LEO Team
Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
Family and Community Math: An Essential Part of an Early Learning Strategy
July 21, 2020, 12:30–2 p.m. ET
This Funder-to-Funder Conversation brings together CGLR and the Heising-Simons Foundation to explore the vital role of families and communities in promoting early math learning. Liz Simons of the Heising-Simons Foundation shares her belief that early math learning opportunities represent an equity issue and emphasizes that funders have an important role to play in supporting, strengthening, and validating what families are already doing to build early math skills. Kimberly Brenneman of Heising-Simons provides an overview of the research behind early math. She then moderates a panel discussion with local funders and leaders of programs advancing early math, including Omowale Moses of MathTalk and Geeta Pradhan of Cambridge Community Foundation, which invests in MathTalk; David Parker of ServeMinnesota and Kate Kelly of PNC Bank, which invests in ServeMinnesota; and Nikki Shearman of Reach Out and Read. Together, they walk through case studies of the work they are doing and supporting to promote family and community math, while also discussing the ways COVID is shaping their work and influencing their future plans. View here.
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The Future of Early Math: What Science and Practice Tell Us
Co-hosted with the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE)
November 10, 2020, 3–4:30 p.m. ET
In this GLR Learning Tuesdays Science Matters series webinar, co-hosted with the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE), presenters share their understanding, grounded in science, of the essential role that early math plays in an early learning strategy. They provide examples of early math in action, giving insights about how to engage parents and practitioners in practical, accessible activities to promote early math. They also look to the future of early math, as NAFSCE creates and leads a national center on family math, seeking to advance a national campaign to close opportunity and achievement gaps through the promotion of family math. Moderator Kimberly Brenneman of the Heising-Simons Foundation is joined by presenters Eric Dearing, Ph.D., of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College and a member of the DREME (Development and Research in Early Math Education) Network; Jennifer McCray, Ph.D., with the Erikson Institute Early Math Collaborative; Margaret Caspe, Ph.D., of NAFSCE; and Gigliana Melzi, Ph.D., of New York University and a member of the DREME Network. Omowale Moses of MathTalk and Vito Borrello of NAFSCE serve as commentators. View here.
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ParentChild+: Engaging Families in Early Math Through Home Visiting
May 5, 2022, 3–4:30 p.m. ET
Jermell Witherspoon of Zeno kicks off this Early Math + Early Literacy webinar by highlighting the math brilliance within every child. Zeno’s mission is to spark joy and inspire a love of math in young children and families through racial equity, family engagement, and play, with a focus on communities of color. One way they are advancing this mission is through their partnership with ParentChild+. Witherspoon is joined by Pamela Williams of ParentChild+ Start Early WA and Erin Kinsella of ParentChild+ Encompass to share highlights of the collaboration. Malkia Singleton Ofori-Agyekum of ParentChild+ moderates the presenters’ discussion of the impact of Zeno’s work with ParentChild+ home visitors and families in promoting early math skills. The session also features a video showing a family using Zeno math activities, illustrating how Zeno and ParentChild+ are bringing math learning into homes and helping foster positive math identities. View here.
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Innovation in Out-of-School Digital STEM Initiatives
July 26, 2022, 3–4:30 p.m. ET
In this session, Gemma Lenowitz of the Overdeck Family Foundation moderates a lively conversation with Ramya Gopal of PowerMyLearning, Norah Jones of The WNET Group, Marsha Lee of Clayton County Public Schools, Javier Maisonet of MathTalk, and Lisa Wang and Katie Wood of Almost Fun on innovations in the digital STEM learning space. Each speaker shares highlights of their organizations’ programs and apps, offering real-time demonstrations that showcase the creativity, fun, and learning opportunities within each resource. Participants also hear from teachers who have firsthand experience with the technologies and describe how students and families benefit from the tools while contributing to ongoing research and development. The session underscores how digital STEM models are helping to close the gap in access to out-of-school and summer learning experiences, with data showing strong reach among children from low-income families and families of color. View here.
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The Surprising Importance of Early Math
October 20, 2022, 3–4:30 p.m. ET
In this session, the second in the Early Math + Early Literacy webinar series, Douglas Clements, Ph.D., and Julie Sarama, Ph.D., of Marsico Institute at the University of Denver, lead participants through an interactive exploration of the five surprising reasons early math is critical. Nicki Newton, Ed.D., of Newton Education Solutions moderates a conversation where the panelists review a plethora of research studies that reinforce the idea that early math makes a huge impact on a child’s cognitive ability and affects school success. View here.
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Developing Math Joy and Identity Through Literature
December 14, 2022, 3–4:30 p.m. ET
The third convening of the Early Math + Early Literacy series explores books from the Mathical Book Prize list — and beyond — in the company of authors, educators, and early childhood experts. Mathical aims to inspire children of all backgrounds, ages, and interests to develop a love and appreciation of the math that exists in the world around them, and session attendees share that enthusiasm for the highlighted books. Panelists include Kristopher Childs of Open Up Resources; author Ana Crespo, known for Lia and Luís: Who Has More?; Christopher Danielson, author of Which One Doesn’t Belong?; Rakhee Dodia from the Early Math Collaborative at Erikson Institute; Herbert Ginsburg of Teachers College, Columbia University; Marlene Kliman, senior scientist at TERC and math editor for the Charlesbridge Storytelling Math series; Araceli Moreno Lomeli from McHenry Public Library District in Illinois; Carolyn Pfister and Naomi Reeley of the California Early Math Project; and Miguel Tanco, author and illustrator of Count On Me and many other children’s books. Kirsten Bohl of the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute (SLMath) moderates the session. View here.
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Get to Know MathTalk
March 30, 2023, 3–4:30 p.m. ET
In this Early Math + Early Literacy “unwebinar,” Omowale Moses of MathTalk emphasizes the importance of creating joyful, everyday mathematical experiences with children. He is joined by colleagues Angie Uyham, Claudia Ferrara, and Javier Maisonet, who highlight MathTalk’s work promoting math joy and discourse in communities. Moderated by Jessica Tilli of the Philadelphia School District, the presenters share how they use co-design to empower stakeholders to create MathTrails for their own neighborhoods. Uyham engages attendees in brainstorming ways to bring math to life, with ideas like hosting a math-based scavenger hunt in a library, designing a shape walk at a mall, and playing “Which One Doesn’t Belong” along a Tucson bike path. Ferrara introduces Measure! Everything!, MathTalk’s augmented reality app, which impresses participants so much that many downloaded it during the session. Reflecting on the importance of math talk outside of school, Moses says, “Math is part of a human experience…it’s really empowering.” Ferrara adds that encouraging math conversations builds positive math identity, confidence, and mindset, setting children up for future success. View here.
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