London Schools Excellence Fund Developing teachers’ mathematics subject knowledge in early years settings and primary schools to improve the attainment of all pupils Liz Woodham, NRICH Project & Michael Hall, Open University

London Schools Excellence Fund In between face-to-face days … Don’t forget

London Schools Excellence Fund Day 4 – 3 July Welcome Working on mathematical tasks together Tackling tasks and reflecting on them in terms of subject knowledge and pedagogy Break Reflection and evaluation so far Working on another mathematical task together Tackling a task and reflecting on it in terms of subject knowledge and pedagogy Lunch Learning Log Discussion of chapter 4 of ‘Listening Counts’; sharing thoughts on learning logs Planning a staff meeting Curriculum priorities and curriculum development work In pairs, planning for at least one task back at school Working on another mathematical task together Reflection

London Schools Excellence Fund Common themes from mathematical needs identified on day 1 The following were flagged up by at least two schools: Fractions/decimals/percentages Problem solving Place value Time Algebra Word problems Application of calculation strategies Subtraction

London Schools Excellence Fund Why do children find fractions difficult? Relative rather than fixed amount Same fraction might refer to different quantities and different fractions may be equivalent (what is the whole?) Can refer to objects, quantities or shapes See ‘Understanding Fractions’ article

London Schools Excellence Fund What might a fraction be? Part of a shape or shapes Part of a set of discrete objects Position on a number line – a number in its own right

London Schools Excellence Fund Getting started – fractions as a form of division Talking about fractions - mathematical language Digging deeper – equivalence Multiplication of fractions using an array (Models in Mind article)

London Schools Excellence Fund So far, what impact is this project having on: you? your pupils? your colleagues? You may wish to consider, for example, attitudes to maths, perceptions of maths, attainment, confidence, subject knowledge, pedagogical knowledge … If possible, please include quotes and photos Reflection

London Schools Excellence Fund ‘Listening Counts’ What were the main points raised by chapter 4? Are there implications for you in your classroom?

London Schools Excellence Fund Planning a staff meeting What might the main message/s be? What are your aims? How might you structure the meeting? What mathematics will you work on together? Will there be any action points for your colleagues following the meeting? How will you follow up from the meeting?

London Schools Excellence Fund Before we meet again … Continue to try out rich tasks with your learners Read chapter 7 of Listening Counts Mull over ideas for the staff meeting Take a look at the Problem Solving feature on NRICH, particularly the articles:

London Schools Excellence Fund Liz Woodham Michael Hall