MANGO Math will be attending some great conferences over the next couple of months. We love meeting people who are dedicated, like us, in helping students succeed. Conferences provide an opportunity to review research, learn strategies and hear stories on best practices. Some speakers make you think about how you can be better, and some reaffirm that we are doing good work.
For MANGO, we focus on math and problem solving. Our first goal is to reduce fear and anxiety around math, for students AND educators. Some educators suffer from math trauma, a form of debilitating mental shutdown when it comes to mathematics. Some suffer from ambivalence, not as debilitating as math trauma but are doubtful on their abilities and will shun math. The similarity between both groups is the thoughts that surround math, they aren’t good at it, they aren’t fast at figuring out the answer, they didn’t have good experiences in math. MANGO Math tries to change that for students AND educators.
At conferences, we encourage educators to explore and play with math. We make it a game so math is fun and nonthreatening. We encourage players to talk aloud and explain their thinking, problem solve in groups and ask questions. Math isn’t necessarily about getting the right answer, it is about thinking about how to get the right answer. That is what MANGO Math is about.
The PIE conference at Music City, Nashville will be a great chance to network with educators focused on wholly providing the best educational experience for ALL of their students. Professional development opportunities are inherent, and each attendee will be able to walk away with real world best practices that they can apply in their specific setting right away.
This conference will feature a broad arrangement of educational sectors including: after-school, early childhood, and elementary through secondary education. Learning sessions running throughout the conference will focus on areas such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support both academic and non, early childhood practices and literacy, the continuum of services for special education including accountability and compliance, culturally inclusive practices, and many more.
Minnesota’s premier conference for early childhood and after-school education professionals. More than 120 breakout sessions for professional development and best practices sharing. It will be a great opportunity for early childhood and after-school educators to connect, lead, and engage alongside others who are working to become their best selves to be able to give all they can to their students. The keynotes; 2018 Minnesota State Teacher of the Year, Kelly Holstine will speak to more authentic connections with others through owning one’s flaws and mental health and Karla Heeter, Executive Director of Buffalo Hospital Foundation, will provide tools to maintain one’s own happiness and enhance resilience.
MnAEYC and MnSACA are also bringing back the popular table talk sessions where attendees will be able to share experiences and work towards solutions with peer input. The organizers also guarantee attendees will leave with a number of new ideas that can be implemented into home programs immediately!
Hyatt Regency Atlanta, GA
MANGO Math is presenting two sessions: Math, No Problem – Feb 21 – 1:45 – 3:00 and
Feb 22 – 9:00 – 10:45
Mary Curry is also a panelist on Friday, Feb 22 at 1:45 – 3:00 Innovations in STEM education: Going off the Grid, moderated by Heather Norton. Bringing Quality Innovative STEM Education to your program can feel like a daunting task. Join the experts and hear how they interface with imagination – and then get inspired to do the same! The panel discussion will provide actional takeaways and tools you can us right away.
The Beyond School Hours conference is an excellent opportunity for attendees to interact and network with more than 2,000 after-school educators. It is an excellent way to engage with others across the nation and leave with a renewed passion for improving learning outcomes for young people across the entire day through hands-on workshops, powerful celebrations, fascinating educational excursions, take home practices that can be applied right away. We are excited to attend.
March 15-19
The NAA Rise up conference will feature over 2,000 attendees from all sectors of the after-school education and care arena. There will be over 170 fun educational workshops and over 20 hours of specified networking time to share and connect. Their goal is to have every attendee say or think to themselves, “I’ve found my people.” As they say, there is strength in numbers and this conference is one of the best in the industry as people will come from all over to learn, lead, be inspired, and to connect.
Keynotes will kick off Iton Fitzgeral White, career performer with over 4,000 appearances in Broadway’s The Lion King, giving a powerful speech about giving your all every day and will end with Google’s Education Evangelist, Jamie Casap, speaking about education, technology, innovation, and generation Z.
