Linton Camp School Teaching as Inquiry 2013 Teacher: Erana Gill Date: 13/05/2013

Focusing Inquiry What is important (and therefore worth spending time on), given where my students are at? What are your students learning From your analysis of assessment information and understanding of your students, needs? what do your children need to learn? 13/05/13 Confidence in talking about their maths thinking encouraging mathematical discourse (the why and how of maths strategy) Connections between maths concepts linking skip-counting to multiplication to place value to doubles and halves. Number knowledge doubles and halves

Assessment Information Students 3 3 2

Year

Ethnicity NZ Maori NZ Maori NZ Maori 4 4 4

Initial +/-

Initial x/ 3 3 4

Initial Knwldge

Initial Prop

Mathematical Discourse

NZ Maori

Limited Limited Limited modelling when prompted Limited modelling when prompted

What are your own learning needs?

From your observational feedback, what do you need to develop? Consider: Increasing student engagement, creating mathematical discourse. Reinforcing connections between number knowledge and strategy. Fostering intrinsic motivation for maths helping students to WANT to understand the why of maths and encourage mathematical discourse. Move from being the question asker to the question facilitator.

Teaching Inquiry What strategies (evidence-based) are most likely to help my students learn this? What is your Inquiry Focus? Developing supports that encourage mathematical discourse in my maths class.

How will you up-skill in order to address these needs? Which teaching strategies will support the students to achieve the identified outcomes? What actions you are going to take?

Readings and case studies. Task construction (rich tasks, group work), I statements, think alouds, using models and

How will you address this in your class? What steps will you take? Sequencing of maths problem solving, what are they doing he re? Why are they doing it? Deliberate mistakes like in reading and writing.

12/06/13 Maths expectations its going to be personally challenging, its OK to be lost, ask 24/06/13 Focus on the problem solving process finding important part of problem, highlight, equation, problem solving. Learning Inquiry What happened as a result of the teaching, and what are the implications for future teaching? What learning happened for the On reflection, what are your students doing now? What are you doing now? Next students? What will we do next to steps? ensure that they continue to achieve? 03/07/13 There has been some success with this group of students. Now three of the students are generally able to explain their maths thinking, with either an equation or a diagram. This was encouraging to see, as mid-way through the term one of the students was completely unable to identify a strategy or show working beyond the answer to the question. One student is now able to make predictions about equal sharing problems, linking her knowledge of subtraction to the process of equally sharing. I am now creating more solid expectations and structure in group teaching, using more interactive game like activities to encourage problem solving attitudes like process of elimination and prediction. This has been particularly popular with the boys. We have created a set of Problem Solving Speak posters for the students to refer to and embark on weekly Think Links using basic facts. Now many of the students are able to record what they know. I have been pleased with how this activity has flowed on to students outside of my target group. My next step is to work further with M, A and H. I need to research ways to engage and encourage these boys to acknowledge what they dont know, and identify what prior knowledge will help them to solve problems without giving up. Perhaps daily maths journaling could help?

Excerpts showing growing evidence of mathematical justification, from a simple because with no explanation at the start of the inquiry to the more sophisticated array, and verbalisation of the strategy used to solve a problem.

Assessment Information Students

Year

Ethnicity

End +/-

End x/

End Prop

End PAT m

End PAT Stanine