Covid-19 Update
For the first time since 2014, we will not be hosting our national Math Plus Conference or any regional, summer conferences. But there is a silver lining. We are starting a Virtual Math Academy that kicks off the summer with a series of 20 virtual workshops, each given multiple times. Teachers will now have more flexibility with 20 dates to choose from, the choice of 2 or 4 workshops per day, and the option to sign up for a half day, 5 days, or a number in between.
Click here to see details on our new summer schedule!

Nashville Math Conference

Greg Tang's inaugural Nashville Math Conference will be held July 20-21, 2020 in Nashville, TN. We will have three specially-designed learning tracks for K-2, 3-5 and 6-8 teachers.

Do you have students who struggle with math facts or lack number sense? Do you have advanced learners who need to be challenged? Do you have students in the middle who are capable of so much more? If you are ready to take your teaching and students to the next level, then join us for Greg Tang’s 2020 Nashville Math Conference!

The theme for our conference this year is Back To Basics. Can less ever be more? Can focusing on a few, key concepts and strategies at each grade level be helpful to students of all abilities and especially those who struggle? Is mastering fundamental skills the secret to learning and mastering more advanced, higher level skills later?

For this year’s Nashville Math Conference, Greg has designed a curriculum that consists of core workshops plus electives. No hit-or-miss sessions here, our speakers will cover fundamental concepts in depth during our core sessions, then apply them in creative and compelling ways in our elective sessions.

Since a curriculum is only as good as the teachers who teach it, Greg has assembled a team of the most well-respected and highly-regarded math educators in the U.S. today. Together, they have sold more than a million books, and pioneered some of the most effective teaching methods used in classrooms around the world.

Our speakers will make sense of the most important concepts and strategies at each grade level, share daily routines and activities that build foundational skills and fill gaps in understanding, and explore teaching methods that develop the higher-order thinking skills kids need to excel in math and in life.


Dr. Yeap Ban har

Sue O'Connell

Greg Tang Sr

John SanGiovanni

Greg Tang Jr
WHAT MAKES OUR INSTITUTES SO DIFFERENT?

First, we offer carefully coordinated workshops that provide a deeper, more connected understanding of mathematics. The strategies and teaching techniques we teach have been pioneered by our speakers and tested in classrooms across the country.

Unlike many conferences that offer a hodgepodge of sessions and topics, Greg’s carefully crafted curriculum targets the most important strategies, skills and standards. Attendees gain a deeper understanding of both effective teaching methods and important mathematical content.

Second, our speakers have been selected because they are master communicators who can articulate their thoughts and ideas clearly and concisely. Each is a proven orator and author, and together they have trained thousands of teachers and sold millions of books.

Every speaker is friendly, approachable and exceptionally gracious too. Our goal is a collegial atmosphere that encourages questions, dialogue and meaningful interactions. We want this to be the best two days of learning you have ever experienced!

Third, unlike large conferences with huge budgets for marketing, we put all of our time, energy, and resources into our speakers and curriculum. We provide 12 hours of world-class instruction in 2 days. We are excited and ready to work with you!

We hope you will join us for two magical days in July. Math Plus represents a new paradigm for professional development – idealistic, intimate and inspiring. Attendees describe our family-run conferences as "life changing" and “by far the best they have ever attended.” You will feel inspired, encouraged, challenged and cared for. We welcome you to Boston's North Shore!

Register

The cost of our two-day institute is $697, and that includes coffee and danish each morning and lunch at noon. Register by March 31st to receive a $52 discount, early-bird price of only $645 per person!

We also have a special student discount for pre-service teachers. Please contact us at: contact@tangmath.com for more information or questions.

Our goal is to make this the best two days of learning you have ever experienced. We hope you will help us spread the word by sharing our link with your friends and colleagues: https://gregtangmath.com/nashvillemath.

Click here to register now!

