Term 4 experiment

So in the previous post I announced that I was going to try something new once again with my class.  As you will appreciate, Term 4 gets hectic in a primary school - especially when you have the oldest children in your class and they are moving on to other schools at the end of term.
That's why I didn't post any interim reflections, but have taken my time over this one.  Now, with Christmas and New Year safely behind me, I can sit back in my office and think about Term 4 and the maths we did together.

First of all, the children were totally excited to be able to plan their term's learning, but couldn't think how to make a start.  We talked about just doing the things that were fun, but they really shouted that idea down because, as one of them said, "I'm moving on to [intermediate school] at the end of this term.  I want to be the best me when I get to my new school."  They had really taken on board the differences between learning wants and learning needs.

I provided the tools for them to identify their own personal needs.  They all did the PAT maths paper on the second day back into Term 4, and I used the NZCER marking site to get the results analysed.  It meant an evening of hectic answer inputting by me, but it was worth it.  The next day I gave the students their individual analyses and let them have some time to really take them in and refer back to the question book to see where they had got them right and where they had slipped up.

After that, we went through as a class and collated the question numbers that students felt they needed some work on.  There were clear pockets of need, and the most interesting thing is that the students picked out the same things as I had done when I looked at the class overview.  This was great, because it showed me that they had really thought carefully about where their individual needs were rather than just putting down the number of every question they got wrong.

Once we had identified the areas that they wanted to work on, I asked them to come up with a plan for the order in which they wanted to do them.  One student suggested putting them together in related groups rather than in question number order from the PAT, so we did that together.  Then I got them to prioritise the areas.  Students worked in pairs, and came up with a plan.  Then they linked with another pair and discussed their ideas, coming up with a group plan.  Then we came back together as a class and groups put forward their ideas.  We reached consensus pretty quickly (number operations took precedence over strand work for the students; and measurement and statistics were more important to them than geometry) and soon had a working order sorted out.

After that we allocated time frames to each identified area, again working in discussion groups with students making proposals and justifying their thinking.

This was quite a long process - 2 days of discussion where little "maths teaching" was done - but I feel it was really valuable.  The students had to be aware of their weaknesses (honestly), and used a whole range of logical thinking skills to prioritise and justify their choices.  They also had to use oral language to propose and justify their ideas, they worked collaboratively to come to consensus and they had to be respectful of other students' ideas.

By the end of week 1 we had a term plan worked out that was totally down to the students (with a few helpful "have you thought about....?" prompts from me).  They bought into it completely, they were engaged in the learning and looked forward to seeing how we were progressing through their plan.  We checked it together each Monday and they were free to make amendments as we went along to take into account other things that cropped up (as they inevitably do towards the end of the school year).

All in all, I feel that this was a great example of student agency at work.  The sessions ran really smoothly, and they were all highly invested in the maths programme.  After all, they had chosen what to do rather than having it imposed upon them.  It is worth noting that I don't think it could have happened so smoothly in Term 1, because the students had to get used to making those decisions carefully for themselves, but it was a great way to finish the year for them and I think they will move forward with confidence.

In 2017 I have a largely new class.  Only 5 of my students will have been with me in 2016, but I do at least know all of the others who are moving through to me - more than I did this time last year!  It will be interesting to start the Maths Cafe journey again, and to see the role that the "old hands" take in helping new classmates to adapt.  The students I am gaining have a greater potential to need behaviour management help from their teacher than last year's class.  I can't wait to see how we go with it, but I will keep you posted.

Back again.

I've been away from Blogger for quite a while, and with good reason - I changed jobs over the summer holiday, and it takes quite a while to feel embedded in a new situation.

I've moved to a larger school  (though not huge), and now have a class of 28 Y5-6 students.  Even as a very experienced teacher, I felt a bit like a beginner all over again as I got to grips with a new culture and new expectations.  I have well and truly found my feet now, and am thoroughly enjoying the challenges that a new position brings.

One of the biggest challenges was starting the Maths Cafe journey from the beginning with a new bunch of students.  It has been interesting to see how they have taken the ideas on board since I first introduced it to them way back in January.  I was watching closely to see if the journey this time around mirrored my initial pathway to the Maths Cafe idea.

I knew that I wanted my new students to become independent and self-directed, but under-estimated how long this would take to achieve.  Three terms down the track, I can safely say that most of my students are OK with this (most of the time).  One or two are really struggling and would much prefer me to just tell them what learning they need.  One or two think they've got the system fooled and can take the very easy option every time.  But on the whole, my new class has taken to this way of learning pretty well.

In Term 1 we introduced the idea of being self-directed, and focused on Addition and Subtraction (and we sharpened some basic facts knowledge as well, as I firmly believe that automaticity in this area reduces the cognitive load and therefore the resources available to process problems and strategies).

In Term 2 we moved into Multiplication and Division, and in Term 3 we tackled fractions, ratios and proportions.

This term I will be making another leap of faith.  Normally I would construct a 4th term timetable that covered things I had not had time for during the year, or filled gaps that I felt still existed for my students.  But not this term.

I am going to spend the first week with my class constructing the outline for their learning up to the end of the school year.  I will give the students time to reflect on what they know, what they're unsure of and what they find totally bemusing.  We will talk and talk about their priorities - the majority of my class are Y6 and will be leaving to go on to an Intermediate School in December, so priorities begin to take on a more serious feel for them - and then we will plan, reflect and plan some more.

And then we will work out a scheme of work for this term, together, as equal partners.  Who knows where they feel that they need to achieve the most learning.  Maybe it will be fractions again, maybe not.

I'll keep you posted.

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.