MPI Day 7

 Geometry - I think this subject is made harder by the vocabulary involved, which seems (in my brain) to be much much more than any other strand (eg the different names for shapes, and parts of shapes, different types of angles etc etc). So it is heavy in that respect. Remembering them all is difficult so it will be necessary to have the words visible on the wall (for students and teacher), but word saturation in classrooms is an expectation of teachers at our kura so that will not be new. Planning to use them all will be necessary though. Teaching orientation and the measurement of angles is something that I feel comfortable with at year 7/8 level - however other aspects of geometry have been overlooked (eg nets, enlargement) so this is something to remedy, and the planning for that can start now. We usually focus on Measurement/Geometry in term 1 and then Location/Direction/Transformation (thankfully just called Mokowā now)  in term 2 (so geometry overall gets quite a lot of attention at our kura) so I think there's really no excuse to not cover all aspects of geometry. Again, just like with measurement, assessments are not readily available in all aspects of the strand, so these will need to be created with support from my mentor to ensure validity and credibility. 

MPI Day 6

 Measurement today. Not one of my personal favourites, and I unfortunately haven't spent a lot of time teaching area and perimeter to my students. I've mostly focused on time, angles, volume, temperature etc - this absolutely needs to change! We teach Measurement in term 1 of each year so I've made it my goal to focus on area, perimeter and volume for my next unit plan. It will mean finding or creating a suitable assessment in te reo Māori, but I'm sure with my amazing mentor's support it can be done.

Classroom practise: I am finding it easier to stick to the system that I am already using for my maths website so I haven't started using taskboards yet. I think if I just focus on using them for teaching strands for now (algebra for term 4, measurement for term 1 2025, and so on) then that will be an easier approach. 

Rich task Thursdays (or Fridays on an MPI week) are becoming a normal part of the classroom programme. I try to allow 40-45 minutes for this - the students are often finished way quicker than that! I obviously need to find some more challenging tasks. However we are still developing the discussion aspect of the activity - it doesn't seem to matter how I change the groupings, there is always someone who dominates, or someone who will quite happily say nothing at all - so while the maths element of rich tasks seems to be pumping, the discussion side of it is not.  

See you soon Manaiakalani Summit Rarotonga :)

MPI 5

 Algebra!!!!
As a kid I hated algebra, and did not understand it at all. However, as a teacher, I have grown to love it, and it has become one of my favourite strands to teach. Having said that, I still struggle with the nuts and bolts of algebra, and I found myself confused by some of the content today. I will need to go back through and process the information again at my own pace to understand it fully. 

In terms of teaching algebra at year 7 and 8 level (which I have been doing for about four years now), materials have not been a big feature in my maths programme, as I have always been concerned with making sure the students can see rules, and use rules to solve algebraic problems, etc. However MPI has taught me that equipment (whether physical or digital) is hugely important so I will need to find a way to incorporate materials in to our algebra programme. As it is a schoolwide focus for term 4, I do have a little bit of time to plan for it, however I am aware that if I leave it for too long I will forget the amazing things I learned today and just revert to doing the same old stuff! So starting to work on it now (and using MPI taskboards and activities etc) will be valuable.

Vocabulary was a big feature of our session today, and it is another area that I would like to spend more teaching time on, especially working in Māori medium. I love the TIP chart idea and will use it more often. I am thankful for resources like Paekupu and Te Poutama Tau for having done most of the legwork in this area - my job is to find ways/activities to embed these kupu while also using them in real contexts in class. 

Reflecting on two changes that I have made that I have consistently implemented in my classroom maths practise:

1. Rich tasks Thursdays. They have become a regular feature every Thursday, and I change maths groupings on these days. Some groupings work better than others, and there will always be students who are more vocal than others, but in general the students seem to work through them at a good pace, so it seems as if they are achievable without being too easy. One students even asked last Thursday if we were still going to do one that day :)  - from this particular student it is a positive question, not a negative one (so not "do we really have to do that again?")

2. Introducing learning outcomes and success criteria with group session times. It hasn't been something I have done in the past with small group maths, but I have found it is great for getting students to reflect on whether or not they achieved the intentions of the session.

When I discussed this with my mentor, she also mentioned rauemi/resources. She has observed that I am using rauemi more often than I used to, and allowing the students to manipulate them, whereas before I thought it was babyish for year 7 and 8s! So this is probably a third area (but needs to remain a constant).

