Numeracy Professional Development Michael Drake Victoria University of Wellington College of Education Differentiated learning

The data is for a real class in a real school. Your own teachers are likely to have similar sets of data that they need to interpret and address within a few weeks… You have tested all of the students in your class and now have full class set of data. Note

1)What does the data tell you about the students in your class and what they know? 2)How can you use this information to improve learning for all of your students? Some questions to think about…

3)You want to teach the +/- domain. How do you prepare lessons that cater to the range of abilities?

Equity in students’ access to significant mathematical ideas 1)All students need to be able to participate substantially in the classroom activity. If this is not the case – drop the activity! 2)All students need to see a reason and purpose to engage in the classroom activity Paul Cobb, plenary speaker at the Numeracy Development Projects Conference, February 2006

4)You want to teach the +/- domain. How do you teach the wide range of abilities in the class?

Underlying tensions with traditional teaching approaches Competence with algorithms vs development of understanding Emphasis on teaching vs emphasis on learning Behaviourist vs constructivist

Schools for learning You might ask “Aren’t schools all for learning? Haven’t they always been?” The answer is that they have always been about ‘learning for some’ but not ‘learning for all’. In the early part of this century the nature of the distribution of human work was such that learning for all would have meant that many people were over-educated for the work available. Consequently

schools designed then were not intended for learning for all. Rather they tended to act as filtering and sorting systems selecting and holding onto those who were naturally effective learners in a school context – those who, in many ways, learned in spite of the teachers, in spite of the system. Little attention was paid to designing educational practices to support and enable all students to learn. Atkin, J. (1996). From values and beliefs about learning to principles and practice. Seminar series 54. Jolimont, Victoria: Incorporated Association of Registered Teachers of Victoria

Teachers need to examine their practice to ensure it will meet the needs of all their students. There are no fixed rules about what differentiated learning strategy is tried – only that the diverse learning needs of all students are met so all students can make progress. This is fundamental to the numeracy approach Important messages

Taking the approach that the year is one of learning and experimentation is very effective, and supports the development of a school-based strategy that is as effective as possible for all concerned A consistent approach across all classes is easiest to manage – it allows for cooperative planning, shared problem- solving, and reduces “Mr X does do it this way…”

Some students are change averse. That is, once ‘the way things are done in this class’ has been established by repeating the same daily routines, these students feel they ‘know what to do and how to avoid trouble’ (or work). Changing the routine can therefore be unsettling for both teacher and student, as both are out of their ‘comfort zone’.