“Road Trip!” These words brought new meaning to twenty-five area math and science teachers and GEAR UP team members as they loaded a chartered bus and traveled to San Antonio, Texas to attend the 2018 T3 International Conference and celebrate 30 years of the T3 program. The conference provides a unique opportunity for professionals to connect and engage with a global community of educators and thought leaders who share a collective passion for excellence in math, science and STEM education—and a commitment to instilling this same passion into young minds. The three days of hands-on professional development inspired the educators, deepened their expertise and showed them new ways to engage students.
Mathematician and former professional football player John Urschel was keynote speaker during the opening session. Urschel shared his journey of where a love for math has taken him and where it can take students. Urschel is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in applied mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He shared how his passion for math led him to leave the NFL and follow his dream of impacting those who love math and those who don’t.
Attendees chose from over 280 concurrent sessions presented by T3 instructors and colleagues from around the world. Six members of the Eastern delegation shared their expertise and presented workshops.
Wilburton mathematics teacher Lisa Goddard and Panama science teacher Liz Belcher presented “Innovative activities to Nspire students.” McAlester mathematics teacher and math department chair Tim Collier presented “Quick polls: the guiding questions of STEM.”
Belcher and Collier also presented “Investigating temperature with TI-Nspire CX Technology.” McAlester science teacher Michelle Cole and mathematics teacher Tracey Matthews presented “Hey! You got math on my science. . . you got science on my math!” McCurtain math teacher Cydney Meglemre presented “What’s in a name?”
“We are excited that we were able to offer this opportunity to so many of our teachers,” said GEAR UP Project Director Linda Morgan. “Thanks to Texas Instruments who sponsored a lot of the expenses for our group, we were able to take a large delegation from southeastern Oklahoma. This was a tremendous opportunity for our math and science teachers to network with educators from around the world.”
Attending the conference were: Shana Grubis, Canadian; Jamie Booth and Margaret Giles, Haileyville; Shelly Wansick, Hartshorne; John Honeycutt and Cydney Meglemre, Keota; J. D. Allen and Tracy Loyd, LeFlore; Michelle Cole, Tim Collier, Chrissy Guthrie, Amanda Jones, Bret Lalli, Tracy Matthews and Taylor Smith, McAlester; Tonya McKnight, Moyers; Liz Belcher, Panama; Keith Craig, Spiro; Tammi Bethell, Talihina; and Lisa Goddard, Wilburton; GEAR UP Professional Development Coordinator John Spiegel; GEAR UP Administrative Assistant to the Professional Development Coordinator Kathy Ramsey; GEAR UP Web/Computer Tech Specialist Doug Hensley; GEAR UP Assistant Project Director Dara Self; and GEAR UP Project Director Linda Morgan.
