1. Developing talk for learning in maths
How can we support children to understand that they can all learn maths?
A key part of this is building a mathematical community in which everyone is responsible for making sense of the mathematics

2. Common Issues… and research question
Felt language and communication was a common barrier to learning, particularly in Maths
Children could follow examples (procedurally) but could not explain what they were doing at each step due to lack of vocabulary and confidence in sharing ideas.
Children (particularly those who were higher attainers) found the ‘mastery’ challenges hard as they were not used to being asked to explain their answer.
Partner work and group work was challenging as children were more focused on completing the tasks in the quickest time rather than developing understanding through talk.
Most of the schools had already been working on developing a growth mindset in line with the new curriculum and a mastery approach. This had led teachers to change from teaching ability groups to teaching mixed attainment groups which was having a positive impact on children’s learning. However, they found their children were generally poor at communicating their mathematics; in particular, they lacked confidence and the ability to explain their thinking and to reason. They also lacked perseverance and tended to give up easily when faced with a challenge.
‘Private talk, public conversation’ by Mike Askew directed our thoughts
hindering talk and explanation
Felt language and communication was a common barrier to learning, particularly in Maths 2

3. Learning Pit
1:40 Remind them of the idea about struggle – one image we found useful through the research project was the leanring pit
Leads to lots of talking about how they get out of the pit – and pulling others in…I am going to see if we can have a little experience of this…watch the James Nottingham video
Remind them of what it means to understand…

4. Private talk, public conversation
Talk then is central to my mathematics lessons. It is not simply that children are talking about mathematics, but that they are talking mathematics…The skill of the teaching of talking mathematics is giving children something mathematically worthwhile to talk about, accepting what children say, and then supporting them in crafting the talk.
Mike Askew 4

5. …encouraging children to talk needs to be balanced against developing their listening, so that conversations can occur in which mathematical ideas are played with, batted around, developed, refined and changed. In this way mathematical understandings can emerge and these are refined and developed through the talk.’
Mike Askew

6. You will be presented with a prompt
Let’s try a Maths Talk …
You will be presented with a prompt
You will generate multiple ways to solve the prompt
You will use your fingers to signal the number of ways you can solve the prompt
Maths Talks are a daily practice with the whole class to develop conceptual understanding of and fluency with numbers, operations and mathematics. These talks take about 10 minutes.
Maths Talks are used to:
Review and practice procedures and concepts
Introduce concepts and properties of number
Reinforce procedures and number concepts
Explore mathematical connections and relationships

7. 64 Number of the Day What do you know about this number?
Think of as many different things you know about this number as you can
When you have one way, put your thumb up under your chin
When you think of another way, put out a finger …

8. Strategies to prompt reasoning
How do you see it?
What’s the same, what’s different?
Odd one out
What do you notice?
Hard and easy questions
What else do you know?
Convince me / Prove it / Generalising / Explain your thinking
Always, sometimes, never
Making links / Application
NCETM

9. Solving logical puzzles involving clue cards
ROUND ROBIN: take in turns- everyone listens to each other.

10. Paired calculations In pairs decide who’s A and who’s B and solve your
calculation. Record something to help you and check it
using a different method.
Then share it with your partner. Be prepared to feedback
your partner’s method.
Person A
Person B

11. Multi-representation What’s the same, what’s different?
These are pictures of the same fraction. Can you explain which fraction and how they show this fraction? Can you draw another picture of the same fraction?
Look at this example on the paper…. Elicitation tasks

12. ABC
Because of the cards you don’t have to shout out. You can all share your view and have a chance to discuss ideas.
Child one

13. Jo Boaler: Complex instruction
Role functions
Recorder/Organiser: Keep the group together and focused on the problem; Make sure that all the important parts of your explanation get written down.
Resourcer: You are the only person that can leave your seat to collect rulers, calculators, pencils, etc., for the group; you are the only person to use equipment to model the ideas
Explainer/ Understander: Make sure all ideas are explained so everyone is happy with them; If you don’t understand, ask whoever had the idea…if you do, make sure that everyone else does too;
Includer/Questioner: Make sure everyone’s ideas are listened to;
Invite other people to make suggestions.
The roles can be introduced as and when they are needed- roles can evolve out of the situation, eg when a need for recording emerges, someone takes on that role. The point is that in giving everyone a job to do, they are more able to work effectively as a collaborative group.

14. Vocabulary, strategies and
Prompts
Vocabulary, strategies and
sentence openers

15. Questioning prompts • How do you know?
• Why do you think that …?
• How do you know?
• How did you reach that conclusion?
• What might explain that …?
• How is that possible?
• Can you show me …?
• Is there another way …?
• What explanation do you think is best …?
• Have you tried all the possible cases?
• Does it always work? Why? Can you prove it?
• What do you notice when …?

16. Impact Improved confidence
Greater use of mathematical vocabulary and ability to explain and reason
Strengthened peer to peer support
Willingness to engage in struggle
Now I’m happier to share my thoughts about whether something is right or wrong. I still don’t always like standing up at the front to explain my ideas!
Child three
I like working with other people to solve problems and I don’t mind challenging what someone else has said!
Child two
The project culminated in a symposium on the 10th March 2016 where all the teachers came together to share their findings from across the eight schools. Teachers from the other project schools from Devon also participated in this day.

17. ‘The biggest impact that I have seen with this particular class is the improvement in the children’s listening skills and how this has affected their engagement in lessons. The children are also much better at communicating and working collaboratively as they are better listeners and now value what each other has to say.’
Nikki Weeks Woodbury Salterton C of E primary school
‘Boy 2, who has demonstrated a good understanding of the talk rules, is confident now in explaining processes to the class using mathematical vocabulary. This represents fabulous progress in his ability to explain his understanding clearly to others. Also, he continues to take on the role of helping children out of the learning pit through the use of talk.’
Tom Arkle- Bassett’s Farm Primary School, Exmouth
Case studies of their research are currently in the process of being edited and uploaded onto Babcock LDP’s Maths website.

18.
Askew, Mike (2012) Transforming primary mathematics. Routledge
Boaler, Jo (2014) Unlocking children’s maths potential: 5 research results to transform learning. Youcubed
Jo Boaler (2009) The Elephant in the Classroom
Jo Boaler (2015) What’s Maths got to do with it?
Humphreys, Cathy & Ruth Parker (2015) Making Number Talks Matter. Stenhouse Publishers