 

MPI 4

 Great session today, I love getting into the nuts and bolts of maths (and content knowledge is what I actually need in terms of my practice). I especially appreciate having everything broken down conceptually (eg percentages are another way of writing hundredths), as it helps my own understanding.  I know that I definitely need practise myself in some areas before I even try to teach the children. Decimal place value in particular is a difficult concept for me to grasp and I do end up reteaching myself over and over, however some of the rauemi today did make that a little bit clearer. 

I notice too that apart from a few pieces of equipment that we received recently, my kura doesn't seem to have a lot of manipulatives for fractions/decimals/percentages. This could mean that I need to make as much as I can from nzmaths material masters, or be creative with whatever rauemi I can find. However, I realise also that they can't just sit on the shelf and get forgotten about either (which is a nasty habit of mine) so I need to be purposeful and thoughtful about any rauemi I acquire, and make a plan to use it.

MPI 3 Homework Reflection

 My task today is to reflect on the opportunities I give students to communicate and explain their ideas. I actually thought I did this quite well, but my student survey results at the beginning of MPI suggest that this is not the case. So some reflection is definitely necessary!

I expect that students will show me their thinking in their maths books. I don't expect them to write screeds and screeds, but I do expect that they will show me how they got to their answer (for example, if the question is 25 x 12, did they use doubling/halving? Or did they use place value partition? Or old school algorithm?) This usually gives me the opportunity to give them feedback or discuss with them in small group sessions - which strategy do you think is the most efficient? Why? Also, unfortunately, there is no room for a high trust model with this particular group of children - some will definitely be using the calculator function on their chromebooks to work it out, so if they have to also write a strategy, it at least allows me to hold them to account in some way. 

On reflection, however, I need to remember that some children may prefer to share their strategies verbally rather than writing them; and I also need to make allowances for students who would rather draw their thinking (which I tend to dismiss as 'babyish' for my senior students). This can maybe be an independent station activity (providing them with a choice of how they represent their thinking), or it could be part of small group sessions (although these sessions are usually taken up with strategy teaching and/or practise). As Te Poutama Tau/The Numeracy Project is heavily reliant on the teaching of strategies, I do need to make time for teaching specific strategies, as that is how progress is measured; however, stations provide an opportunity for a bit more variety and exposure to other types of activities.

 learners to communicate their thinking and ideas.

1. 
   

MPI Day 3

 Really enjoyed today's session. I enjoyed the intensive descriptions of how things are done (eg how to teach a rich task) and appreciate the sharing of ideas regarding where to find rich tasks/investigation problems. My goal now will be to translate/adjust them for my own class.

In particular I like the look of IXL and Mathigon for basic facts practise, and Polypad for the digital manipulatives. There are a few students in my class who struggle with basic facts retention, so it would be great to have something else to try. 

In terms of my own practise, the Taking Stock document was a good way for me to think about and reflect how I do things. While I do offer independent activities, these are often on a rotation (eg Number Boggle this week, Number of the Day the week after). There isn't necessarily a targeted approach happening here (unless I adjust the Number of the Day activity to include something that they need to work on). So I need to rethink this and try to offer more relevant activities. The students also have a choice board that they can choose games from - I have given each group different games, and they are targeted at what the group needs - but again I need to rethink how effective these games are, and how I can monitor their learning. Some games do not offer monitoring/ a report afterwards, so I need to decide if they are worthwhile.

I tend to rely on nzmaths for planning, whether it's number or strand (and this is a whole school approach).  We are fortunate at our kura that there are many unit plans/resources available in te reo Māori that we can use.

Groupings are another area where I would probably make some changes. I know that certain children don't work well together (and this can create disruption for the whole class) so I will need to do this carefully, but I also think some students would be a positive influence on other students who are still struggling with some concepts. I take on board what was said though - do this for maybe one day a week first (eg rich task Thursdays), and get an idea of which groupings work best.

Mānawatia a Matariki :)

MPI Day 2

 Lots of information today, some of it a bit overwhelming (Google Sheets! Boo!), BUT - one of my personal goals for my digital world knowledge/skill level is to get better at using Sheets in a similar way to how the Teacher Workbook is done. The task boards are also eye-opening but again, as Donna said, they are aspirational, so definitely something to work towards and keep adding to. I do like the variety of tasks that were on offer, and all addressing the same learning intention.

Goal setting is something that was definitely evident throughout the day. I currently do this with my students who are achieving at their expected levels, as a means of keeping them engaged and not just cruising; but I need to make it something that all students do. So getting them familiar with progressions will need to be the first step.

Overall, lots to process - I will need a bit of time to decompress from today (being up at 3am to pick up my son from nightshift has probably not helped the situation). Excited however to try some things.