Chit Chat about Math

We discussed a number of challenges that we felt were important to student learning and I've left of these below.

- Children having a range of knowledge but not being able to apply it correctly.

- Children revert to early number strategies as these are the most prominent in their brain even though they have more effective ways of solving problems.

-Children having gaps in knowledge either from Covid or from not retaining knowledge from previous years.

- Children not understanding how they can move onto the next step in their learning.

- Children not having the self-confidence or self-efficacy to learn from others and apply that learning in different contexts.

As we reflect on the many challenges we have identified in mathematics we realise that this is a massive area to study and look into. We wanted to choose the biggest ticket items for each class or group and really understand how we can make a difference for the children and there is. I told her up, perhaps looking at children understanding the gaps and their next steps as being something I could do in my classroom. I also discussed how building self-efficacy, self-confidence and sharing of knowledge could link nicely to Hannah's extension group.

Exploring the Challenge

Maths is complex we all know that. There is number knowledge, strand, apply the knowledge we have learned. When exploring the wider Data from PAT test in our school, cluster and wider Makaiakalani community we can see that for us in our school their is a significant challenge. 

Graph 1: Pt England School: 

As you can see from this graph well the children look to be travelling along the same trajectory as the norm the gap between the norm and children at our school at all levels in significant. 

Graph 2: Manaiakalani Cluster:

While this paints a lightly more positive picture it is clear that at year 9 and 10 the gap widens and that there is still a difference between the data and norm. 

Graph 3: The Manaiakalani Programs 

Similarly to the data is closer to the norm but still shows that there is a gap widening at year 7-10. 

What does this say about the problem? We can see that the wide range of knowledge, strategy and application required in Mathematics are not being gain by all children and that on the whole there is a significant gap between the the norm and especially where the children are at our school. 

Inquiring a New Year = New opportunities

What a time we live in!

We have had so much anxiety, we have fought to survive as teacher, learners and humans. 

We had faced Covid 19 and as we hoped for a more normal year where children did not have to face the same anxiety and challenges. 

With the recent floods many people are unsettled but learners and teachers alike are eager, excited and ready for 2023. 

As teachers we are always learning. We are know a lot and try new things but with out efficiency and routine we end up frustrated and feel unheard. But.... there is a balance when routine is all you do life and learning get very boring. 

As we inquiry we need to think about how we become adaptive experts. How do we build on what we learned last year, change, adapt, develop and make learning something everyone in the room enjoys and wants to do. 

This week I have been thinking about this idea a lot. I have been trying new things trying to be more of a record keeper. 

One thing I have attempted this week is using a digital modelling book as a guide for both my lesson and for children to reflect back on. 

What I loved about this was not the writing a modelling book but the way in which the children reflected on what they know about with reading and writing. 

Being an adaptive expert means being aware of the environment and situation around us and know what we can do to optimise these. I like everyone you can just be an expert you have to keep developing, keep calm and TRY!

How can we be the people who are, calm, encourage, supportive and help children feel safe in this world that is forever changing and at sometimes fraught with danger. Is it about helping children feel informed and aware, be partners in learning and know that they can always seek help and that we are all humans and make mistakes.  

Planning for effective inquiry

What is real for the kids we are teaching right now? 

What is manageable? 

How will my question develop to meet the needs of my class. 

 

 

Meet the CoL Across School Teachers

 We are so privileged to have wonderful experts in our community. These wonderful Across School Teachers are support kind teachers who are her to help us.

Elena

Is a wonderful year 3 teacher at Glen Taylor School. She has challenged herself and put herself out there as a class OnAir teacher. She loves maths and intergrating the Curriculum. I encourage you to connect with her and check out her Blog. 

Danni 

In the past Danni has support many people in the past and I myself have often gone to her for support. She has inquired into many area but has a special interest in teaching reading. You can watch her wonderful teaching on Manaiakalani Class OnAir and learn more about her on her blog. 

Scott

Is a wonderful high school teacher. He is in-charge of history at his school. He is happy to support teacher with the New Zealand Histories curriculum. He discuss how children are under a lot of pressure to move from one topic to the next. Can we integrate and collaborated to make learning more relevant for learners and their real lives. Learn more about him on his blog. 

Amy 

Is a wonderful year 7/8 teacher who has worked hard to develop project based learning and a culture of talk, discussion and positivity through a number of inquires. I love hearing her ideas and encourage you to think about how you might reach out and connect with her on her blog.  

What amazing people. I will definitely be connecting with the people along with many other CoL teachers as I work to develop inquiry and grow as a teacher in 2023. 

My class

 The start to 2023 has been anything but normal, with storms raging across New Zealand meaning a later start to the year then planned and the school closing for a day so that we could all stay safe. 

Another surprise which perhaps shouldn't have been a surprise coming off 2022 was the way in which my class jumped straight into learning, talking, sharing ideas and pushing themselves to both complete set tasks and extend their thinking. 

With this exciting development I have started to rethink my inquiry focus. In 2022 I was thinking of focusing on reading specifically critical and collaborative literacy. As a look around the room in week 2 of the term I can already see these elements developing from my current practice. As such I wonder whether this focus is needed. 

As I reflect on the conversational groups I see and the details in literacy I am reminded of the stark contrast with mathematics in my room. During maths time children appear to be less collaborative and see maths as less of a discussion and more of an independent activity.  

