Coaching for Math GAINS Peel Co-Teaching Project Anchor Session #1 October 5, 2010

1.Welcome, Introductions & Norms 2. Overview of Math GAINS 3. What’s a Co-teaching Cycle? 4. Reflecting on your practice 5. On a Carousel 6. Is your locker open? 2

 Start and end on time.  Contribute to a safe learning environment that encourages risk taking; be kind.  Listen actively; speak fearlessly.  Invest in your own learning and the learning of others.  All electronic communication devices off except during lunch/break.  Suffering is optional! 3

 What do you Know?  What do you Wonder?  What have your Learned? P lease complete the first two columns of the KWL chart individually first, then discuss at your table. 4

Research Foundation for PD Research Says  Providing sufficient time;  Enlisting external expertise;  Engaging teachers in the learning process;  Challenging discourses;  Providing opportunities to interact in a community of professionals. Math GAINS Provides  30 release days/school;  Math Coach;  Teachers working together in school teams and working cross-panel;  Rethinking our approach to teaching math;  Co-planning days, anchor sessions and debriefing after demonstration lessons. 5

Research Says  Different aspects of content are integrated;  Clear links made between teaching and learning and student teacher relationships;  Assessment is used as a focus;  Sustainability of improved student outcomes. Math GAINS Provides  Big ideas, questioning, group work skills and problem solving;  How we teach math impacts on how well students learn and we can connect through more engaging tasks;  Formative assessment using open and parallel tasks;  Students can continue to improve. 6

Research Foundation for PD Research Says  Professional instruction sequenced;  Understandings discussed and negotiated. Math GAINS Provides  Modelling, co-planning then teaching  Active discussion with colleagues of what works for students. 7

Areas of focus: Strong emphasis on co-planning and co- teaching with a facilitator. Questioning, differentiated instruction, problem solving, big ideas, lesson goals, building discussion, manipulatives, technology, assessment, applied programs Incorporating Transformational Practices Integrating the Math Gains process into the PLC or TLCP 8

Share Observations What Happens Next? Affirm What Went Well Discuss What Could Be Improved Teach or Co-Teach Observe and Record Debrief Lesson Observation Co -Planning 9

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Teach or Co-Teach Observe and Record 11

Share Observations What Happens Next? Affirm What Went Well Discuss What Could Be Improved 12

1.How does the participating teacher describe her usual classroom practice? 2.What is new/different for the teacher and her students in this lesson? 3.How do the students respond to the lesson approach? 4. What observations/reflections does the teacher share in the lesson debriefing? As you watch this video, please consider the following questions: 13

“What can I add to my practice to help students understand the concepts I am teaching more deeply?” A big idea of co-teaching is to reflect on your current classroom practice, whatever that may be, and ask: “How will I know if my changes are having a positive impact on my students?” 14

Sharing Your Experience  Send at least 2 people from your team to each location.  With the other people at your location, form an inside/outside circle.  Each "inside" person will start. Share your answers to the self reflection questions. Take turns. 15

 Use the carousel activities menu to divide the members of your family group, evenly, among the various stations.  There will be two rotations of 15 minutes each, followed by 15 minutes of sharing with your family group.  Use the carousel organizer to make notes about the lessons you viewed, and the interviewee’s experience of the process. 17

Carousel Activities Menu : Fletcher’s Creek: Grade 7 Fractions Fairwind: Grade 7 Rectangle Tangle Bristol: Grade 8 Pythagorean Theorem R. H. Lagerquist: Grade 8 Integers Brampton Centennial: 10D Modeling Quadratics Heartlake: 9P Stephen Lewis: 10P Algebra Match Turner Fenton: Grade 9 18

What is the difference that made the difference?  Minds On?  Student groupings?  A neat activity?  A different consolidation strategy? What was the co-planning and co-teaching experience like? What was your role in the process? 19

Return to your KWL chart: What have you learned? What are you still wondering about?

