DMIC PD 4 - Part 1:

Today we took part in DMIC PD session 4 (part 1) with Don Biltcliff. Below are some notes of this session - thanks Kiriwai!

Presentation

• Going forward with High Expectations

Readings

• Equity directed instructional practices
• Making Mathematical Practices explicit
• Group-Worthy Tasks

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Take a leap of faith with problems given to kids, need to believe in what the kids can do - whether they get it right or wrong is not as important  as seeing what the kids can do - step back from pre-teaching

Go for harder problems/to push kids thinking  - this forces kids to use different strategies that may not be evident with ‘easier’ problems

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Thinking like a Mathematician - moving past computational aspect of solving maths problems

• making connections with ideas

If Ss will not grow if always being shown what to do -  Ss benefit if they work on problems that they have not been shown how to solve and need to explain to others their own strategies

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Think about your Tasks:

Are the tasks you use:

• open-ended? require complex problem solving?
• have multiple entry points? have multiple opportunities for Ss to demonstrate intellectual competence?
• require positive interdependence (working together)? fostering individual accountability?

Group worthy tasks

• see Group-Worthy Tasks

Culturally Responsive Tasks

• Ss should not be grappling with both difficult numbers and unfamiliar contexts
• should be grappling with difficult numbers/familiar context OR difficult context/more familiar numbers

DMIC PD 3: Complexity of Instruction

Today we took part in DMIC PD session 3 with Don Biltcliff. Below are some of my notes, take aways and epiphanies (hopefully! ).

Complex Instruction
Through DMIC We are only changing how we deliver maths not the maths content - it's a pedagogical change only! It's about creating a different image of what it means to understand a mathematical idea. Can we truly develop ourselves as teachers to create children who are confident in maths even if they believe they aren't 'good' at maths?

Assigned Status & Value
Through the focus of social and academic status - we raise the status of children's mathematical contributions. Affirming them within their own knowledge and understanding. Creating a relationship that is reciprocal but also safe and that our children understand that they are loved. This will always result in children learning and learning with passion and drive.

This builds on the idea that learning is complex, and that learners will make sense of the learning challenge it presents in multiple ways, but only if we step back. But only to a point - we still need to be in control of scaffolding kids, helping to direct the sharing/conversation portion of a lesson, etc.

Anxiety: By giving children the opportunity to know that we are going to ask them for their thinking, they can feel safer that their turn is coming rather than sitting waiting anxiously for their turn and then it never arrives. Could and should we tell them when we are not going to ask them??

Status is local and changes within settings. Often what is seen in the classroom reflect status' seen in society. I wonder if we can help redefine these for a new generation?? Children watch how we interpret things and our actions and wait to see what we value. We need to be more obvious and overt to assign value to children across our classrooms.

Status of children in small groups shape who talks first or who's opinion is listened and used more often. So what does this look like practically in the classroom? How do teachers actually do this?

Equitable Teaching Practices
Jo Boaler - How a Detracked Mathematics Approach Promoted Respect, Responsibility, and High Achievement

• How do we implement this into our classroom practice?
• What do our children learn through this?
• How do we develop this in our classrooms?

DMIC PD 2: What Does a DMIC Lesson Look Like?

Today we had our second PD session about DMIC Maths with Bobby Hunter. Here are some notes from this session:

In general guided lessons, who is doing the teaching? Who is doing the talking? THE TEACHER...we need the children taking control of the learning and the teacher facilitating THEIR discussion.

Setting up routines:

• Begin by using problems that are not at grade level in order to get the kids used to talking. Once you start to see wins in your routines, and talking groups...then move things along.
• Everyone in the group needs to be working in a way that allows for them each to be critiqued.
• Everyone needs to be struggling in their effort to learn something new. 

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We, as teachers, need to be working on the possibilities of what they should know instead of focusing on what they don’t know (and filling gaps).

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When kids argue...Talk about how you are not disagreeing with a person but you are disagreeing with an IDEA. Also, it's ok to disagree, just understand you are only allowed to if you are able to express why you disagree.

Setting Up Your Class for Group Work

1. Social and Strengths groups...these are not friend-based groups. They are groups of students that you know will work well together.
2. Class is split into halves-each half seen on alternative days. However, always have one group of 4 that you could see 2 days in a row to give them an opportunity to grow or teach others their different thinking. 
3. Groups of 4 (2 for younger children)
4. One challenging task. If any student can solve it on their own it is not challenging enough)
5. Encourage recording and multiple representations

One Lesson

10 minutes - Warm Up
5-10 minutes - Launch/group norms..need to discuss everyday (values/beliefs & family orientated)
15 minutes - Small Group Activity
15 minutes - Large Group Discussion
10 minutes - Making connections to the big idea* (this is where the teacher explicitly teaches and connects to the big idea*)

Independent Work

• Make it purposeful
• Include elements of choice
• Make the practice related to previous maths focus (problems from previous days, refer to previous problems)
• All students should use this time to cement previous learning.

DMIC PD - Introduction with Bobby Hunter

Developing Mathematical Inquiry in a Learning Community

Today for our teacher only day we are very blessed to be working with Bobby Hunter. She is kicking off our learning journey with DMIC. Here are my notes and wonderings from this sessions.

We need to be developing children who are doing the thinking...not just listening.

There is a common misconception in NZ that Pasifika children come to school ‘not knowing anything’ when it comes to maths. However, the truth is that they know a lot of applied maths (setting the tables, laying out the mats, cutting sandwiches into fractions, etc).

It is important to provide current cultural context for our students. They may be Samoan but they are living here! It is important to remember that Culture and Mathematics are one and the same. Every culture uses maths in context. 

When writing problems always ask, “Will my students be able to relate to this question?”

In order to bring the cultural aspect into a classroom you MUST look at the values held by you and your children/whanau. Instead of saying “work as a team” rephrase to “work as a family”.

DMIC-Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities
Connected, rich mathematical thinking and reasoning
Proficient use of mathematical practices
Inquiry learning within mathematics
Social grouping and group worthy problematic activity
High expectations and inclusion
Culturally responsive teaching and learning
Co-constructing teaching and learning

Struggling in Maths is a good thing:-It is important to let the kids know that the problem is hard...it is ok to struggle and work on it over a few days.

Important Mathematical Practices

As a teacher, it is important to add on the “because” when reacting to student involvement (eg. “That was a really good question/explanation because…”)

Talk Moves are important for promoting student interactions when discussing student explanations. (eg. why? how?). If every teacher made their math problems a level or two higher than where the students are achieving, our maths scores will increase dramatically.

Making a claim/conjecture:
Taking time to hear and acknowledge the conjecture (jot it down) and come back to it at the important time
Developing a mathematical explanation
Justifying thinking
Constructing arguments
Generalising a mathematical idea
Representing mathematical thinking using pictures, material, and numbers
Using mathematical language

Teachers need to always use the problem context to make the explanation experientially real.
Active listening and questioning for sentence making
Discuss and role-play active listening
Use inclusive language “show us’, “we want to know”, “tell us”
Structure the students explaining and sense making section by section
Emphasise need for individual responsibility for each other.
Encourage students to listen to (and look at) the student who is presenting.

Only work with about 12-16 students (in groups of 4) at a time and then rotate. This will allow for students who don’t quite get it to join in with the other group the next day.