What value have I added to my children?

Term 3 Inquiry Update:

What value have I added to my children so far and how can I accelerate this going forward?

This year my focus has been on getting my learners to use and understand mathematical vocabulary. I have struggled with trying to figure out how I can measure this and be able to show progress. However this term as a class we have already had several breakthrough moments with our vocabulary in mathematics and also using this language in other areas. 

Although some of these moments in the classroom have been incorrect I have still seen my learners try and use this vocabulary in other curriculum areas. An example of this was the new word perimeter that we had learnt about during maths. This was a new word for my of my learners not very many of them knew what it meant and were quite puzzled with the word when we first talked about it. As the week went on I incorporated this word more and more often during our maths lessons and tried to use this in literacy as much as I could to. The breakthrough moment was when we had a kiwisport squash lesson where the coaches asked what the top line was called on a squash court and the first answer my learners gave was "the perimeter" this of course was incorrect but it was great to see they were trying to use this word in another context.

By using this word in many different subject areas my learners have been able to add this new word to their own vocabulary list. It has a main use in mathematics however it is an important word to help us understand thing. I am turning my focus this term on how I can use these words with my maths and literacy learners who are with me all day. I am hoping to see that by the learners being exposed to this language more often and in multiple curriculum areas they will be able to retain the words and their meanings. 

I have also noticed a huge increase in my learners confidence in being able to share their ideas with each other and explain how they got the answer to a problem. They are no longer using words like "plusses" or "minuses" they are using terms like addition and subtraction as well as multiplication, making tidy numbers and rounding and compensating. By using this vocabulary they are able to understand what it is that they are being asked to do and also how to solve a problem in the best and most effective way. We have come a long way since the beginning of the year and I am excited to see how this inquiry unfolds for the rest of the year. Hoping to see that there will be an increase in vocabulary due to using the language in maths and literacy. Watch this space!

Parrant Inquiry 2018 Term 2 Final Update

This term I have had a break through with some of my learners and using DMIC maths in the classroom. We had to go back to basics and learn things like how to show that we are listening and how to share ideas with each other. This is still an ongoing process however my learners are starting to show that they are able to share their ideas with each other and also question each other on how they got the answer. It has also been great to see the learners being able to use language and terminology that supports their learning and show that they understand the learning strategies. 

I think we have made some progress in class this term. I need to work on making sure that I am able to show the learning and what is happening and come up with an effective way to show this in data. I will focus on this next term and have a pre and post test at the beginning and the end of the term to see which vocabulary they are using and what they need to work on to strengthen mathematical language.  I would also like to continue to focus on making sure that I am using this vocabulary in other subject areas to strengthen this language and make it stick. 

2018 Maths Inquiry

This year I will continue to inquire into my mathematical teaching and how to improve in my own practice so that my students are getting the best out of their teaching time. This year my focus question is: How to get my learners to use and understand mathematical vocabulary. I have found from the beginning of this year that there are many terms and vocabulary words that my learners are still unsure of in year 6. 

 

I want to focus on ensuring that my learners are getting all of the vocabulary they need in maths in order to succeed. I am going to set up a maths vocabulary word wall so that all of the new terms that we come across and discuss as a class will be accessible to my learners at all times. I also want to make sure that my classroom is a space where my learners aren't afraid to ask questions when they are unsure of the terms that I have used in my teaching. We have been working as a whole class to make sure that we are asking questions if we are unsure and also when answering mathematical questions we are referring back to the items that we are using in our problems so that they have more meaning and the knowledge will hopefully stick.