Ok so we’ve been working on this for a while now and I’m aware that it all went a little quiet for about 3 or 4 months.  The motivation factor of using the DS’s in class wore a little thin – or rather the class got used to them and started finding ways to ensure they managed just enough work to be allowed them.  The game became more of a toy than a learning tool and I had run out of ways to use the results of our races with the tennis stars so they were locked away in the cupboard for a time.

Very slowly our charts began to fill up as individuals were allowed to play games as a treat or reward.  We also made it through 2 sets of assessments, Christmas mayhem, a whole school evacuation – not a drill – and several snow days.  It was now the middle of winter term and time to ditch the project or resurrect it.  3M7 have a lot to thank my PLN and Twitter for because it was comments from you guys that moved me forward.

As I mentioned our class races had come to a natural end.  Looking forward I wanted to use the information that we had collected in the individual races.  From the beginning we had been writing down the total time for the race and the fastest lap for each game.  This in itself proved to be a learning  experience as some struggled to identify the best lap and most struggled with the format of the time.

First task was to get the information onto something more usable in the classroom than the posters that were being completed on the wall.  So we had a class discussion about the format of the times and then split into pairs.  Each pair was allocated a character and given 4 coloured cards – one for each of the cups.  They wrote their character name on each card and moved around the classroom completing the race times on the cards, working together to ensure the format was indeed correct.

Race Cards

Finding Times

Next we collected all of the character’s cards for each cup together, split into 4 groups and used them as an ordering game – fastest to slowest.  After this was completed and the misconception that the highest number was the fastest had been shot down by the pupils and confirmed in a less confrontational manner by me we did the exercise again using 2 sets of cards.  When we put the Orange and Green cups together we found an overlap in the fastest lap for one and the slowest for another which raised a good discussion about why.  Perhaps one was longer than the other, or harder, or the drivers on the slower race were just rubbish!  Regardless of the reason or ensuing argument it was the project and the pupils’ own work which prompted the discussion and not a contrived exercise for which they had no passion or interest.

Sorting Race Times

Are you sure?

Moving on we met the trickier topic of Speed Distance and Time.  I was determined to use the race cards again.  The class is only expected to complete distance calculations given the speed and time.

We discussed the average speed of a journey from home to Inverness (30m/s) and the fastest average speed recorded for a grand prix win. (67m/s – from F1technical.com)  I had calculated both in metres per second for them to give some context and to simplify calculations but keep them realistic.  From this the class decided that our Karts probably had an average speed of 40m/s.  Their responses had a very wide range due to their perception of “kart”.  Some expected the karts to be much slower than cars and I was pleased that none suggested anything close to the speed of the F1 car.  I had to persuade them up to 40m/s to ensure the next part offered some challenge.

I explained that we would assume the average speed of 40m/s and use this to calculate distance for each driver in each race. “But, miss, the race is the same length for each driver!” Thank goodness. I heartily agreed and said we were going to estimate the actual length by using averages and the information we did have.

Back to the problem of the format of the times – a quick revision on rounding to the nearest whole number and the cards were split up again.  I handed out worksheets to help the pupils organise their work and we split into groups around the 4 different cups.  We moved around the class writing down all of the fastest laps rounded to the nearest second.  Once they were all completed we calculated the distance.  Working together they managed to solve the problem of multiplying by 40 without my input and they flew through close to 32 calculations complete with working in minutes.

Calculating distance.

Still working...

From here we will do calculations to find the mean distance and time.  I hope this will prove some of our earlier discussions about some courses being longer or more difficult than others.

There are still gaps in the scoreboard which leaves more room for discussion and opportunities to reward pupils.

Moving forward I am looking forward to completing a similar exercise with the power car.  I would like to use this to calculate speed using the distance we know from work already done.

In a real life context we are far more likely to know the distance and time or the distance and speed – I am going to try something similar to extend the course, it can’t possibly be considered a waste of time even if it is not defined in the SQA arrangements.

This is a project that the whole class are involved in.  As long as I can continue to move it forward then they will probably remain engaged.  All the better if I can keep it linked to work that is prescribed by the curriculum.

For now, the motivation to play games may well have dwindled but Mario continues to keep them hooked for all the right reasons.

