My first trip to NCTM is over, and I’m glad I went. Although the setup had a few glitches, like an LCD projector that didn’t want to project from my laptop, my presentation on problem solving using model drawing went well, with close to 180 participants. Many of them came back to the booth, interested in further learning, and some bought books and materials or inquired about future opportunities to develop this skill. I’m really pleased about this, because it means more children may be better equipped to enjoy and understand math.

The booth was busy the whole day, and I demonstrated model drawing with word problems a number of times. That was fun and always drew attention. It’s great to see that “Aha!” moment when teachers see what a powerful tool model drawing is to visualize a word problem. I even used model drawing today in a tutoring session with a high school student who was studying for the PSAT. We were going over some of the problems about which she had questions, and I showed her how to model a problem involving ratios. Using the model drawing method made the answer visually obvious.

It was also great to spend time with team members and colleagues, as well as to meet new people. I hope some of the new contacts will develop into lasting relationships.

If you were a participant in my workshop, I do plan to post the answer key to the model drawing questions here shortly. Check back; they should be here by Monday. Thank you!