Presenters

Greg Tang has done over 4,000 workshops, conferences and school visits in the past 19 years. He is the NY Times best-selling author of The Grapes of Math, gold medal-winning eBook Math Appeal, and 6 other books from Scholastic. His website GregTangMath.com has over 93 million page views to date and is a cornerstone of school math programs across the country.
Dr. Yeap Ban Har is considered by many to be the foremost expert on Singapore Math. For over 10 years he taught at the National Institute of Education in Singapore. Currently, Ban Har is the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development at Pathlight School, an autism-oriented school in Singapore. He is also the author of Think Mathematics.
Sue O'Connell is a former teacher, reading specialist, math coach, and school improvement specialist. She is the lead author of Heinemann's Math in Practice series and co-author of Putting the Practices Into Action and Mastering the Basic Math Facts. Sue is a national speaker and consultant and director of Quality Teacher Development, an organization committed to providing outstanding math professional development.
John SanGiovanni is an elementary math supervisor in Howard County, Maryland. He is the coauthor of the bestselling Putting the Practices Into Action and the Mastering the Basic Math Facts series. John is an instructor and coordinator at McDaniel College and a frequent speaker at national conferences. John currently serves on the NCTM Board of Directors.
Greg Tang Jr. leads more than 200 onsite teacher workshops, student enrichment sessions, and family math nights each year. He is the creator of Tangy Tuesday™ and Wordy Wednesday™ puzzles, and inventor of the popular math game Tenframe Mania™. He is a master game developer, programmer, and favorite among teachers, students, and math coaches.

Schedule

(Click here for printable schedule)

Sessions

JULY 20

JULY 21

Keynote

Focus on Fundamentals, Keynote All Grades
Greg Tang Sr

What are the few, really important concepts kids need to know at every grade level? Are there some that are obvious and others that are not? What if the ones that are not obvious are actually the key to math at the upper grade levels?

In the opening keynote, we will explore how our individual math tendencies can help us in some ways and hold us back in others. We will model and solve a clever progression of problems that will shed light on our own unique abilities and help us become the best math teachers we can be.

K-2 Sessions

Fluency & Facts – Grades K-2
Sue O'Connell

Moving Beyond Memorization: A Focus on Addition and Subtraction Fact Fluency

Mastery of addition and subtraction facts is about more than memorization. Through explorations in which students explore operations, observe number patterns, and make connections to properties, our students make sense of the facts and emerge with fluency and number sense. Discover investigations, discussions, visual models, children’s literature, and fluency games that develop an understanding of basic addition and subtraction facts and move students toward fact fluency.

Number Sense and Reasoning Routines – Grades K-2
John SanGiovanni

Do your K-2 students struggle with reasoning about numbers and quantity, addition and subtraction, decomposition or even counting principles? Are you looking for practical, high-quality tasks to engage students and ignite discussion? In this session, participants learn about dynamic, doable activities that engage students in meaningful ways. A collection of ready-for-use resources will be provided and explored so that pursuit of number sense becomes a daily routine. These resources naturally complement each and every lesson in any middle school mathematics class. Classroom clips of colleagues leveraging these strategies will also be shared.

Instruction & Intervention – Grades K-2
Greg Tang Sr

Do you have students who struggle with their basic addition facts? Have poor number sense? Have trouble with place value, regrouping, missing addend, or comparison problems?

Join us as we take a “less is more” approach to teaching critical concepts and skills, including proven progressions of concrete, pictorial, and abstract models (C-P-A) that give kids a deeper, more connected understanding of number, operations, and word problems.

We will also address perhaps the biggest challenge we face when doing intervention. How do we help students with their current grade level understanding and skills when it is clear they are 1 or more years behind? Is it possible to teach current skills while at the same time filling in pre-requisite skills and gaps in knowledge? Join us and see why the surprising answer is “yes!”

3-5 Sessions

Number Sense and Reasoning Routines – Grades 3-5
John SanGiovanni

Do your 3-5 students struggle with number relationships and decomposition, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division and even fractions? Are you looking for practical, high-quality tasks to engage students and ignite discussion? In this session, participants learn about dynamic, doable activities that engage students in meaningful ways. A collection of ready-for-use resources will be provided and explored so that pursuit of number sense becomes a daily routine. These resources naturally complement each and every lesson in any middle school mathematics class. Classroom clips of colleagues leveraging these strategies will also be shared.

Fluency & Facts – Grades 3-5
Sue O'Connell

Moving Beyond Memorization: A Focus on Multiplication and Division Fact Fluency

Mastery of multiplication and division facts is about more than memorization. Related standards challenge our students to understand operations, interpret equations, apply properties, and understand inverses. Discover investigations, discussions, visual models, children’s literature, and fluency games that deepen students’ understanding of multiplication and division facts and move them toward fact fluency.

