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

Google Spreadsheets: Creating Your Own Formula

There have been a few times now that I have wanted to do something in Google spreadsheets that I know exist in Excel. However, that functionality doesn't exist yet in Google. So my answer....make it yourself.

I have found that there are thousands of people worldwide who are creating cool scripts and formulas to upgrade the functionality and use-ability of Google Spreadsheets - so Google it and find their awesomeness!

Watch the following 'How To' to show you how you can create your own formula for Google Spreadsheets and how I use a particular formular that I love: 'Count Coloured Cells'.

Google Spreadsheets: Using COUNTA and COUNTIF

There are many times that I need to create a spreadsheet that houses the organisation of school wide events like Fiafia or even a camp. One of these sheets that I create often is a payment sheet to track who has paid, who has handed in their permission/ medical forms and if I have emergency contact details for any child.

What I hate with these types of sheets is not being able to know at a glance - especially when they get large like our year 5&6 camp (around 150 kids) you can't tell easily how many kids you need to follow up. So I use the two formulas to do this for me: COUNTA and COUNTIF.

Check out this screen recording to learn how to do it.

Reading PD: Agility with Sound - Helen Squires

Today in our staff meeting Helen Squires went over Running Record Conventions and what to do next with the information that you get from a Running Record. She also shared with us her expertise using Agility with Sound - created by Betsy Sewell.

Running Records

Clarification around Teacher Told:

A = Appeal
Y = "You Try"
TA = Try Again
Give them 5-10s wait time. If they still aren't sure you can tell them. Mark this word with a T = Teacher told. This will be worth 1 error.

Analysing Errors - MSV

We then worked in pairs to analyse a running record to work out what they did to get things wrong.

Following information comes from: This Reading Mama
1. Meaning (M): Does the reader’s error make sense based on the meaning of the pictures or the story? For example, maybe the child read the word happy instead of glad.

2. Structure/Syntax (S): Does the reader’s error follow the rules of grammar and the structure of sentences in the English language? For example, maybe the child read jumps instead of jumped. In this case, the error may sound right.

3. Visual (V): Is the reader’s error visually similar to the word on the page? For example, the reader may read even instead of every.

Agility with Sound

Children are given a list of words where they have to interact with them. Firstly they highlight any words with 'a' vowel sound or 'u' vowel sound, etc. Then you find out how many they got in a minute. The idea of this is to build their ability to see and hear the correct vowel sounds.

This programme is full of lots of word work! For example - 'GUB': "how do we turn this into Grub?" "Where does the R go?" The idea is to build from one letter up progressing through to building from words.

TOD: Quantities of Quality Text - Jannie van Hees

Today as part of our teacher only day we had Jannie van Hees come and talk to us about the power of words and Quantities of Quality Text. Below are some of my notes and key take aways from this session.

Words have Power - Quantities of Quality Text: 
Both spoken and reading/writing text. More books means that there is going to be more:

• contexts
• concept knowledge
• vocabulary - language that won't otherwise be in children's lives
• conversations that apply to the above are super important - produce thinking and meaning.
• Language structures

Teachers just repeating back to kids what they have said is no use. This is already what they know, this is not in the 'Gifting Zone'. Quality text that I can't just do on my own.

Children's ability to acquire and use language is astounding! Are we putting children into this zone as much as possible? The goldilocks zone is where we want children - grappling with text. We need to continually teach our children how to use new language.

Are reading groups making the difference for our 'Reading to Learn' children? Are these providing enough text for our children that is dripping with high powered language. Are they also getting multiple chances and goes at this text?

How are we optimising our learning conditions? 

• Attention to and noticing
• focus and notice
• put in the effort
• fully participate
• push myself to the edge
• dig deep for what I already know
• learn from others
• I share
• think and talk; think and read
• wondering and asking

Use your words and ideas that gift your learners knowledge and words. Are there a tonne of questions and 'raising hands syndrome' happening in our classrooms? 

Say more. Tell more detail.

Use words and ideas that gift your children knowledge and words. Talk the detail! What is the 'gift' that I am giving the children? What is the lense that I am putting the child's mind onto? The children's writing needs to move away from talk language.

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SAY: "Because we are adding more detail we know what you mean" 

NOT: "Write this in a more interesting way!"

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I am not going to offer a response that they can repeat - I am wanting to develop their vocabulary use. Talk the detail! We want to get our children out of the lazy zone and make them think. Say and use words so your audience really know what you mean.

Sources of language:

• spoken
• written
• variety of contexts
• loving reading
• reading together

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?

