Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
• Think of a number• Add 6• Double your answer• Subtract 4• Half your answer• Take away the number you first thought of• And the answer is …
It’s A Kind of Magic David Crawford pub. The Mathematical Association ISBN 978-0-906588-67-3
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
4
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
Teachers: ‘I enjoy teaching Mathematics’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Teachers: ‘My learners are responsive in my classes’
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
25
Teachers : ‘My learners behave well’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Teachers : ‘I don't know where to find new resources’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP
-50
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
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Teachers: ‘I get frustrated if my learners don't keep up’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Teaching is more effective when it
• Builds on the knowledge learners already have• Exposes and discusses common misconceptions
and other surprising phenomena• Uses higher-order questions• Makes appropriate use of whole class interactive
teaching, individual work and cooperative small group work
• Encourages reasoning rather than ‘answer getting’
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
• Uses rich, collaborative tasks• Creates connections between topics both within
and beyond mathematics and with the real world• Uses resources, including technology, in creative
and appropriate ways• Develops mathematical language through
communicative activities• Recognises both what has been learned and also
how it has been learned Mathematics Matters
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Build on the knowledge learners bring to sessions
Write down at the top of a sheet of A4 paper
something that you already know
5 x 8 = 40
100 centimetres = 1 metre
50% of £20 = £10
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
If I Know This I Also Know:
50% of £20 = £10
25% of £20 = £5
50% of £200 = £100
5% of £20 = £1
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Expose and discuss common misconceptions
• Working in a group, sort the cards.
• Now sort them in a different way.
• Discuss in your group how this sorting activity could expose misconceptions.
What Makes a Good Resource – Understanding and Ordering Decimals
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Develop effective questioning
North Hertfordshire College project
• Attendance in the classes taking part was 90% compared to 78% for those not taking part
• The pass rate for GCSE Mock increased to 77% in the classes taking part, compared to a College pass rate of 52% in 2009/2010.
• In an AS Level mock exam, learners achieved an average of 1.57 grades higher than the grades predicted by their GCSE scores.
Professional development opportunities for mathematics teachers in Post-16 colleges
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Use cooperative small group work
Make appropriate use of
• whole class interactive teaching, • individual work and • cooperative small group work
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP
-14
-12
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
Teachers: ‘I teach the whole group at once’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
Teachers: ‘I prefer one teaching method for teaching maths’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP0
2
4
6
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10
12
14
Teachers: ‘Learners work collaboratively in small groups and pairs’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Emphasise methods rather than answers
Percentages
(Encouraging reasoning rather than ‘answer getting’)
Mathematical Moments
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Use rich collaborative tasks
Integrating Rich Tasks
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Create connections between mathematical topics
Making connections to
other topics in mathematics – for example, between
fractions and decimals
real-life problems or
the world of work
National STEM Centre E-Library and NCETM
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP0
1
2
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Students - ‘The work I do in maths lessons is interesting to me’.
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP0
1
2
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5
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Students: ‘My maths lessons help me in my life outside study’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Control Maths NLP0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Students: ‘The maths I learn is useful to my job.’
% change
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Use technology in appropriate ways
• Give it the time that it needs• Start small• Just get on with it
‘The use of the technology has had a positive effect on the engagement of the students and the enjoyment of Mathematics.’
ICT and Digital Technology used in mathematics teaching
Adults Don’t Count? Conference Nov 2011
Start by choosing one of the Principles for the effective teaching of mathematics, focus on that and embed it in your practice.