Fraction Foundations – Grades 3-5 (elective)
Greg Tang Sr

The goal of this session is to model the teaching of fractions in a way that gives kids a deeper, more connected understanding of numerators, denominators, fraction notation, unit fractions, proper fractions, improper fractions, and mixed numbers.

To represent fractions, we will use a progression of concrete, pictorial, and abstract models, including Cuisenaire Rods, folding paper, tape diagrams, number lines, and eventually, formal fraction notation.

Join us as we build the strong foundational understanding that allows kids to transition from whole numbers to fractions and decimals. We will use concrete experiences, common sense thinking, and cleverly constructed teaching materials to reason about and make sense of fractions.

Differentiation – Grades 3-5 (elective)
Yeap Ban Har

This session is about using a single anchor task to cater to a range of students. Come experience teaching moves that can support struggling learners and challenge advanced ones.

6-8 Sessions

Rational Numbers – Grades 6-8
Yeap Ban Har

In this session we look at division involving fractions and integer operations to see the importance of reading mathematical notations and conventions. See how middle school students can make sense of such operations.

Ratios, Unit Rates & Proportional Reasoning – Grades 6-8
Greg Tang Sr

Proportional reasoning is the heart of middle school math and one of the most important skills kids need to have. Join us as we explore a natural and intuitive way of developing this key skill by solving a progression of multiplicative comparison problems. We will first model them concretely, then pictorially, and finally abstractly.

Can multiplication and division be taught as proportional thinking? Can visual models help kids think proportionally about fractions, decimals, ratios, and unit rates? Can students learn to use proportional reasoning to make sense of linear equations and solve challenging word problems?

Our carefully constructed progression of problems connect multiplication, division, fractions, ratios, and unit rates, while laying the groundwork for slope. We will use visual models to help students see and understand proportional relationships – including tape diagrams, double-sided number lines, and tables. Where do algebraic equations fit in? After students have already learned to think proportionally. Ratios and unit rates will never be the same!

Electives

Instruction & Intervention – Grades K-2
Greg Tang Sr

Do you have students who struggle with their basic addition facts? Have poor number sense? Have trouble with place value, regrouping, missing addend, or comparison problems?

Join us as we take a “less is more” approach to teaching critical concepts and skills, including proven progressions of concrete, pictorial, and abstract models (C-P-A) that give kids a deeper, more connected understanding of number, operations, and word problems.

We will also address perhaps the biggest challenge we face when doing intervention. How do we help students with their current grade level understanding and skills when it is clear they are 1 or more years behind? Is it possible to teach current skills while at the same time filling in pre-requisite skills and gaps in knowledge? Join us and see why the surprising answer is “yes!”

Geometry – Grades K-5
Yeap Ban Har

What’s the essence of geometry at elementary levels? Ban Har will address how geometry topics can develop visualization, a key ability in doing mathematics and some teaching tools to enhance visualization.

Nurturing Perseverance for Rich Math Tasks – Grades 3-8
Sue O'Connell

A critical element for math success is the ability to persevere, and yet perseverance is difficult for many of our students. Why do students give up? How can we help them remain focused? What types of tasks present the greatest challenge? Explore ways to spark discussions about what perseverance means and its value to mathematicians. Gather ideas for helping students identify strategies for moving forward when they want to give up. Discover where to find complex math tasks that challenge students’ perseverance. Gather practical strategies and teaching tips to help your students nurture this critical disposition.

Number Sense and Reasoning Routines – Grades 6-8
John SanGiovanni

Do your 6-8 students struggle with reasoning about integers, fractions, percent, expressions and equations? Are you looking for practical, high-quality tasks to engage students and ignite discussion? In this session, participants learn about dynamic, doable activities that engage students in meaningful ways. A collection of ready-for-use resources will be provided and explored so that pursuit of number sense with these concepts becomes a daily routine. These resources naturally complement each and every lesson in any middle school mathematics class. Classroom clips of colleagues leveraging these strategies will also be shared.

