Posted on July 13, 2020
Schools have worked hard over the last 12 months devleoping their Curriculum Intent and Implementation. Are these still relevant in the post-Covid19 landscape? Of course, they are ... but with a 'Covid 19 Recovery Plan' appendix focusing on:
Responding to Missed Learning
Reviving 'Lost' Learning
Restoring Beliefs and Pedagogy
Posted on July 8, 2020
Part 2 of this Blog ended with the five #KeepCALM strategies for teachers to adapt and adopt in September and the rest of 2020 to recover the 'missed' learning from Terms (4), 5 and 6:
Changing your teaching of existing manageable steps
Adding manageable steps into existing units
Leave the content as it is already in MOT Maths Meetings
Modify the use of Maths on Track time
... and 'dripping' some learning in throughout 2020/21.
In this blog, we will share the #KeepCALM details and resources to support teachers and leaders for all year groups ...
Posted on July 8, 2020
Part 1 of this blog ended with ... 'the answer to the question ‘So how can schools address it?’ is clearly #KeepCALM by using a blend of Options 3 and 4.
So how can schools address the missed learning? To model the CanDoMaths #KeepCALM approach this blog will model the process focused on one year group ... What do I do abour Maths in September? Part 3 of this blog will look at all other year groups.
Posted on July 7, 2020
There have been opposing views about how schools should respond to the lockdown ranging from …
‘It’s a disaster! They’ve missed 6 months of learning. We can’t possibly carry on – we need to design a recovery curriculum!’
to…
’47 days of teaching isn’t going to be as detrimental as we think so we should just get back in September and crack on.’ (@mrsjwalms)
and ….
‘Not to mention the children in the past who may have been taught badly for a whole year and they recover’(@eddysmam)
During the lockdown, there are schools that have focused on ‘cracking on’ with new learning using online ‘lessons’ and schools that have focused on using the lockdown period as a time to practise and consolidate the topics the pupils have already learnt this year. There have been pros and cons for both strategies.
If pupils have had access to a computer, decent Wi-Fi and supportive parents/carers then strategy 1 may have worked. However, we know this has not been the case for all pupils and the other major con of strategy 1 has been articulated so well by @mathsjem describing her daughter’s experience of online learning:
‘Made me realise how many children will come back to school with misconceptions embedded …. In short: Misconceptions aren’t identified and addressed in remote learning. Big challenges ahead!’.
Whereas, Strategy 2 … the #UseItOrLoseIt practice and consolidation approach using the free Maths Workouts (either online or paper based) produced by @CanDoMaths has had huge successes.
‘I’m finding the children are remembering a great deal; they have forgotten nothing’ (@kathralley)
What is clear now is that there are 3 BIG questions all schools need to consider:
What have pupils missed?
How important is it?
How do we address it?
So, what have pupils actually missed ....
Posted on Jan. 28, 2019
The 'Do It > Twist It > Solve It' or 'Do It > Secure It > Deepen It' lesson design structure created by Steve Lomax (@MaxTheMaths) supports a teaching for 'mastery' - teaching for 'secure and deep understanding' - approach. It has been used in hundreds of schools since 2014 and the lesson design was inspired by a mathematics visit to Shanghai and working with schools in the UK, in particular the outstanding Headteachers Karen Horne (Mansfied Green Academy) and Anthony Mitchell (Glenfall Primary School). It embraces the core principles of Variation Theory by supporting teachers to design examples and exercises to secure and deepen pupils' understanding of mathematical ideas by highlighting essential features of a concept through the use of:
- 'What it is' (standard)
- 'What it is also' (non-standard)
- 'What it is not' (non-examples)
- 'Apply understanding to solve familiar and unfamiliar problems'
The use of labels 'Do It, Twist It, Solve it' / 'Do It, Secure It, Deepen it' ... Do It, Bop It, Zap it, Kick It, Whack It (now that's just being silly) is pointless without respecting the pedagogcial principles behind them. Some schools have decided to change the labels - which is fine as long as the principles are valued and not changed - otherwise the lesson design will not have the desired impact on pupils' learning and outcomes ...
Posted on Jan. 26, 2019
“I’ve just realised that the Medium Term Plan I’m following means I won’t have taught all the year 6 curriculum before the SATs.”
As the year rushes on, the date for KS2 SATs gets ever closer. Coverage is always an issue and it is tricky to prioritise the time to be spent teaching the new learning in the year 6 curriculum. Some teachers keep the focus very much on number, at the expense of other national curriculum strands – such as Geometry, Measures and Statistics – whereas other teachers try to rush through everything so it has all been ‘covered’. The other NC aims – Reasoning and Solving problems – can slip through the net completely.
Over 50% of the KS2 SATs content is based on the Year 3/4/5 Programmes of Study so addressing this as well as trying to finish the Year 6 content becomes an even bigger headache.
Posted on Oct. 1, 2018
In the mathematics classroom challenge has four elements. Two of these reflect the mindsets of teachers, parents and children with regard to learning mathematics and two reflect the pedagogical challenges.
The planning and design of questions required to challenge mathematical thinking.