As such I am beginning to question which approach would be most beneficial to my learners this year. 

In saying this no matter which approach I take I want the goal for learning to be around collaboration and critical thinking and for my inquiry to no longer be a solo endeavour but rather a collaborative quest in which the burden and rewards are shared. 

Brust and Bubble 2022

 This year I sadly could not make Burst and Bubbles in person due to health reasons. I did however record my presentation. I hope you enjoy my reflections on my 2022 inquiry. 

 This year we hoped that everything would go back to normal, but of course there is no sure thing as normal. Being a year 3 and 4 class most of us hadn’t experienced much normal school, school without lockdowns, masks and illness. 

Our Teacher Mrs Carruthers was aware of this and particularly worried about the impact this had had on our learning, understanding and attitudes towards Mathematics. 

Mrs Carruthers asked us what we thought about maths, she gave us a little test and looked at the data from the maths test we did on our ipads. She noticed our many strengths in counting and how lots of us had learnt cool things when we were learning at home. 

She also noticed that we were not very confident or quick with recalling maths facts using them to solve problems. 

Our teacher is a learner just like us and she wasn’t 100% sure of what to do. 

She looked at research on her computer, she asked other teachers and thought really carefully about what would help us the most. 

Mrs Carruthers had lots of cool ideas but time was not on her side. She gave us daily basic facts to work on and talked to us about them. She made sure we had opportunities to work with our friends when we were doing maths. She even helped us make some fun videos to practise our facts. 

What helped me most with my maths was…

”Using my maths booklet every day, from there I practised division” 

“My fun activities helped me learn my times tables by putting them into groups.” 

"My teacher is she the best maths teacher, The maths in year 3 is harder and you made sure I understood." 

Mrs Carruthers can see what we have learned a lot this year. She sees it in the way we happily join in in maths, the excitement we show for maths Kahoots, the way we can now use our basic facts and knowledge to solve problems and in our blog posts. 

We know the changes we have made in our class helped us, the consistent practice of facts has been a big help to us. Mrs Carruthers and Room 23 are sure that it was our can do attitudes that made the biggest difference for us this year.

Looking forward to 2023

As I reflect on 2022 as a year I look back to see many positive, many Challenges and many possible next steps forward for myself as a teacher and the learners I teach. While Literacy as not been an inquiry focus for me this year I realise that critical and collaborative literacy are areas that has not been as central to my practice as I would like. 

What achievement challenge are you considering as an area of focus in 2023 and why? Include in your WHY both evidence and your own passion/expertise? 

As a result I would like to focus again on Achievement Challenge 3:  Lift the achievement in Reading for all students, with a particular focus on boys and Māori students (both genders) years 1-13 with a specific focus on critical literacy and collaboration. 

While I have many able reader in my class this year the area in which they struggled most has been making connections between text, connecting what they read to their own experiences and asking questions about the author and reliability of the texts they read. This was reflected in group discussions. 

I am passion about this as I know that being inquisitive, critical, collaborative and thoughtful helps children to create and share in a way that is meaningful for them and help them to build a strong understand of the world around them. 

What learnings from the 2017 - 2022 CoL teacher inquiries have informed or inspired your thinking.

There have been so many wonderful inquires into the area of reading and within the cluster there are many amazing resources. 

Two inquiry on Robyns inspired me and provide a great spring board. In 2019 she looked into comprehension strategies in reading and this year the enjoyment of reading. 

Another inquiry that has influenced my thinking has been Hannah West inquiry looking the at impact of vocabulary last year. This connected closely to my own inquiry in 2020 and we both found that vocabulary played a huge role in literacy achievement. 

This year Jo Gormly inquiry around vocabulary was also inspiring for me. It puts into perspective the ideas that teachers have a responsibility to gift model and support the language they expect from learner, Which I believe could be a key fact in forming the collaborative and critical in the classroom and way of engaging with each other. 

How would your work support Manaiakalani pedagogy and  kaupapa?

There ware many ways this focus would connect and support the Manaiakalani pedagogy:

• It reflects the values of learn, create and share. 
• It connects to the valued reading practices that a known to get shift for learners. 
• Skills for learning that are transferable across the curriculum. 
• Collaboration 
• Most of all it focus on supporting connected and empowered learners. 

Which elements of the extensive Manaiakalani research findings inform or challenge you as you think about this?

This is support by the research from Manaiaklani surveys around reading and high leverage practices. Both Collaboration and critical thinking are points that have regularly been discussed drawing on Manaiakalani research but also wider research. 

Some examples of this research are:

T-Shaped Literacy

Developing in Digital worlds

How would you like to be supported in 2023 as you undertake this inquiry?

In 2023 I would like to connect more in my inquiry. It has been great being back together this year and having the time to talk and discuss. In 2023 I would like to actively collaborate in the creation of tools to access progress and interventions with others who have a similar interests and whose learners have similar needs. 

I also great value and will continue to rely on the many experts in the Manaiakalni team. 

How would you plan to support your colleagues in your school with THEIR inquiries and/or teaching in the area you are exploring?

I and I feel anyone who know me would agree love to share and discuss. I think this is the way in which I will most benefit and support others in my inquires in 2023. I also love to listen to others ideas and have in my years in as a CoL leader heard many ideas of others and pointed people to research, blogs or other teacher who might support them.