JULY 20

JULY 21

Keynote

Lesson Design, Keynote All Grades
Yeap Ban Har

What learning experiences must math lessons include? What learning theories mold lesson design? What are the guiding questions in lesson design? What knowledge should teachers bring with them in designing effective math lessons? In this keynote lecture, we will look at lesson design from the perspective of a teacher.

K-2 Sessions

Enrichment – Grades K-2
Yeap Ban Har

Learn how to turn a learning task to meet the demands of advanced learners. Learn how enrichment can be made available to all learners, not just advanced learners.

A Visual Approach to Word Problems – Grades K-2
Greg Tang Jr

Do your students struggle with word problems? Do they guess at operations based on key words? Do they think the bigger number in a problem is always “the whole?” Do you find yourself repeatedly asking kids to read the entire problem and to try to make sense of the story?

Join us as we use part-whole models and tape diagrams (bar models) to make sense of all 15 types of addition and subtraction word problems. We will put problem types in a sensible order, and build skills systematically so kids naturally learn to solve more challenging start unknown problems, comparison problems, and two-step problems.

To develop our kids' conceptual understanding, we will explore numberless problems, questionless problems, problems with errors, and rigorous problems that require greater reasoning skills, not more arithmetic. We’ll see how word problems can be a powerful tool for developing mathematical thinking.

Deepening Place Value Understanding Through Models and Math Talk – Grades K-2
Sue O'Connell

A deep understanding of place value allows students to make sense of how numbers work and provides a foundation for other primary-level skills including addition, subtraction, and comparing numbers. Explore tasks that move students from basic to more complex place value understanding. Discover simple investigations using varied models to allow students to visualize place value concepts. Explore questions that get students thinking, talking, and discovering insights that lead to a deep understanding of numbers.

3-5 Sessions

A Visual Approach to Word Problems – Grades 3-5
Greg Tang Jr

Do your students struggle with word problems? Do they guess at operations based on key words? When they read “3 times as many” do they multiply whatever number they see by 3? When they read “1/2 as many” do they automatically divide a number by 2? Do you find yourself repeatedly asking them to read carefully and try to make sense of the story?

Join us as we use tape diagrams (bar models) to visualize and model challenging, multistep addition and subtraction word problems with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. We will then apply them more generally to solve multiplication and division problems with remainders, and multiplicative comparison problems with both whole numbers and fractions.

Throughout the session, we will solve problems in a strategic order as we build skills systematically and sensibly. You will come away with a better understanding of the many types of multiplication and division word problems, how to model and teach them more effectively, and how to develop the proportional reasoning skills kids need for higher math.

Understanding Fractions: A Focus on Operations – Grades 3-5
Sue O'Connell

As students learn to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions, how can we focus on understanding each operation and making sense of the various rules and procedures? Explore strategies and gather tips to move students through a progression of fraction operations. Discover simple investigations, helpful models, guiding questions, and meaningful tasks to enhance both understanding and fluency with fraction operations.

Math in Context: Using Children's Literature to Explore Numbers and Operations – Grades 3-5 (elective)
Sue O'Connell

Join us to explore children’s books that provide a springboard to think about, talk about, and better understand numbers and operations. Explore how to use before-, during-, and after-reading questions to ignite students’ curiosity and prompt insights and reflections. Gather new titles that correlate to grades 3-5 math standards and gather tips for posing problem-based tasks focused on the story context. Discover how children’s literature brings energy to your math classroom as your students experience math in context.

Instruction & Intervention – Grades 3-5 (elective)
Greg Tang Sr

Do you have students who struggle with their multiplication and division facts? Have poor number sense? Have trouble with rounding and operations with fractions and decimals?

Join us as we take a “less is more” approach to teaching critical concepts and skills. We will explore proven progressions of concrete, pictorial, and abstract models (C-P-A) that give kids a deeper, more connected understanding of number, operations, and word problems.

We will also address perhaps the biggest challenge we face when doing intervention. How do we help students with their current grade level understanding and skills when it is clear they are 1, 2 or 3 or more years behind? Is it possible to teach current skills while at the same time filling in pre-requisite skills and gaps in knowledge? Join us and see why the surprising answer is “yes!”

Rate of Change – Grades 6-8
Greg Tang Sr

Are there any really, really important math concepts kids might not understand well but if they did, math would be so much more enjoyable and helpful? In this session, we will cover two that immediately come to mind.

