Subject Leader Development Meeting
November 2010

http://education.staffordshire.gov.uk/Curriculum/Subjectareas/Mathematics/Resources/Maths+photos.htm

0915 Session 1
Secondary Mathematics Update
Update from OfSted - Mathematics Subject Criteria
2010 KS2, 3 and 4 data
1030 Tea/Coffee
1055 Session 2
Peer and self assessment with the new Bowland materials to promote the process skills in mathematics

 To review KS2, 3 and 4 data for 2010
 To consider the latest Ofsted research and its implications for the mathematics classroom
 To consider strategies for developing the process skills involving peer and self assessment
 To explore new assessment materials for
Mathematical Processes and Applications (Bowland
& Nuffield AMP)

What’s happening with…
 KS2
 GCSE
 Functional Skills
 Diplomas
 A levels
?

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/get-involved/

 Each school is required to bring examples of pupils’ work demonstrating one or more of the gap task problems.

Tamworth
East Staffordshire
Moorlands
Newcastle
Lichfield
Cannock
Stafford
Leek cluster
Wolgarston/Codsall cluster
Ounsdale/Edgecliff
3 Dec am Belgrave
24 Nov am Thomas Alleynes
6 Dec am Painsley
26 Nov am Chesterton
24 Nov pm The Friary
6 Dec pm Cardinal Griffin
30 Nov pm Weston Rd
13 Dec am Leek High
14 Dec am Codsall Middle
2 Nov pm Ounsdale High

Emerging trends in KS4 practice
 Grade C GCSE is important: without it, doors close but the heavy emphasis on grade C GCSE is leading to lots of ‘teaching to the test’
 starting GCSE in Year 9
 focus on C/D – close monitoring, mentoring often linked with English for the 5A*-C measure
 use of re-sits
 stopping mathematics early (usually post C+)
 some use of two awarding bodies for GCSE
 readiness for A/AS level?
 other qualifications
Subject leader development day| 11

Emerging trends in KS3 practice
 Two-year KS3
 SoW usually revised – now often contain problems or functional skills activities – but which pupils do them?
 SoW usually based on the mathematical content of the curriculum (Ma2-4) but without explicit development of UAM/key process skills
 Nurture groups and competence-based curricula: often taught by non-specialists with responsibility located outside the mathematics department
Subject leader development day| 12

Improving the curriculum: what are we finding?
 Many teachers in a department working hard to help their pupils do well (in tests and exams) … revision, intervention, mentoring …
 Problem solving, investigation, practical activities, ICT – but unevenness in how much each pupil experiences
 Rarely is there explicit development of using and applying mathematics/functional skills – usually pupils are expected to acquire them through doing some tasks
 Less emphasis on A/A* work, especially algebra (a consequence of modular GCSE/2-tier?)
 Little attention given to proof at KS3 and 4.
Subject leader development day| 13

Improving teaching: what are we finding?
 Many teachers in a department working well with (some) colleagues, sharing ideas …. but informally so not all teachers benefit from shared good practice.
 A lack of guidance on approaches that underpin conceptual understanding and progression.
 Observations by subject/senior managers that focus on what the teacher does rather than gains in pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding.
 Sometimes, whole-school policies do not support good
T&L in mathematics (eg marking and lesson planning)
 Development plans that do not always include improving teaching as a strategy for raising standards.
Subject leader development day| 14

Improving leadership and management: what are we finding?
 HoDs have more access to professional development than their colleagues … other teachers receive limited mathematics-specific CPD, and little subject INSET time in schools.
 Much emphasis on short-term strategies (eg intervention, revision, booster) and not enough on improving quality first teaching.
 Data analysis used to check progress and intervene but not often used strategically to improve provision
 Not all HoDs have benefited from good role models of middle L&M. Not all senior leaders model good line management or understand the issues in mathematics.
There are not enough good mathematics teachers and subject leaders so we must develop those we have.
Subject leader development day| 15

(available for all subjects)

 In pairs, consider the grade descriptors and supplementary mathematics specific guidance, and decide whether the statements describes practice that is:
 Outstanding
 Good
 Satisfactory
 Inadequate

National and Staffordshire Trend KS2
National Staffordshire
70
65
60
55
50
85
80
75
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Staffs 81%
National 80%
Mathematics

 Support schools in appropriate audit and design of the curriculum to meet the needs of all children
 Build on continued success and improve conversion rates from L2 to
4+
 Ensure all schools exceed the threshold of 55% in English & Maths and further increase the number of children attaining levels 3+ by the end of KS2
 Underpin learning and teaching by embedding robust assessment and effective tracking
 Further improve progress and achievement particularly across years
3 & 4
 Ensure all children particularly FSM pupils make appropriate progress in line with national expectations and the children’s own potential
 Ensure spoken communication is developed intensively in all subjects

KS2 – 4 Progress
2010 Data (2009 in red)
3+ Levels Progress
KS2-4
English
National Staffordshire
Mathematics
70%
66%
64%
60%
71%
67%
61%
60%

L5+
Maths
English
82.9%
(+1%)
81.6%
(+ 1%)
Science 83.7%
(+1.3%)
L6+
60.4%
(+0%)
42.3%
(+0.4%)
48.9%
(+1.2%)
Gender gap
L5+ 0.8% G
L6+ 1.0% B
L5+ 12.9% G
L6+ 12.3% G
L5+ 3.0% G
L6+ 1.1% G

2010 5 A* - C including Maths and English
Staffordshire
5 A* - C including Maths and English = 53.3% (+2.5%)
National
5 A* - C including Maths and English = 53.1% (+3.3%)