The Locker Problem

 In your family of schools team, identify 3 people who will act as observers.  The remaining team members will work on the problem in "the fishbowl". They may divide themselves up into smaller groups if they wish to.  Send one of the observers to the materials table to collect the forms they will use to record their observations. 22

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 Explore the problem in your groups. Various manipulatives are available for use from the materials table.  Record your findings on chart paper.  Be sure to explain the mathematics that will justify why your answer is correct. 24

When the school's 1000 students return from summer vacation, they decide to celebrate the beginning of the school year by working off some energy. Student #1: opens every locker. Student #2: starts at locker #2 and closes every 2 nd locker. Student #3: starts at locker #3 and opens or closes every 3 rd locker. This process continues... until all 1000 students have entered the school. Which locker doors are open once every student has arrived? 25

Consolidation of the Locker Problem  Life in the Fishbowl  observers share their observations with their team members  Presentation of Solutions  a math congress 26

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Effective teaching involves risk taking … by both the teacher and the student. 28

1.Differentiating Instruction through the use of open questions. 2.Strategies for opening-up questions? 3. A few words About logistics. 4. It’s your turn to plan. 29

Using open questions for assessment for learning An open question, as a minds-on activity, provides valuable information about how to proceed with your lesson. 30

Using open questions for assessment for learning It might tell you that your students already know what you were planning to teach. 31

Using open questions for assessment for learning It might tell you some unanticipated directions you will need to take with some students. 32

Minds On A linear growing pattern starts at - 10 and grows very slowly. What might the pattern be? Describe the linear growing pattern -10, -9, -8, -7, …. 33

What made the first question open? 34

Contrast Open: Write an equation and solve it. Less Open: Solve 3x-2 = 8. Describe your strategy. What made the first question open? 35

Contrast Open: A graph passes through the points (2,4) and (3,8). Describe a relation the graph could represent. 36

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Not open: A line passes through the points (2,4) and (3,8). Write the equation of the line. What made the first question open? 38

One strategy is to start with an answer and create a question. For example, a growing pattern has 20 as the 9 th term. What could the pattern be? Creating Open Questions … some fail-safe strategies 39

Another is to ask for similarities and differences. For example, how is factoring x 2 +5x+6 like and different from factoring 3x 2 - 2x – 8. Fail-safe strategies … continued 40

Another is to let the student choose values. For example, ask students to choose values for and  and graph x +  y = 8. Fail-safe strategies … continued 41

At each table, you will receive a set of questions. Some questions are open, others are not so open. Sorting Open Questions Sort the questions into two groups: Open and Not Open 42

 Work with a partner to try to "open" up as many of the questions in the "not so open" pile as you can.  Use the Assessing My Questions handout as a guide.  Share your work with others at your table. 43

 Today, you participated in discussions similar to what happens during the co- planning process.  Except, when you co-plan you focus on your course, your students, their learning needs, as well as your own learning needs.  The Co-teaching and Debriefing are the other parts to the cycle. 44

 Each school has 30 release days for co-planning and co-teaching with a facilitator.  Share the fun across your school / dept.  Use PAM code 835 for your coverage.  Copy Wendy Telford on all meetings and requests for coverage.  Keep your principal informed.  More details coming soon about possible purchases. 45

 Determine the ideal focus and structure of your co-planning time.  Who will meet ? (by grade, cross-grade, cross-panel, cross- family)  Goals? What do you want to learn or try?  Meeting rooms and resources to book?  Ideal month to meet?  Sign up on the Facilitator’s Calendar (this is part of your exit ticket)  Aim to complete one co-teaching cycle within your Family by the Winter Break 46

Some things I would like to learn about or try … or have my group try are:  Teaching Through Problem Solving  Differentiating Instruction  Open Questions  Parallel Tasks  Technology  Manipulatives  On-line Resources  Big Ideas  Lesson Goals  MATCH Template  Assessment for/of Learning  Building a MTLC  Other __________________ 47