The first is the idea that relationships can be multiplicative rather than additive. The second is that while we start by thinking about part-whole relationships when we are young, we need to shift to making comparisons as we get older.

What if many kids never learn to think multiplicatively and never learn to shift from part-whole thinking to comparing? Will they struggle with fractions, ratios, unit rates and slope?

Join us as we solve a carefully constructed progression of problems that encourages kids – and teachers too – to make these two fundamental shifts in their thinking. Developing proportional reasoning skills is the first step. Understanding rate of change is the second!

Exp & Equations – Grades 6-8
Yeap Ban Har

Let’s explore how the learning of algebraic thinking can be made accessible to all learners and how the solving of equations can be used to develop thinking, not just the ability to execute procedures.

Electives

Deepening Place Value Understanding Through Models and Math Talk – Grades K-2
Sue O'Connell

A deep understanding of place value allows students to make sense of how numbers work and provides a foundation for other primary-level skills including addition, subtraction, and comparing numbers. Explore tasks that move students from basic to more complex place value understanding. Discover simple investigations using varied models to allow students to visualize place value concepts. Explore questions that get students thinking, talking, and discovering insights that lead to a deep understanding of numbers.

Measurement – Grades K-5
Yeap Ban Har

Using length and area as case studies, we will look at the essence of all measurement topics and the types of competencies that measurements topics can help students develop.

Math Centers – Grades 3-5
Greg Tang Jr

Can math centers be an effective way to reinforce key skills, fill gaps in knowledge, provide thoughtful repetition and practice, and make learning more personal for kids of all abilities? Yes – provided that the activities are well-designed, carefully-thought out, and target key skills, strategies and standards in a systematic and sensible way.

In this session, we will explore what makes a math center effective. Does it develop reasoning or computational skills, or both? If it’s a group activity, does it encourage cooperation or competition? Can it be used for independent practice? If so, is the activity self-checking or does the teacher have to keep an eye out to make sure students are not practicing mistakes? Does the activity have high “math density” or is a lot of time spent on non-math activities?

Join us as we play 5 engaging and educating math games, and solve 5 amazingly addictive math puzzles. Our card games, board games, digital games, and puzzles develop key reasoning and computational skills at each grade level and encourage the mindset and perseverance kids need as they grow older. Should every second of math class be filled with joy? No, but every second playing our games will be!

Area Model Magic – Grades 5-8
Greg Tang Sr

Is there a tool that can help students become fluent with their math facts? Develop proportional reasoning skills? Make sense of algebraic equations? A tool that is so intuitive that kids and adults of all ages find them immediately compelling, clever, and clear? Yes. And it’s the area model!

Join us as we explore this incredibly powerful but frequently overlooked tool. At every grade level, there are key, “go-to,” non-negotiable models that kids have to learn well. For grades 3 thru 5, area models are exactly that. They make sense of multiplication and division with whole numbers of all sizes, and generalize easily to operations with fractions and decimals.

What about grades 6 thru 8? The magic continues. Area models are the key to helping kids understand the distributive property, positive and negative quantities, averages, rates of change, and so much more. Join us and experience area in new and exciting ways. Length times width will never feel the same!

JULY 20

JULY 21

Hotel

Holiday Inn Express Nashville Downtown Conference Center
920 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: 615-244-0150
Holiday Inn Express Nashville Downtown Conference Center
All workshops and activities will be held at The Holiday Inn Express Nashville Downtown Conference Center.

Book your room directly through the Holiday Inn Express Nashville Downtown Conference Center. Click here to book your room today.

Meals

To make sure everyone is caffeinated and on time for their workshops, we’ll provide coffee and danish from 7:30-8:00 each morning and a deli lunch each day from 11:00-11:45. It’s all part of your registration fee, and we’re still less expensive than many conferences!

Why don’t other conferences supply breakfast and lunch like us? Because it’s expensive. But we believe it’s money well-spent as it allows us to compress our schedule and offer additional workshops each day. In addition, one of the important goals of our conference is to encourage camaraderie and collegiality and eating together is a great way to meet new people and get to know our friendly presenters.

We do not provide dinner, so grab a few of your newfound friends and head to one of Boston's culinary options.

