MSU at 2026 NCSM, NCTM Annual Meetings
Several PRIME members will be presenting at this year’s NCSM conference and the NCTM 2026 Annual Meeting & Exposition both hosted in Denver, Colorado, during the week of October 26th.
NCSM, the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, will hold its 58th annual conference first, from October 26-28th. NCSM is committed to supporting leaders’ work in inspiring high-quality mathematics teaching and learning every day for each and every learner. Conference sessions will focus on Elevating Access to and Success in Mathematics, Elevating Instructional Excellence and Innovation, Elevating Courageous Leadership and Coaching, and Elevating Mathematical Identity and Agency.
AJ Edson, Betty Phillips, and Yvonne Slanger-Grant are this year’s MSU Math Ed presenters at the NCSM conference.
Their session, “AI as a Teaching Partner: Supporting Deep Proportional Reasoning and Active Learning For All Students” explores how AI-driven tools can help mathematics leaders and teachers implement research-based strategies that foster deeper mathematical understanding and ensure active participation for all students. Participants will learn how AI provides real-time insights into student reasoning, enabling teachers to dynamically adapt instruction. They will discuss how these tools promote engagement, track student progress over time, and create inclusive learning environments where all students can thrive in problem-based mathematics classrooms.
The same three presenters are also presenting at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) 2026 Annual Meeting & Exposition held from October 28th-31st.
Their theme for this year’s NCTM is Mathematics for a Changing World: Belonging, Learning, and Leading. This is a defining gathering for mathematics educators—where the future of teaching and learning is being written while making an impact in classrooms today. Classroom teachers, school leaders, and innovators will come together to share practices that elevate student voice, harness the power of technology with care, and strengthen teaching for every learner. Just as importantly, the conference is committed to supporting the joy, purpose, and well-being of teachers, ensuring they are sustained as they do this vital work.
The NCTM conference this year will focus on the following strands:
- Deepening content knowledge and strengthening pedagogy
- Integrating technology: digital access and the use of AI
- Access, inclusion, belonging, and empowerment
- Fostering and sustaining educators through effective leadership, coaching, advocacy, and community building
The NCTM Annual Meetings bring together thousands of mathematics educators from all over the world to learn, collaborate, inspire, and more. With over hundreds of education sessions to choose from, educators will walk away with tangible tools and skills to implement in the classroom.
In their first session, AJ, Betty and Yvonne will present “Connecting Proportional Reasoning to the Real World: Engaging Students Through STEM Problems.” They will inquire how on can we provide students with access to high quality mathematics, meaningful engagement opportunities, and pathways to excellence in learning, all while connecting proportional reasoning to the real world. Drawing on research, student work, and feedback from over 500 field test teachers, we will highlight strategies to deepen understanding, engage learners, and celebrate diverse ways of thinking in middle grades mathematics classroom using Connected Mathematics Project's STEM Problems.
In their second session, “AI in Action: Supporting Proportional Reasoning in Problem-Based Classrooms” they will illustrate how the Connected Mathematics Project uses artificial intelligence to support teachers and students in problem-based mathematics classrooms. Drawing on a digital platform embedded with the Connected Mathematics curriculum, they will show how machine learning helps identify, support, and track students' proportional reasoning strategies within and across problems over the course of a year, providing real time insights to inform instruction.
Finally, their last session, “Re-imagining School Algebra in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” will discuss how AI can solve most math problems in the K-16 curriculum. So, what are the most important mathematical ideas students need to know? How do they come to understand them? How do we help them know what they know? This talk explores essential algebraic and functional concepts in school algebra, highlighting their relevance and showcasing examples of student understanding. It also provides insights into how AI can support teaching and assessing these ideas, enhancing both learning and evaluation.
See below for details of the MSU Math Ed participation at both conferences.
MSU Presentations
58th NCSM Annual Conference
- Sessions are held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
3:15-4:15pm
Directors Row H
“AI as a Teaching Partner: Supporting Deep Proportional Reasoning and Active Learning For All Students”
Alden “AJ” Edson, Elizabeth “Betty” Phillips, and Yvonne Slanger-Grant
2026 NCTM Annual Meeting and Exposition
- Sessions held at the Colorado Convention Center
- Come visit the MSU Math Ed booth # 839 in the Exhibit Hall at the Convention Center. Lisa Keller is representing PRIME and will be exhibiting 4-6pm on Wednesday, October 28th, and 9am-5pm on Thursday, October 29th and Friday, October 30th!
Thursday, October 29, 2026
1:00-2:00pm
Session #140, Room: 406-407
“Connecting Proportional Reasoning to the Real World: Engaging Students Through STEM Problems”
Alden “AJ” Edson, Elizabeth “Betty” Phillips, and Yvonne Slanger-Grant
Friday, October 30, 2026
2:30-3:30pm
Session #450, Room: Bluebird Ball 3A
“AI in Action: Supporting Proportional Reasoning in Problem-Based Classrooms”
Alden “AJ” Edson, Elizabeth “Betty” Phillips, and Yvonne Slanger-Grant
Thursday, October 30, 2026
4:00-5:00pm
Session #497, Room: 303
“Re-imagining School Algebra in the Age of Artificial Intelligence”
Alden “AJ” Edson, Elizabeth “Betty” Phillips, and Yvonne Slanger-Grant
