Lots to think about from today's session, and in terms of my maths teaching practice. One new concept that I heard about for the very first time ever today is "low floor,/threshold, high ceiling' tasks - never ever heard of that before! The definition I found from NZ Maths is " to describe tasks that accommodate a wide range of learners. A LTHC task has relatively easy entry points so that all students can begin it, but has scope for exploration and challenge for students are all levels. " This fits in really well with the article I read about providing cognitively challenging tasks for all students, so this is definitely something I would like to explore in more depth.
Other areas of practice to reflect on:
- the emphasis on memorisation. I definitely place a lot of importance on memorising facts, mainly because I feel like that is the main thing stopping students from participating in activities, and progressing in maths in general. But if I really think about it, it could be a number of factors such as lack of confidence to speak up rather than not knowing.
- teaching strategies that align with the Poutama Tau/Numeracy Project way of doing things and not giving students the sense that their own strategies are still valuable.
- if I was to ask my students the question "Does your teacher think you are good at maths?" I dread the answer. I think a few would say no and that is actually quite devastating, and I am keen to find ways to address that.
