Critical Transitions. Dr. Jarvis is serving with the Critical Transitions team under the project leadership of Dr. Lynda Colgan of Queen’s University, and he is specifically focusing on the experiences of teachers, students, and parents/guardians as students transition from elementary to secondary school mathematics learning environments.

OAME Gazette Volume 54 Number 4 released including three articles, ten regular columns, the elementary school-focused Abacus insert, along with several special features.

In their article entitled A Case for Humility in the Mathematics Classroom, co-authors Ilona Vashchyshyn, Heidi Neufeld, and Egan Chernoff discuss the three characteristics of humility (a secure, accepting identity; emotional resilience; and openness to new information), two related classroom vignettes, and a series of reflections on why and how this virtue should characterize effective mathematics teaching and learning contexts.

Nippissing University’s B.Ed. mathematics instructor Tim Sibbald, and B.Ed. candidate Miranda Wheatstone have collaborated on an intriguing article, Advancing Escher Art through Generalization, that extends the problem-solving component of Escher’s famous tessellations and illustrates that, in terms of tiering instruction, “it facilitates a diverse array of opportunities for examining cases that show very different pattern behaviours.”

Finally, in the first of a 2-part article, a retired teacher, pilot, and skydiver, André Lemaire, explores different mathematical methods for solving the ancient Greece classic “Three Spheres of Radii 3, 2, and 1 Mutually Tangent Problem,” including the use of Pythagoras’s Theorem, Heron’s Formula, trigonometry, Cartesian coordinates, and analytic geometry.

Regular columns include the following highlights: OAME President, Tim Sibbald (his final President’s Message) discusses the NCTM Board of Directors meeting that was recently held in Toronto, which referenced the strengths of, and current challenges faced by, Ontario mathematics education; Todd Romiens (OAME/NCTM Report) highlights NCTM’s new Innov8 Conference designed to specifically help teachers engage struggling learners, and NCTM’s STEM Project (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) which continues to inform the American Congress; Lynda Colgan (Hey, It’s Elementary) discusses the Renewed Math Strategy with special emphasis on what she refers to as the “Lead Teacher dilemma”; Ross Isenegger, Agnes Grafton, Markus Wolski, and Greg Clarke (Provincial Digital Learning Resources) continue explaining the various applications of the mathies.ca Relational Rods resource (e.g., reasoning and proving, even/odd numbers, summing the natural numbers, partitions, and the ability to annotate within the software); and Mary Bourassa (Technology Corner) explores Nat Banting’s website “Fraction Talks” as well as sharing several examples of how others have used this helpful online resource in their mathematics teaching.

Carly Ziniuk (In the Middle) presents an investigation entitled “Linear Leaping” in which linear relationships connected to healthy movement are examined by students using available data and a 4-part template which includes graphical, logical, numerical, and algebraic thinking; Assessment Abby (eponymous) focuses on linking assessment and instruction; Shawn Godin (What’s the Problem?) analyzes two rich problems involving card picking, probability, and the classic Monty Hall Problem with opened/closed doors and hidden prizes; Ann Kajander (MB4T) examines her fourth and final case involving division of integers, that of a positive divided by a negative number; and In the Abacus insert, co-editors Mary Lou Kestell and Kathy Kubota-Zarivnij complete their Volume 54 focus on relational thinking, here focusing on the operation of division.

Volume 54 Issue 4 also includes several special features: (i) a David Davidson Tribute (1940–2016) written by his close friends Dean Murray and Jack Weiner; (ii) a Letter to the Editor by Tim Sibbald which raises awareness about a forthcoming publication and opportunities for participation; (iii) three further Ontario mathematics education researcher profile highlights; and, (iv) and some final excerpts from Lerman’s Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education (2014) regarding a variety of contemporary issues.

It was my great pleasure to attend the NCTM “Building Bridges to Student Success” Conference 2016 in San Francisco, California, and to accept, on behalf of OAME, the Publication Award from NCTM President, Diane Briars, during the annual meeting of affiliate delegates.

OAME Gazette Volume 54 Number 3 released including three articles, ten regular columns, the Abacus insert focusing on the elementary panel, along with several other special features.

Betty Long and Deborah Crocker in their article, The Good Luck Paper Crane: Paper Folding and Mathematics Activities, provide directions for folding paper cranes, and ideas for mathematics activities using the paper cranes and children’s literature. Specifically, the authors highlight the touching story of Sadako Sasaki, the Japanese girl who was exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II, and who subsequently attempted to fold 1000 paper cranes in order to obtain her secret wish (Coerr, 2004).

In Mathematics and Special Education: Two Teachers in One Classroom, Jacob Speijer, Connie Gray, Sandra Peirce, and Gail Doherty present the results of a board-wide professional learning project for which the primary aim was to leverage the complementary instructional strengths of the regular classroom teacher (RCT) and the special education resource teacher (SERT) within the classroom context. Anticipated benefits (reduced stigmatization, mathematics program integrity, increased opportunities for individual help, and greater differentiated instruction and assessment) and observed program results are discussed at length, as are recommendations for future implementation of similar programming, based on their co-teaching experiences.

Meth Devendra, building upon one of his previous and related Gazette articles (exponential functions and tangents, V54N1), provides algebraic, geometric, and practical examples of Orthogonal Curves, i.e., the situation where the tangent lines to two curves at the point of intersection are perpendicular.

Regular columns include the following highlights: OAME President, Tim Sibbald (President’s Message) discusses the numeracy–literacy connection, and draws attention to two new books by authors Roberts (re. Conway’s mathematical contributions) and Angus (re. Attawapiskat and social justice issues, including education); Todd Romiens (OAME/NCTM Report) addresses the controversy surrounding the American Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), specifically highlighting the mathematical content standards and mathematical practices (process standards); Shawn Godin (What’s the Problem?) explores the “nifty number 9” including finger multiplication; Assessment Abby (eponymous) focuses on assessment of the Mathematical Process expectations; and Markus Wolski, Agnes Grafton, Ross Isenegger, Greg Clarke, and Kathleen Corrigan (Provincial Digital Learning Resources) describe the “Whole and Relational Rods” tool designed to help students explore number concepts, develop reasoning for various operations, and foster proportional reasoning skills.

Ann Kajander (MB4T) looks at teaching and learning strategies for introducing the first two of the four possible cases of dividing integers. Lynda Colgan (Hey, It’s Elementary) discusses rich tasks, big ideas, and a classroom activity in which students analyzed Northern Ontario bear family composition statistics as compared with those of humans; Mary Bourassa (Technology Corner) explores Number Talks, introducing two rich online resources created by Tranchmontagne (Number Talk Images) and Nguyen (Math Talk); and Carly Ziniuk (In the Middle) presents the second part of Starbucks’ Math in which she focuses on data analysis activities using technology. In the Abacus insert, co-editors Mary Lou Kestell and Kathy Kubota-Zarivnij continue their Volume 54 focus on relational thinking, here focusing on multiplication.

Volume 54 Issue 3 also includes several special features: (i) a letter to the editor by Louis Lim in which he pays personal tribute to the late Frances Schatz; (ii) a review of the 2-volume book set entitled Open Questions for the Three-Part Lesson: Number Sense and Numeration (2015) by author Marian Small; (iii) several Ontario mathematics education researcher profile highlights; and, (iv) further excerpts from Lerman’s Encyclopedia of Mathematics Education (2014) regarding a variety of contemporary math education issues.

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.