Pt England Ambassadors @ MIT - 2019

Today Garth and I took the 2019 year 6 Ambassadors to MIT. Their job was to present to a group of training teachers and show them how they learn from day to day. These training teachers were blown away by the way our Ambassadors were able to talk about their learning, and do so with such confidence. Some of my reminders/takeaways from their presentation was:

• our children are hooking into learning because of a real audience
• they are passionate learners
• our children are learning in a VERY different way to other learners in other schools
• if you give our children a stage, they take it with two hands! Our children lifted hugely in their presentation because of the large crowd today and they lifted more when the crowd were responsive

After the Ambassadors' presentation I was then given the opportunity to stay and discuss further the way in which we teach and learn at Pt England school. I was impressed with the openness of the training teachers and the passion with which they talked about teaching and learning. The things that stuck out for them was:

• why we teach with digital devices (see photo below)
• why it's important to rewind what we teach
• the importance of connecting with our children and then connecting them with a real audience
• have fun!

Google Drawings: Creating Info-Graphics

I love Google Draw! I think it is one of the most underused google apps in the Google Apps for Education suite.

In the below screencast I will show you how you can use Google draw to create fast and easy to create info-graphics that could be used as a teacher tool or even a follow up task for the children in your class. Check it out and let me know how you use this cool technique in the classroom!

Google Spreadsheets: Data Analysis Using VLOOKUP

I thought it would be worthwhile reposting this as it relates to what I'm working on this year.
A few years ago as part of my inquiry into teaching I had been looking into ways I could better use assessment to inform my next teaching steps, especially to jump on opportunities sooner. However, when ever I got anywhere near formative data it was spread out across a range of different places -
e-asTTle, NZCER, etc. I needed an easy way to collect this data. Aha! Use a spreadsheet someone told me. However this meant doing hours of copy and paste from other spreadsheets to then have it collated in mine!

This lead me to look at using some of the features of spreadsheets. By using a simple VLOOKUP formula I have been able to set up each sheet to go looking for data for me. There is no more need to copy and paste a whole lot of information anymore!

Check out the below screencast of me explaining the setup of a spreadsheet and how this has streamlined my data gathering and analysis.

Pt England Ambassadors @ Epsom - 2018

Today I had the pleasure of taking the year 6 Ambassadors to the University of Auckland in Epsom. We were presenting on how PT England School uses digital technologies to further develop children's learning and enhance teacher's capacity as teachers.

What I liked about today's group was their passion for learning and their obvious love for children. They were a very eager group to learn as much about digital literacy as they could and asked great thoughtful questions. One thing that definitely stood out from todays discussion was the importance of having a very real audience for children to share their learning with. Our ambassadors did an excellent job of fielding questions about this and further making the point that this is why they post on their blogs. Not because the teacher, or their parents told them too.

Thanks again Heather for having us today! We very much enjoyed working with you all and we are looking forward to seeing you in 2019!

Pt England Ambassadors @ MIT - 2018

Today Garth and I took our year 6 Ambassadors to present our learning to students studying to be teachers at MIT. This was a very passionate and eager group who were very impressed with our year 6 Ambassadors!

From their feedback it became clear that there were a few main areas that challenged them the most:

1. Why teach with digital devices? We use Chromebooks and iPads because these devices enable our teachers and children to capture their teaching and learning so that it becomes rewindable and can be re-watched and re-used at anytime. If it is worth teaching, it is worth capturing. If it is worth learning, it is worth capturing.
2. It stops learning from only happening in the confines of a school day - 9am till 3pm. It enables children and their whanau to continue the learning together at home with all of the same scaffolding as they would get at school. 
3. It enables children to work at their own pace - either ahead of the class or slower if needed.

Thank you MIT for having us! All the best for the rest of your studies and for teaching in 2019!

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.

Teaching as Inquiry - Graeme Aitken

Today as part of our Leaders PLG we had the honour of listening one of NZ's godfather of Teaching as Inquiry - Graeme Aitken! I was blown away by his passion and knowledge. Here are just a few of my notes from this session:

Collaborative Inquiry - An approach to teaching

Often teaching is only about adjusting the learners rather than adjusting my teaching.

Goals as a teacher:

Creating interest, creating confidence, creating achievement

• Bigger evidence of raising achievement
• Less focus on creating interest and joy

To do this we need to:

1. Take stock: add to the data we have of achievement

• Current state
• Student experience 
• Data story: tools to help with this

How to do this:

• Scan
• Can you describe what you are learning and why?
• Where are you going with your learning?
• Name two adults in this school who believe that you can achieve
• NZCER me and my class
• ERO well being survey

2. Focus on the solution

• Defining the problem
• Create focus

• Add the correct next steps to help solve the problem - create the write strategy to solve the problem
• Could be measuring the wrong thing??
• Our best guesses about a fix, then test it. What do we need to learn to aid our best guess?

3. Take action

• Test hunches
• Share successes, failures and improvements
• Discuss whether or not we have made enough of a difference
• This can only happen with trust…
• Got to think about incremental improvements
• It's ok, to make mistakes but not ok to keep on making mistakes

4. Maintain momentum

• How do we spread these ideas
• How do we get other teachers/classes to do the same?

2017 Inquiry: Broadening Extension Maths Learners

How do you effectively broaden the understanding of an extension maths student, particularly number knowledge and the application of this, in a way that is engaging and effective.

