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Teaching students how to use language to solve maths problems (meta cognition and self regulation)
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2. Key issue addressed by the study
This study looked at effective ways of using discussion among students to improve teaching of mathematics and science- this is a key strategy for closing the gap
The study builds on earlier research which showed that exploratory talk led to individual improvements in students test results
Whilst the study focused on primary students in numeracy and science the findings are relevant to teachers of different year groups and subject areas wanting to promote literacy and numeracy across the curriculum.

3. What did the researchers discover about teaching mathematics?
students whose teachers used ‘Thinking together’ maths lessons increased their standardised tests results by 44%
By comparison, students whose teachers carried on normal teaching increased their test results, on average, by 26%

4. What did the researchers discover about the teachers’ role in mathematics discussions?
When teachers were explicit with learners about how to use language for reasoning as a group, the students:
learnt better ways of thinking collectively
improved their individual thinking skills

5. What did the ‘thinking together’ programme consist of?
The ‘thinking together’ programme was made up of 12 lessons
The first five raised the students’ awareness of how talk can be used for group work
The next seven helped students apply these skills in learning mathematics

6. How were the ‘thinking together’ lessons arranged?
Each lesson was split into three sections:
a teacher led, whole class introduction
a group discussion activity
a whole class session to share ideas and reflect in the lesson

7. What techniques did teachers use to encourage discussion?
Whole class discussion sometimes involved simple techniques, such as:
allowing children to lead discussion
using reasoning words, e.g. ‘what’, ‘how’, ‘if’ and ‘why’
ensuring all children took part

8. Example of a teacher helping students reflect on discussion for learning
Teacher: So if I walk around the classroom while everybody is talking together in their groups I wonder what kind of things might I hear people saying?
Asif: What do you think?
Teacher: That’s a good one. Why is that an important question, Carl?
Carl: Because you ask someone else their opinion.

9. What training helped teachers to implement group discussion?
Whole class discussion only worked well when teachers received effective training. This consisted of:
discussing underlying principles
engaging in, and reflecting on, problem solving activities
analysing video recordings of students’ group discussions

10. Ensuring all learners participate
A key factor for success in group discussion was impressing on students the importance of ground rules, otherwise:
some learners dominated while others were quiet
discussion led to ignoring the task at hand
First

11. How was the study designed?
230 Year 5 students (109 involved in programme, 121 in control group)
Improvements measured over two years using:
Key Stage 2 national results
analysis of teachers’ interactions with students
analysis of children’s talk in class

12. How can teachers use the evidence in this study?
There is significant evidence that class discussion and group work improved students’ maths skills, but if these activities are not well organised then discussion may turn into unfocused talk on unrelated subjects
Think of occasions when you have experienced effective group discussion or have observed group work going well for students. Can you think of other occasions when a group you were working with or a group of students have gone off topic or worked in an unfocused way? What do you think makes the difference?

13. How can teachers use the evidence in this study- 2?
The teachers in this study planned a series of lessons which developed students’ group talk skills and then helped them apply the skills to their maths learning .
Could you work with a colleague to plan a series of lessons that would enable students to understand group work skills and then apply them to maths or to another subject? Could you work with colleagues to identify opportunities for group maths discussion in different subject areas? E.g. students might work together to plan the best way of representing a science experiment graphically or work out the quantity of ingredients needed to cook a class meal.

14. How can school leaders use the evidence in this study?
In order to develop and maintain these skills, the teachers required additional training. Evidence from the control groups made it clear that those without the right professional development were less successful and their students made less progress
What opportunities can you see for developing teachers’ skills in the use of talk skills for cross curricular activity?
Are there staff in your school who implement effective group work who could model this practice?

15. Follow-up reading
Study reference: Mercer N & Sams C (2006) Teaching Children How to Use Language to Solve Maths Problems. In Language & Education 20 (6) pp
Summary available at: