Monday 23 October 2017

Maths isn't hard, it's a language!

I have heard students who think that Maths is hard. These students are either students who speak English as their second language (ESOL), or students who are not in favour of reading. 



I hope that this video would help teachers to encourage their learners not to think like that. Maths language sometimes is the one that discourages learners from believing that they can do Maths. ESOL learners are more likely to be the ones fall into this category so what can we, as teachers do? 

I listened to this video and have shared some ideas with teachers at my school. Maths Wall, using of TALK MOVES, Number Talk, Picture Books and using of Problem Solving Approach are practices we use currently to tackle this problem.


Do you have children who think like this?

What about you? 

What about your school? 

What are you doing? 

Monday 16 October 2017

Term 4 #1Hunch


Did I give my learners enough time to think, to explore and to think deeper before sharing their ideas with the rest of the class? 

I was teaching Maths in one class (older students) one day last term, and after the lesson before the end of the day, a student from that class came up to me and said, 'Ms, you did not give me enough time to think and explain my thinking'. I was a bit surprised because I thought the lesson went well and that everyone participated. This student made me think about the impact of 'wait time' on students' learning.

Therefore for the first three weeks of this term (Term 4), I will increase my 'waiting time' in Mathematics to support and help increase students' confidence, deeper thinking and independence.



In the above video the teacher says only one word and the children lead the conversation right through to the end. The teacher waits and gives these young learners plenty of time to explore and express their own ideas. 







Step #1 for identifying inquiry focus for 2022

Unpacking and analysing last year's assessment data in week 5 of Term 1 2022 was essential when the school realised that we cannot colle...