Case Studies – RWMP

Coley Street School, Foxton

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This is an account from one of the schools, or clusters of schools, that have received funding from the Reading, Writing and Mathematics Proposals Pool (RWMP) to support programmes in reading, writing and mathematics for students years 1 to 6.

The issues

Coley Street sought to improve the overall performance of their students, particularly in mathematics and literacy. They identified the need to re-invigorate their classroom practice and lift the skills of teachers by providing a context for whole-school development.

The planning

During the year 2000, the school entered into a contract with Massey University for a facilitator to lead a professional development programme exploring concepts of Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). This programme is designed to help experienced teachers deepen their understanding of how students think about mathematics. By examining and building on the ways students intuitively solve word and number problems, teachers expected to be better equipped to help develop more advanced problem-solving in mathematics and other areas of learning.

The work in 2000 focused mainly on students in years 1 to 4. It was soon found that, as teachers moved into teaching older students, their understandings were easily adapted to classroom practice at these levels. Accordingly, in 2001 the programme was planned to improve teachers' ability to look at children's thinking in greater detail. The idea was to use video recording and other techniques to share observations, improve assessments, and support more informed decisions about the best strategies to help students grow in their thinking.

The actions

Work in 2001 began with a two-day workshop, followed by continuing workshops, visits, and ongoing meetings where the external facilitator, lead teachers from the previous year's programme, and the teachers themselves were able to observe, mentor, and consider progress. Discussion focused on how teachers could use their new knowledge to choose problems for students to solve, and use questioning most productively so that students were learning how to solve problems and communicate their thinking. Effective use of resources and of group teaching were also important.

Because home–school links have a measurable effect on early mathematics development, Coley Street sought to involve parents. They found that many were uncertain about how to help. The school is still working through this issue, trying to establish just how parents feel about homework and other involvement.

The results

The focus of Coley Street's programme is to build student's confidence and enthusiasm for learning, as well as improve skills with number and associated problem-solving strategies. Students are encouraged to use approaches which make sense to them at the time, but, even more important, they work with other students to explore different strategies and widen their range of options. Class and group discussions are integral to this way of teaching and learning: students have opportunities to reflect on and communicate their own solutions and to appreciate the strengths that the group can bring.

Teachers have a greater awareness of student's stages of development of number concepts, and have improved their skills in composing questions which find out what the students are thinking. From this information they are able to choose useful strategies to encourage student's problem solving. They have made changes to their classroom programmes, including finding more time and opportunities to extend mathematical thinking. They feel that their teaching is more meaningful because of the links they can make with everyday problems and with questions that arise in other areas of the curriculum.

Most exciting is the way students respond to the problem-solving emphasis, and to the opportunities they have for articulating their ideas. Students are now eager to share their methods, and show increasing confidence in their ability to do mathematics. They are more prepared to take risks, and to use equipment to test their theories or demonstrate how they solve problems.

There have also been positive effects on the oral language of the students. Teachers note that the students are becoming better listeners – they are genuinely interested in hearing how other students tackle problems, and to try out the ideas that are shared. Increased discussion and more purposeful oral work have helped children extend both vocabulary and general literacy, which in turn impacts on other curriculum areas.

Teachers are now looking at ways they can re-write the school mathematics scheme to accommodate their new knowledge and integrate it in their use of existing commonly-used texts. And they really enjoy their teaching. As one teacher commented, they have much higher expectations of their students: her year 1 and 2 children can do multiplication and division, and she certainly does not limit them to "junior" concepts, but allows them to work at tasks which suit their increasing ability. "It blew my mind!"

The future

Teachers at Coley Street have shown their commitment to professional development. They are now building on the momentum engendered by this work in mathematics teaching, and are becoming involved in a structured programme of oral language through the New Zealand Speech Board, with an emphasis on communication. They have also been accepted for projects through Massey and Otago Universities: one for children with special abilities, and another for extension mathematics.

The whole-school approach to continuing professional growth has had a flow-on effect throughout the school culture of learning and teaching, with a sense of real enthusiasm and enjoyment.

2001

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