Course Credit

Our 2-day workshops are eligible for 1 semester unit of college credit through Humboldt State University for an additional cost. These courses are offered primarily for elective or professional development purposes. The cost is $50 per semester credit.

For attending a Greg Tang math workshop you will also receive course completion certificate which will be emailed to you at the end of the institute.

If there are special requirements you or your state have for CEUs, please contact us at: contact@tangmath.com as soon as possible so we can attempt to accommodate you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pay with a credit card?
Yes, we accept credit card payments on our website. After completing your registration information you will be taken to the payments page where you can complete your registration using your credit card. You will receive an email once your payment has been processed.

Can I register using a purchase order?
Of course! We know that many districts will only allow workshop registration using purchase orders. Once you complete your registration information, you will be taken to a page to complete your payment information. Your registration is not confirmed until you enter your purchase order information or complete purchase with credit card. If you do not have a PO # at the time of registration, enter "email" in the PO # field and send us an email at contact@tangmath.com to confirm your registration. You can email, fax or mail your PO to the information below. Payment is preferred prior to the event.

Do you have a paper registration form?
We accept registrations using this form, although we cannot guarantee space will be available at the time of receipt. To ensure your spot is saved for the workshop, you must first register online: registration link. If your school requires paper registration, you should still complete the online registration and save your spot by entering the purchase order number as "Paper".

When is my payment due?
Payments are due prior to the event. We can accept cash, check and all major credit cards on-site at the workshop if prior arrangements have been made.

Do you offer group discounts?
For the 2020 Summer Math Events we have decided to forgo the group discounts and offer Early Bird Registration instead. Register by March 31st to receive a $52 per person discount, or by May 31st for a $23 per person discount.

I am unable to attend. Can someone take my spot?
Yes, you can switch out attendees at any point leading up to the conference. Just send us a quick email to contact@tangmath.com with the name of the attendee who is unable to join, and the name, grade level, and email address of their replacement. In-case there are last minute changes, have the replacement let us know at check-in who they will be filling in for.

What happens if I have to cancel?
We understand there are times where you may be unable to attend a conference you have registered for. If cancellation is done more than 30-days from the event, we will refund your registration cost minus a $100 administration fee. We will waive the cancellation fee by holding the balance paid to a future workshop hosted by Creative Smarts, Inc. if requested.

There are no refunds for cancellations within 30-days of the event (no refunds for cancellations requested after June 21st).

Can I get an invoice for my registration?
When you complete your registration, an automatic confirmation email is sent to the email address listed as the payment contact. This email includes a link to download your invoice. Please check your junk/spam folder to see if this email was caught up there. If you are still unable to find the invoice, write to us at contact@tangmath.com with the primary registrant’s name and we will email you an invoice.

Are you a vendor for my district?
There is a good possibility we have been added as a vendor in your district for a previous workshop, if so we would be listed as "Tang Math LLC". If we are not listed as a vendor, we would be glad to provide you the information you need to have us added. Email us at contact@tangmath.com and we will send over the required tax form. Our contact information is listed below.

Do you offer college credit for this workshop?
We are still finalizing the details of college credit for the 2018 Math Institutes. The past two years we were able to offer 1 semester unit of college credit through Humboldt State University at the cost of $50 per unit. These courses are offered primarily for elective or professional development purposes.

What time is the conference?
The full daily schedule can be seen at the bottom of the sessions tab. We will plan to have onsite check-in available the night before the conference. Check-in on Monday, July 27th will start at 7:00 am. Further registration details will be provided nearer to the event.

May I record a session at the conference?
Audio or visual recording is not permitted at any workshop or seminar due to copyright/trademark issues.

What is your contact information?

Company name:Tang Math LLC.
Mailing address:PO Box 777850
 Henderson, NV 89077
Email Address:contact@tangmath.com
Phone Number:858-244-0498
Fax Number:858-408-2986

Register

The cost of our two-day institute is $697, and that includes coffee and danish each morning and lunch at noon. Register by March 31st to receive a $52 discount, early-bird price of only $645 per person!

We also have a special student discount for pre-service teachers. Please contact us at: contact@tangmath.com for more information or questions.

Our goal is to make this the best two days of learning you have ever experienced. We hope you will help us spread the word by sharing our link with your friends and colleagues: https://gregtangmath.com/nashvillemath.

Click here to register!

Click here to register now!