 Staffordshire figure approx 61.5% (increase 1.6%)
 National figure 58.4% (increase 1.2%)
 Nationally gender difference closing to 0.3% in favour of boys
 Increase for 30 out of 53 schools, 7 by more than
10%

2010 KS2 to 4 Progression - LA

2010 KS2 to 4 Progression - National

2010 KS3 to 4 Progression - LA

2010 KS3 to 4 Progression - National

 To consider strategies for developing the process skills involving peer and self assessment
 To explore new assessment materials for
Mathematical Processes and Applications (Bowland
& Nuffield AMP)

 Find the solution to each of the mystery tasks on your table

 35 tasks
 Span NC levels 3 to 8
 Available as PDF, Word and PPT

 Several pages long
 Page 1: Introduction
 Page 2: Key Processes Task
 Page 3: Progression in Key Processes
 Other pages: Sample pupil responses

The 20 AMP activities include:
 11 Mathematical investigations, such as working out a method to collect the greatest number of gold coins when moving through a maze.
 9 Practical explorations, such as designing a table or scheduling the work to be done in a fashion workshop.

 Representing
 Analysing
 Interpreting and evaluating
 Communicating and reflecting

 Helps pupils to become more aware of the goals of their learning and the ways in which they can improve their work to achieve these goals
The PD module:
 Explores how pupils can assess and develop their own abilities to use the Key Processes when problem solving

Try the task in pairs

Consider the sample responses:
 Did the pupils choose a good method?
 Is the reasoning correct?
 Are the conclusions sensible?
 Was the reasoning easy to follow?
 Can you order the responses?

 Differentiate by quantity?
(When pupils appear successful, you provide them with a new problem to do)
 Differentiate by task?
(You try to give each pupil a problem that is matched to their capability)
 Differentiate by outcome?
(You use open problems that encourage a variety of possible outcomes)
 Differentiate by level of support?
(You give all pupils the same problem, but then offer different levels of support, depending on the needs that become apparent)

 Find more elegant ways of representing and tackling the task
 Make up their own variants or extensions to tasks
 Devise their own ‘progression steps’, to develop their own understanding of Key Processes
 Task specific extensions


Look at the tasks and begin to consider how you might use them to aid the teaching of the Key
Process Skills in your school

Dates for your diary:
 Highs 16 th March 2011
 Middles only 8 th March 2011
 Buy-in session with a focus on the teaching and learning of algebra

 To develop communication skills in mathematics
 To begin to develop strategies that enable pupils to demonstrate these skills

Improving the curriculum: what are we finding?
 Many teachers in a department working hard to help their pupils do well (in tests and exams) … revision, intervention, mentoring …
 Problem solving, investigation, practical activities, ICT – but unevenness in how much each pupil experiences
 Rarely is there explicit development of using and applying mathematics/functional skills – usually pupils are expected to acquire them through doing some tasks
 Less emphasis on A/A* work, especially algebra (a consequence of modular GCSE/2-tier?)
 Little attention given to proof at KS3 and 4.
Subject leader development day| 46

Improving teaching: what are we finding?
 Many teachers in a department working well with (some) colleagues, sharing ideas …. but informally so not all teachers benefit from shared good practice.
 A lack of guidance on approaches that underpin conceptual understanding and progression.
 Observations by subject/senior managers that focus on what the teacher does rather than gains in pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding.
 Sometimes, whole-school policies do not support good
T&L in mathematics (eg marking and lesson planning)
 Development plans that do not always include improving teaching as a strategy for raising standards.
Subject leader development day| 47

June 2008
 Many candidates (57%) recognised that the required angle was 120º but then failed to explain why this was the case.
June 2009
 Presentation of working out remains an issue for many candidates. There remain many occasions when working out is not in order, and is sufficiently unclear to an examiner struggling to award method marks when the answer given is incorrect.

Teachers
A newspaper predicts what the ages of secondary school teachers will be in six years’ time.
They print this chart.
100%
Key: Age in years
50+
40 to 49
30 to 39
20 to 29
50%
0%
Male Female

 Why do pupils find this type of question difficult?
 What are the barriers?
 What strategies could we use to overcome these problems?

 Use of exemplar answers
 Draft and re-draft
 Pupils write a mark scheme for given questions/responses
 Insert missing mathematical vocabulary into incomplete sentences
 Use of writing frames
 Rearrange sentences
 ‘Text’ responses – limiting the number of characters
 Structured use of responses

Favourite sport
Karen asked ten people:
‘What is your favourite sport?’
Here are her results.
Football cricket football hockey swimming
Hockey swimming football netball football
(b) Is it possible to work out the mode of these results?
Explain how you know.

 Create a set of at least 5 cards that demonstrate a range of responses

 Structured responses that demonstrate a logical approach, mathematical thinking and reasoning.

Source Edexcel mock foundation paper

 In what respect are the barriers/strategies to this type of question different to those already considered?
 What are the similarities?

 Use of exemplar answers
 Draft and re-draft
 Pupils write a mark scheme for given questions/responses
 Spot the errors
 Peer assessment
 Missing steps
 Ordering of solutions

 On your own, write an explanation for the given question
(you have 1 min)
 Re-draft your answer with a partner
(you have 1½ mins)
 On your table arrive at a final explanation
(time limit 2 ½ mins)
 Exchange your response with the next table and suggest improvements

 Identify areas of good practice at both school and departmental level
 Share expertise
 Trial a strategy across all members of the department
 Feedback and follow-up at a later date
 Consolidate and embed into departmental practice