1. 2008-09 Coaching for Math GAINS
An investment in energizing 7-12 mathematics educators

2. Welcome Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch
Student Success Learning to 18 Implementation, Training and Evaluation Branch

3. Leadership
“The heart of school improvement rests in improving daily teaching and learning practices in schools, including engaging students and their families.” Ben Levin, 2008
Collective efficacy
Trust
Focus on student achievement

4. Context $7M investment in 7-12 mathematics
4% increase in Grade 9 Academic EQAO
Research shows that job-embedded coaching models make a difference
Will to improve student achievement and close gaps in mathematics
Grass roots readiness to leverage

5. Context K-12 alignment in mathematics
Alignment between 7-12 mathematics and literacy
Recommended approaches align with Student Success Action Plan
Collaboration with math education researchers, and publishers

6. Vision Now to June Every board will:
help teachers shift practices in ways that improve student achievement and close gaps
build on existing capacities, and add a new coaching dimension
build mathematics leadership capacity
share evidence of what works

7. Vision Now to June
Every math coach feels part of a provincial network of learner-leaders
Every coachee benefits from the coaching relationship
Every system leader recognizes and supports Coaching for Math GAINS

8. Goals: February – June, 2009 Each board: Each coach and coachee:
takes up this challenge
Is sensitive to readiness of coaches, coachees, and local context
Each coach and coachee:
experiences the support of a math-knowledgeable board, school, or provincial-level coach
receives the support needed to experience a productive professional relationship

9. Goals: February – June, 2009 The Ministry: Collectively, we:
supports each board’s engagement
provides opportunities for networking, sharing, collective problem solving
communicates about activities and student achievement
Collectively, we:
support shifts in teachers’ practice
share our learning and experiences
communicate the positive impact of this investment

10. Michael Fullan Change Wars, 2009
Top-down reform does not work, nor do decentralized bottom-up strategies.
What we need is a blended model of simultaneous top-down/bottom-up forces: top-down direction and investment coupled with bottom-up capacity-building

11. Sharpening the Instructional Focus
37 indicators in The Guide for Administrators and Other Facilitators of Teachers’ Learning for Mathematics Instruction
8 criteria in the Student Success Action Planning Template
2006 -
3 strategic approaches
May 2008
1 key focus
September 2008

12. Sharpening the Instructional Focus
Three strategic approaches:
Fearless listening and speaking
Questioning to evoke and expose thinking
Responding to provide appropriate scaffolding and challenge
The Advisory Panel on Connecting Practice and Research in Mathematics Education identified three strategic instructional approaches for 08-09:
Fearless listening and speaking
Questioning to evoke and expose thinking
Responding to provide appropriate scaffolding and challenge
They agreed that these approaches are important in mathematics classrooms and in professional learning sessions for teachers, and for system-level leaders, regardless of their formal education in mathematics.
As it turns out, a literacy panel, decided that these three instructional approaches will work equally well for 7-12 literacy, so you will see alignment in this regard across literacy and mathematical literacy.
Last month, members of the panel agreed that with the opportunity to really focus on math in 08-09, we should sharpen the instructional focus even more. …so that every educator will be clear what that focus is.
The driver for instructional improvement in will be ‘questioning to evoke and expose thinking’.
Driver for
See Background for Questioning Focus

13. Sharpening the DI Focus
Differentiation of content, process, and product based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile
Differentiation based on student readiness
, and
differentiation at the concept development stage

14. Connecting Foci Questioning Fearless listening and speaking Responding
This graphic shows interconnections among the 3 strategic approaches and differentiation, and suggests why questioning will be the driver for
Responding
Differentiating

15. Strategies Regular opportunities to: share approaches
cross-pollinate ideas
build on each others’ learning
support each other with challenges
Respect for the power of complexity theory in guiding our path forward
collective learning
adaptive behaviours
emergence, self-organization
sensitivity to local conditions
respect for specialization and diversity

16. Strategies Multi-level support:
Provincial-level coaches
Regional steering teams
Provincial steering team
Advisory Panel of stakeholders
Just-in-time possibilities for support materials

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