MATHS AT PARKWOOD SCHOOLS FEDERATION EXCITING CHANGES ARE AFOOT

CHANGES TO THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM o HIGHER DEMANDS ON YOUNGER CHILDREN – SATS RESULTS o ENSURING OUR CHILDREN MEET THESE EXPECTATIONS WITHOUT THEM FEELING THE PRESSURE AND STILL ALLOWING THEM TO ENJOY THEIR LEARNING. o BEING FLUENT IN THEIR ARTHIMETIC; o REASONING MATHEMATICALLY AND SOLVING PROBLEMS o CURRICULUM IS BASED ON PRACTICE FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

BIG INVESTMENT = BIG CHANGES ■ SINGAPORE APPROACH (FROM LAST PLACE TO FIRST PLACE) ■ INCORPORATES IDEAS WE VALUE AT PARK WOOD ■ EVERYONE CAN DO MATHS ■ GROWTH MIND-SET: YOU ARE CAPABLE OF GROWING YOUR OWN INTELLIGENCE WITH PRACTICE AND EFFORT. ■ NOT RELIENT ON MEMORISATION AND ROTE LEARNING. AVOIDS DRILL AND PRACTICE. ■ CHILDREN WILL MOVE FORWARD AT BROADLY THE SAME PACE WITH ALL SKILLS AND CONCEPTS NO MATTER HOW CHALLENGING IT MAY BE FOR INDIVIDUALS.

IMPROVEMENT FOR ALL PUPILS -Able learners in the maths curriculum should experience a deep, rich, rigorous and challenging mathematics education rather then being accelerated through too early -This approach is focused on depth of learning rather than early progression -An able learner should be able to communicate mathematically and develop problems solving skills -They are encouraged to dig deeper into their understanding.

HOW DOES IT WORK? ■ THINKING SKILLS TO BE DEVELOPED ■ HEURISTICS WILL BE TAUGHT TO GIVE CHILDREN STRATEGIES FOR WORKING THROUGH PROBLEMS (DRAW A DIAGRAM; MAKE A LIST; GUESS AND CHECK; LOOK FOR PATTERNS; WORK BACKWARDS; SOLVE PART OF THE PROBLEM ETC) ■ THE USE OF A VARIETY OF MANIPULATIVES IN EVERY LESSON PROVIDES CHILDEN WITH THE CONCRETE EXPERIENCES THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND CHALLENGING CONCEPTS. ■ EVERY LESSON INCLUDES PLENTIFUL OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN TO APPLY SKILLS IN EVERYDAY LIFE CONTEXTS. ■ REFLECTIONS AT THE END OF THE LESSON WILL IMPROVE THEIR ABILITY TO ARTICULATE THEIR LEARNING.

WHAT IS THE THEORY?

STRUCTURE OF A LESSON ■ ANCHOR TASK ( Class given a problem to solve) ■ LET’S LEARN ( Teacher guides them in the approach or Strategy to use) ■ GUIDED PRACTICE -20 minutes (With a partner or group) ■ INDEPENDENT PRACTICE-15 minutes ■ REFLECTIONS- What have I learned? How do I know?

IMPACT ON TEACHING AND LEARNING ■ CONSISTENT APPORACH TO TEACHING MATHEMATICAL SKILLS AND CONCEPTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE SCHOOL THROUGH THE ADOPTION OF THE SINGAPORE APPROACH – NOT JUST FOR CALCULATIONS. ■ CHILDREN WILL BECOME FAR MORE INDEPENDENT IN THEIR LEARNING. THEY WILL DEVELOP TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS ■ SLOWER DELIVERY OF SKILLS WILL ALLOW FOR CONFIDENT APPLICATION IN A VARIETY OF CONTEXTS RELATED TO LIFE. ■ MIXED ABILITY TEACHING FOR ALL YEAR GROUPS (DECISION BASED ON RESEARCH FINDINGS). EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD AT THE SAME PACE.

IMPACT ON LEARNING AND TEACHING ■ WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE ■ OUR CHILDREN WILL HAVE THE SKILLS TO CLIMB OUT OF THE PIT!

WHAT’S IN FOR PARENTS? ■ ACCESS TO ONLINE VIDEOS AND GUIDANCE TO HELP YOU SUPPORT YOUR CHILD WITH LEARNING. ■ BASED ON SUCCESSFUL WORKSHOPS IN THE PAST, WE WOULD LIKE TO RUN WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS IN THE FUTURE WHICH PROVIDE PARENTS WITH THE SKILLS TO HELP THEIR CHILD WITH SPECIFIC AREAS OF MATHS. ■ CONFIDENT CHILDREN AND HAPPY CHILDREN.

The south Asian ‘mastery’ approach to teaching maths is set to become a standard fixture in England’s primary schools, thanks to a major expansion announced by Schools Minister Nick Gibb in the Summer.