The Power of Collaboration:
Implementing Mathematics Instructional
Strategies
Doug McDougall, Associate Professor, OISE
Sue Ferguson, Coordinator, The Learning
Consortium
Overview
• Learning Consortium partners – 4 GTA Boards
• 2 year project
• Planning for collaboration; school teams;
central program staff
• PD sessions, visits to schools, administrator
meetings
Grade 9 Applied
• Current state
• EQAO scores – credit accumulation
• Issues/challenges:
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Staffing
Timetable
Placement
Gaps in knowledge
Attendance
Spec. needs, ELL
Research
Mixed methods process:
• School visits
• Teacher surveys – attitudes and beliefs
• Interviews with all participants
• EQAO scores and credit accumulation in June
• 1st term and final grade results
Collaboration
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Sharing of ideas/resources
Sessions and workshops – cross-Boards
Wiki
MOE staff presentation – edugains, TIPS
Peer-coaching, co-teaching
Sharing among math coordinators and central
resource staff thru conference calls, workshop
presentations and individual school support
Instructional Strategies
• 10 Dimensions of Mathematics Education
– 4 main themes chosen by schools
• Additional material on wiki to describe
strategies and research behind them
• Assessment and evaluation
• Edugains, TIPS, textbook issues
Summary
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More teacher collaboration – “grade 9 teams”
Encouraging EQAO results
Increase in credit accumulation
Teachers empowered with more confidence to
implement strategies new to them
• Teachers realize that they can make a real
difference in student achievement