In 2017 for my inquiry I have selected the following Manaiakalani Community of Learning achievement challenge:
#4. Increase the achievement of Years 1-10 learners, with a focus on Years 7-10,  in reading, writing and maths, as measured against National Standards and agreed targets.


The teaching as inquiry framework I will be using in 2017 has been specifically co-constructed for Manaiakalani schools using our familiar Learn Create Share structure.
The elements in this framework share close similarities with other models New Zealand teachers use.

I will be labelling my posts as I update my inquiry throughout the year to make the content easy to access.

Label Key:

LEvidence	Learn - Gather Evidence	CPlan	Create - Make a plan	SPublish	Share - Publish
LScan	Learn - Scan	CTry	Create - Try new things	SCoteach	Share - Co-teach
LTrend	Learn - Identify Trends	CInnovate	Create - Innovate	SModel	Share - Model
LHypothesise	Learn - Hypothesise	CImplement	Create - Implement	SGuide	Share - Guide
LResearch	Learn - Research	CReflect	Create - Reflect	SFback	Share - Feedback
LReflect	Learn - Reflect			SReflect	Share - Reflect

Pt England Ambassadors @ Epsom - 2017

Today I had an opportunity to step in for Dorothy Burt and present our learning to students studying to be teachers at the University of Auckland in Epsom.

I took with me the year 6 Ambassadors to start off the session - and they were fantastic! They did an excellent job of passionately describing how they learn and what works for them. What was interesting for me was to watch young people (the uni students) who were very paper based in their own approach to learning listening to kids half (or more) of their age describe how to learn in a way that is better, more natural for this day and age. The ambassadors were way more tech savvy and described an ever increasingly 'normal' classroom for 2017 to up and coming teachers who were in essence quite anti learning in this way - it was so totally not what I thought would happen! However, by the end of the session I think we had shifted some mindsets and ways of thinking. From questions asked throughout the session it became clear that the uni students were starting to connect to the following key ideas - Rewindable + Visible + Transparent + Personalised + Accessible - and that these result from teaching and learning in a digital way.

Maths PD with Jo Knox

This year Pt England are under going professional development with Jo Know from the university of Auckland. In this session Jo went over some of the basics, to remind us of how simple and yet complex teaching maths can be!

Some take outs for me were:

• Knowledge and strategy are equally important. It can be very easy to get into just teaching strategy, or just number. However, without the correct context either of these on their own aren't doing enough for our children.
• A reminder of what kids do when completing tasks at all of the different levels. This is hugely important to keep at the forefront of your mind when teaching and testing children in maths!
• Risk taking. If teachers aren't taking risks then children can't either!

Really looking forward to continuing the learning journey with Jo! 

Teaching as Inquiry - Focus for 2017

Photo Attribution

In 2017 Pt England school’s inquiry focus is Mathematics.  This is in response to the analysis of our own teacher gathered data as well as official data from the Woolf Fisher Research Centre.

My inquiry is going to consist of two different paths. The first of these is helping, supporting and mentoring others to lead their own inquiries as the head of ‘Teaching as Inquiry’ for 2017. This is a huge challenge to undertake, which I am really looking forward to.

The second path is the leading of my own inquiry. Maths for me is something that I really enjoy teaching, so I’m excited about having the opportunity to inquiry into the following idea: How do you effectively broaden the understanding of an extension student while still giving them enough challenge and speed in delivery to keep them engaged?

Whenever I have had to opportunity to teach extension maths children I have always found it hard to keep them excited and engaged. They are mostly looking for the next big challenge…”Teach me something I don’t know yet...Come on hurry up!” When I have done what they have asked, in the name of keeping them engaged, or because of time pressures, I have found that we have moved too fast. Yes they are able to complete most tasks using multiple strategies which are well advanced for their age and stage but they don’t truly have the full understanding or mathematical knowledge of someone at late stage 7, early 8 should have. So this is my challenge!

Keep checking back here as I hope to share some new findings, tips and loads of evidence of better gains in knowledge acquisition and understanding! :)

Term 3 Reflection: Using Text Sets

Term 3 has been all about the creation and use of text sets. Text sets... what are those I hear you ask? This is a group of readings - some compulsory, some not - that's sole purpose is to build student's knowledge around a topic or focus.

For example, see this text set that I setup for one of my reading groups.

I have found that this is incredibly worth while. I have never had as much fun teaching reading as I have this term. I have also seen a remarkable shift in my students understanding and focus of a topic - they have genuinely been excited about it! But more importantly it is making a difference to their two biggest needs: applying knowledge and inferring.

Term 2 Reflection

When trying to get accelerated progress with my top reading group (12 year reading age and up) this term I have realised that they are struggling to apply their knowledge across a range of texts and topics. So one way I have tried to meet this need is by integrating Reading and Writing seamlessly so that I am able to make as many connections for them (scaffolding and gifting). This is working really well and I am now seeing a vast improvement in their ability to make those connections!

Onwards and upwards!