Aby Kench Maths Teacher Entry Level Support ‘Supporting’ our lower ability students to enjoy maths and become more successful mathematicians Aby Kench Maths Teacher

What gives maths such a bad name? As part of my teaching degree, I carried out a study to investigate whether family attitudes towards Maths had an impact on student success and in the 200 student survey there was a correlation between negative attitudes and student’s mathematical attainment.

So, is this really relevant today in our classrooms?

The following extract from the National Numeracy report shows this is still an area of concern…

GROWTH MINDSET Students arrive at my door with a whole host of negative feelings and self doubt.

…yet!

Creating a ‘safe’ classroom culture, where mistakes are valued steps to deeper understanding Including regular discussions around common mistakes and misconceptions

Low floor, high ceiling tasks My class favourites… Compare and contrast Always, sometimes, never Odd one out Talking tennis – bit like mallets mallet  Mathematics Taboo True or False Find the fibs Ordering and sequencing …number and time lines Goal free activities Accessible for all students Student accountability; links to collaborative learning ethos Low floor, high ceiling tasks Allows discussion, reasoning skills, mathematical debate Students engaged with activities; real life problems Aim - Focus on low threshold, high challenge starters and activities to promote deeper meaningful thinking and discussion around maths concepts and particularly mathematical misconceptions.

‘Entry Level Support’ Scheme of Work Links directly to the AQA 9-1 syllabus Using ‘concrete’ resources (3d shapes, blocks, plasticene, numicon etc) to support meaningful connections between pictorial and abstract maths Instil a collaborative, co-operative learning environment Aimed at students working from Entry Level up to Level 3 (9-1) Revisiting key topics of Number, Space, Shape and Measure and Proportion ‘Entry Level Support’ Scheme of Work Greater enjoyment ensures greater participation and desire to improve Regular assessment, self, peer and teacher reviews High expectations of every student ‘Low floor high ceiling’ tasks to support an engaging curriculum for all abilities Consistent modelling of expectations and language…spelling key terms correctly, building key vocabulary into class books, clear definitions and highlighted, exploring root words, such as quadrilateral; quad = 4 Builds confidence through success