History of CAC
A brief history of Conversations Among Colleges (CAC) through its connections to Western Michigan University
The First Conversations Among Colleagues Conference March 2004
In March 2004, the Michigan Section of the Mathematical Association of the America (MichMAA), the Michigan Mathematics Teacher Educators (MMTE), the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM), and the Michigan Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (MichMATYC) collaborated on the first Conversations Among Colleagues at GVSU’s DeVos Center in downtown Grand Rapids. The conference was designed to foster communication among the many parties responsible for the mathematics education of teachers—college and university mathematicians and mathematics educators, K–12 mathematics supervisors, curriculum directors, and classroom teachers who mentor teacher interns. This conference was initiated by Dr. Charlene Beckmann, faculty member at Grand Valley State University, who received the first mathematics education PhD from Western Michigan University in 1989.
The First Conversations Among Colleagues Conference Hosted by Western Michigan University March 2008
The first conference hosted by Western Michigan University was the 4th Conversations Among Colleagues held in March 2008. The welcome to the conference captured the intent of the conference:
"Today we have an opportunity to enter into conversations with colleagues from a variety of institutions, backgrounds, and areas of expertise. This conference has brought together approximately 100 mathematicians, mathematics educators, and graduate students from 25 institutions. The thing we have in common is an interest in conversing about Educating Future Teachers of Mathematics: Elementary through University—whether it be in a methods or content course for prospective or practicing K-12 teachers, in courses for mathematics majors who may be future teachers of mathematics at the collegiate level, or in professional development for current teachers of collegiate mathematics."
William McCallum from the University of Arizona addressed the challenges of algebra teaching through a careful analysis of the mathematical structure of the subject itself and Glenda Lappan from Michigan State University provided closing remarks. The steering committee was Kirsty Eisenhart, Terry Grant, Jane-Jane Lo, and Laura Van Zoest.
The First MI-AMTE Conversations Among Colleagues March 2016
As a new affiliate of AMTE, MI-AMTE held its first annual meeting Conversations Among Colleagues (CAC), at Western Michigan University in March 2016. The purpose of the CAC conference remained the same, while expanding the audience: “to bring together people who are involved in the preparation and professional development of teachers—including mathematicians and mathematics educators from universities and colleges and curriculum and professional development directors from school districts and regional service centers—to engage in discussions related to mathematics teaching and learning.” The 2016 conversations focused on Bringing the Standards for Mathematical Practice to Life, with keynote speaker Emma Trevino of San Francisco Public Schools and closing remarks provided by Edward Silver from the University of Michigan. The conference co-chairs were Christine Browning and Laura Van Zoest.
Collaborating for Change – Learning from Each Other
This year’s theme is “Collaborating for Change – Learning from Each Other”
Through this theme, we aim to showcase productive collaborations across settings and stakeholders. For example:
- How do we forge and nurture partnerships between university mathematics educators and collaborating teachers around early field experiences required of our teacher education programs?
- How do university mathematics education researchers and teachers of all grade levels initiate and sustain collaborations around research projects of common interest?
- How do mathematicians and mathematics educators initiate and sustain collaborations around university mathematics instruction?
- How do mathematicians and mathematics educators initiate and sustain collaborations around teacher education (e.g., in the context of mathematics circles for teachers)?
The conference program will consist of featured presentations as well as contributed presentations and discussions led by teacher educators and teachers from around Michigan. For more information about the previous conferences, please visit https://www.miamte.org/conference