(Photograph courtesy of Dr. Frederick Uy, and used with permission.)

When was the last time you had fun in math class?

The California STEAM Symposium says that needs to happen more often.  And so does Steering Committee member Dr. Fred Uy.

When the seventh annual California STEAM Symposium happens, December 9th and 10th in Anaheim, educators will get to see all kinds of ways this could happen.

Fred, as he prefers to be called, is the Director of Educator Preparation at California State University's Office of the Chancellor.   His specialty: math.  He has taught math, both at the K-12  level and, for more than 18 years, at the college level, preparing future math instructors to teach in more innovative ways.  Meanwhile, CSU trains the majority of teachers credentialed in California.

2019 marks Fred's first year on the  California STEAM Symposium's Steering Committee.  He has also attended the symposium many times in the past.

Not surprisingly, Fred is all about exploring nontraditional ways to bring math to life for students.   He will be leading two sessions at the California STEAM Symposium, which the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and the California Department of Education are producing in partnership.

Fred talked about mathematics instruction, some of the ways he himself introduced "out-of-the-box" thinking into his classes and the ways he sees the California STEAM Symposium serving both future students and the next generation of STEAM teachers.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you will hear:


How a different approach led Fred to his career in mathematics;


Fred's first lesson for the next generation of math teachers;


Some of the ways Fred captured the imagination of his own students in his math classes;


A geometry lesson which Fred taught, which incorporated art;


Fred's experiences in his work on the California STEAM Symposium Steering Committee;


An inside preview of the California STEAM Symposium;


Specific STEAM Symposium features which Fred considers to have a major "wow factor";


A look at what will be happening in the makerspaces (which will be in operation throughout both days of the symposium);


A preview of the sessions Fred will be leading;


One innovative CSU program for training teachers, of which a number of people may not be aware;


One misconception about math, which both CSU and the California STEAM Symposium are debunking;


A mini-math lesson which incorporates art!;


What Fred has found most rewarding, in his first year on the Steering Committee;


The changes he's seen, in the way math is taught, over his career in education;


His perspective on the ways mathematics instruction needs to evolve, over the next few years.


The "magic element" he recommends, to get student comfortable with math;


What he's most looking forward to, as the 2019 California STEAM Symposium approaches;


What he himself has learned, in the past year, that he would like to share with fellow education professionals.

 

 
And--here is our previous episode, featuring a conversation with CDEF STEAM Program Director Glennon Stratton, about the California STEAM Symposium!  The California STEAM Symposium begins at 7:00 am, Monday, December 9th, and runs through Tuesday afternoon, December 10th.  This is a symposium for anyone interested in STEAM education; here's the link for information.

n!   Here's the link for information.