The Power of Collaboration The Power of Collaboration: Implementing Mathematics Instructional Strategies Doug McDougall, Associate Professor, OISE Sue Ferguson, Coordinator, The Learning Consortium

Overview Learning Consortium partners – 4 GTA Boards 2 year project Planning for collaboration; school teams; central program staff PD sessions, visits to schools, administrator meetings

Grade 9 Applied Current state EQAO scores – credit accumulation Issues/challenges: Staffing Timetable Placement Gaps in knowledge Attendance Spec. needs, ELL

Research Mixed methods process: School visits Teacher surveys – attitudes and beliefs Interviews with all participants EQAO scores and credit accumulation in June 1 st term and final grade results

Collaboration Sharing of ideas/resources Sessions and workshops – cross-Boards Wiki MOE staff presentation – edugains, TIPS Peer-coaching, co-teaching Sharing among math coordinators and central resource staff thru conference calls, workshop presentations and individual school support

Instructional Strategies 10 Dimensions of Mathematics Education – 4 main themes chosen by schools Additional material on wiki to describe strategies and research behind them Assessment and evaluation Edugains, TIPS, textbook issues

Summary More teacher collaboration – “grade 9 teams” Encouraging EQAO results Increase in credit accumulation Teachers empowered with more confidence to implement strategies new to them Teachers realize that they can make a real difference in student achievement