Maths Cafe 2015-style.

Since embarking on my journey into the Maths Cafe it has been through several distinct phases of evolution.  Any one of them could be worked in any school or with any group of staff or students, which is what makes it such a powerful idea in my book.

Stage One.  Single teacher, single class.
This is the most basic level of Maths Cafe.  One teacher using it with one class of students.
It is the stage that I have documented in my Teachers Matter Magazine article, and one that can form part of an individual teacher's inquiry into pedagogy and teaching techniques.

• It takes very little additional resourcing, and poses no addition timetabling issues.
• It allows the teacher to become comfortable with the whole way of working, and allows them time to teach their students the skills and strategies they will need to become self-directed learners.
• It can be expanded in a number of ways:  into other subjects in the same classroom, through maths lessons in other classrooms, through the whole curriculum in one classroom, throughout the school.

Stage Two.  Every teacher.  Individual classes.

This is the next stage of evolution that Maths Cafe went through at my school.  I spent 2013 in Stage One, developing and refining the procedures and protocols for Maths Cafe, and in 2014 it was adopted in every classroom in our school.  

• Each class was a separate cafe, with each teacher planning and implementing Maths Cafe at a pace that suited them and their students.
• Each teacher only tried this delivery method in mathematics, and with their own students.
• At the end of 2014 we had doubled the number of students assessed "at" or "above" National Standards in mathematics (as a proportion of the school, compared with the end of 2013 data)
• There is very little extra resourcing needed, and no timetabling issues.

Stage Three.  Every teacher, across the whole school.  Limited subject range.

We tried this at the end of 2014.  For the last three weeks of the year we ran a whole-school Maths Cafe on Geometry.  Each teacher taught one aspect of the Geometry curriculum, and taught it across all curriculum levels - and thereby across the whole school.

• All students got to know each teacher - useful for playground interactions, and to alleviate any classroom moving anxieties in preparation for the new school year.
• All students got to work with a range of other students from different age groups.  Even if they only saw them learning in their own room while the students came for a dish of the day, they developed an appreciation of other students as learners on a journey rather than judging them as 'better than' or 'not as good as'.
• Younger students became more confident to enter the "big students' room" on other business ie running messages because they'd been there for a lesson.... and survived!
• Playground interactions between different ages of students improved, and those niggly playtime issues that can appear when you have 5 year olds and 13 year olds co-existing seemed to disappear.
• Resourcing needs to be co-ordinated - and teachers need to provide appropriate smorgasbord activities to the other classrooms, backing up what they have been teaching at the correct levels for the recipient classes.
• Timetabling becomes an issue.  Children need to move en masse, and times must be adhered to in order for the Maths Cafe to run smoothly.

Stage Four.  Every teacher, every child, the whole mathematics curriculum.

This is where we are currently on our journey.  We have run a whole-school Maths Cafe since the beginning of this year, and we are currently approaching Addition/Subtraction in this way.  One of us teaches number knowledge, one of us focuses on place value, and one of us teaches the add/sub strategies.

• The pros and cons are similar to Stage Three - there are lots of benefits, but teachers have to be more organised and need to co-ordinate student movement for maximum time benefits.
• There is an additional level of accountability among staff.  Each teacher's effectiveness is somewhat dependent on the other staff doing their bit properly too.  That means planning thoroughly, providing appropriate smorgasbord activities, sending the right children to the right places at the right times, and assessing promptly, accurately and filling in the information in a place where all staff can access it.
• In bigger schools this stage might cover a syndicate or teaching team.  We have 50 students currently and 3 classrooms, so the whole school approach works for us.  I probably wouldn't undertake it this way if we had 600 pupils!

Stage Five.  Every teacher, every child, every curriculum area, every minute of the day.

I've tried this in my own class, but not with the whole school yet.  

In my mind it becomes the ultimate MLE.  

• Children access the learning that they need (self-identified or identified in conference with their teachers), and are self-directed at other times. 
• Teachers become facilitators across the age ranges, playing to their own strengths and interests. 
• All teachers know all students, and co-operation and collaboration are evident in the teaching body and the student body.
• Technology becomes an invaluable tool in the personalisation of the learning process, enabling students to review previous learning times, to book future learning needs with appropriate staff, to research new information or skills, and to work collaboratively with classmates or other learners at an appropriate level.

I would love to hear about your Maths Cafe journey.  Which stage are you on?  Do you have any tricks or tips to share with us?  How have you adapted it to suit you own circumstances?

Let me know by emailing me: jo@willoweducation.co.nz or by leaving a comment on our Facebook page or website.

I look forward to hearing from you.