A Quick Trip to Gisborne

Sue Jarvis from Havelock North Primary and I were invited to speak about our MST experiences to a group of ALiM 2 teachers in Gisborne yesterday.  We presented a powerpoint of what was involved as well as sharing some resource ideas:

Gisborne MST 2 Power Point

We felt we did a good presentation and worked cohesively as a team.  We were honest about the study commitment  but also the benefits to our teaching and how much we have learnt, personal growth and the pay off back in the classroom.

It was a great 24 hrs full of stimulating professional conversations around the teaching of mathematics with teachers and advisors from all over the East Coast.

Back to the groups:

So far its taking a little while to settle but the children are for the most part engaged.  The year 3s have a huge amount to learn but keeping them focussed has been challenging and short and sharp seems to be the requirement.  My potential problem senior boys are being fantastic and I am feeling good about where we can go with their learning. My main focus is keeping them engaged but covering the basics and having a game as a reward at the end.  I am also now going to be available on Fridays to meet with teachers to offer advice and support - which kind of feels arrogant but I only wish to help so hopefully this will be successful.  It will also mean I can catch up with my cohort 1 students whom I am missing.

Connecting with whanau:

My commitment to connecting with Whanau will hopefully receive a boost tonight with our Maths Evening and general walk through.  I made separate posters as a reminder and hopefully with connect with a few of the parents tonight.  I also have jazzed up the Ministry Parent Evening Powerpoint and this will be the focus of tonight's meeting.  Brendon, Tony and I will collectively present to parents and answer any questions we can.  Idea is to respond to the detrimental media reports regarding children failing due to the way we teach maths now.

We had 15 parents turn up to the parent math info night which was disappointing but we attributed the low number to time of year and perhaps a bit late at night.  One of my MST children's mums came and it was great to connect with her.  She made a positive comment about how her son's attitude to maths had changed for the better.  the rest of the staff were pleased with the contact with parents which was positive and Robyn Holt came in support as well.

End of a Cohort and New Beginnings

At the end of last term I had to say goodbye to my cohort 1 children.  They have worked hard over the last 15 weeks and all have made progress to some degree or other.  Only four children out of eighteen did not shift a stage but did make gains within the stage they are at.  Ten children gained one stage progress and four children gained two stages in their progress.  Three of the years fours got an OTJ of after 3 years which makes them only 6 months behind.  Five year fives are only 6 months behind and four year sixes are only six months behind.  One year six has now met the standard after starting two years behind.

I am pleased with the results and especially pleased by the feedback from both staff and parents as to gains made in confidence and attitude which is reflected in the students through the conversations we have had.  I am very sad to see them go but look forward to see how they 'fly' out there on their own.

I spent the first two weeks of this term testing and arranging my new groups.  These children are low and also contain a large year 3 contingent.  We focused on older children at the start of the year to see if they could make some gains to help get them through the year and I think we have done well closing the gap.  This cohort are very low with the majority working at stage 2 and a few at 4 and one at early 5.  I am hoping to really shift the stage 2 children to a stage 4 (at least) and the other children through to early 6/6. I really need to keep my eye on the big ideas and keep pushing independence and perseverance with the kids.

On an interesting aside Sue Jarvis and I have been invited to share our journey thus far with MST 1 teachers from Gisborne on August the 10th.  We have met and started a power point of ideas on google docs which we will add to over the next week and finesse when we are in Gisborne.  Hopefully it will go well and inspire the attending teachers to continue with their MST journey.

I also finished my second assignment over the holidays on a discussion relating to children's misconceptions with decimals, fractions and whole numbers.  I got 25/30 which I am thrilled with not to mention all the great learning that came out of the reading etc..  Its amazing how it alters the way in which you listen to children's thinking and analyse what they are saying.

As we have been in the process of maths PD - which has been a bit hit and miss - as realised by the facilitator and felt by the staff, our SIT team has not been functioning.  However, we do have a meeting on Tues to discuss our parent night on the 11th August and what we need to do for that.  I will also request a time to meet and discuss the rubrics we need to cover to make sure we are still on track.

My inquiry for this half of the year is to increase my whanau connections and put myself out there as well as try and connect the families to their children's learning.  I have approached one dad who was positive about his son's upcoming involvement but negative about his ability.  This is a hard mindset to break but I will do my best to try and change his and other parents ideas.  I hope to have a blog or facebook page going and regular feedback home.  I really need to step up in this area and by making it my inquiry it will become a priority.  It really is a necessity in helping these children become successful.

That's all for now - on with the study, the new groups and making connections with whanau