I’m doing a presentation on Tuesday and one of the key phrases that I am going to say out loud is that assessment is not the million dollar solution to Curriculum for Excellence that we are waiting for.  Now, I’m going to wear my waterproofs to protect me from the rotten fruit and veg bound to head my way but nothing’s going to stop the glares and looks of absolute disbelief.

The great thing is though:

I finally believe it’s true.

For a long time I have wanted to believe that the abolishment of external, final exams is the right thing to do.  I have always felt that it is fundamentally wrong to test pupil’s knowledge and 12 years of learning with 1 hour summative assessment.  On the flip side I have been unable to conjure any idea of what assessment should look like.  To be honest I’m still struggling with that but I can now look forward to the challenge because I finally understand my own role.

School curricula for too long has focussed on the goal being to pass as many exams as possible, the elite head to uni, the middle to college or apprenticeships and the bottom plough through and hope for the best from their handful of foundation grades.  Great improvements have been made with the continued implementation of vocational and practical courses.  The emphasis, however, has remained on channelling as many as possible down an academic route and adding extras for other learners.  Curriculum for Excellence goes one step further and asks teachers to provide learning suitable to every learner.

How do we know what to teach if there is no final goal?  A war cry from those, and until recently me, who need assessment to be fixed so that they know “what” to teach.  This is my real revelation to date because I have realised that:

 I know what to teach regardless of the final assessment. 

Nobody has ever suggested that we should be changing the content of our courses.  Indeed it would be difficult to create a brand new maths syllabus, the nuts and bolts of number, algebra and geometry are not changing and are essential to future learning.  Each step leads logically to the next and the extent of learning is now limited only by the ability of the pupils.  I agree that a structure must be imposed to learning to ensure that pupils are gaining a breadth of learning and that records of achievement for each pupil are essential and I’m not sure how that will look either but I am now confident that I have the tools and resources to move forward.

In my toolbox I have textbooks, worksheets and schemes of work, all of which offer comprehensive structure to suit learning maths through relevant age and stage levels in an ordered manner which builds upon previous learning and provides essential numeracy and mathematical skills.  In addition I have a plethora of ICT and interactive tools including games, concrete apparatus and links to real life.  Add to all that co-operative learning and formative assessment strategies and chuck in a bit of investigation, outdoor learning and fun and I reckon I might just make it through.

If I use all the tools that I have and maintain the pace and challenge I now believe that I can ensure that the learners in my classroom will be ready for whatever the National Assessment Resource can throw at them.

This idea has been bubbling around me for a while now.

I’ve been reading a lot about ICT in the classroom with a particular interest in games based learning and then Adam Stevens, (@ahstevens) a contact I have made through Twitter mentioned that he had dabbled with Mario Kart and other racing games in the classroom to present some basics of distance/speed/time theory in physics.  Derek Robertson (@derekrobertson) and Ollie Bray (@olliebray) have provided further inspiration by sharing their own experiences of games based learning success.  Both are now working to spread good practice and I am pleased that they have offered me their support, albeit from the back of the car on the way home from the first Edu2020 (@edu2020) meeting in Duffies!

The pedagogy behind games based learning must lie in motivating pupils to learn by engaging them in the work being done through ensuring a common interest is found and utilised.   A great opportunity has presented itself for the new school year. I will be working with a Foundation Level maths class through 3rd and 4th year to formal assessment in May 2011.

The Standard Grade course will offer plenty of challenges to the pupils with the work covered but also many opportunities to relate work to real life scenarios and situations.  In addition it will allow me time to incorporate games based learning and the curriculum for excellence principles into our lessons.  My main learning intentions will focus on time problems, number, organisation, simple statistics and problem solving.  In addition the project will be designed to meet the 4 capacities of Curriculum for Excellence.  Although not strictly necessary for pupils at this age and stage in secondary school it will provide a richer learning experience at this level of work and anyway, it’s good practice for what’s coming!  Having had a quick glance through the arrangements these are the current outcomes I believe I can meet with Mario Kart.

• reading tables, graphs and charts
• line graph trends
• communication of data through tables, graphs and charts
• numeracy – add/subtract/multiply/divide calculations in context
• mean, median, mode
• check solutions
• experiment
• draw conclusions and explain them from data
• take an organised approach to solving problems

At this point I need to put out a prezi alert.  My planning has been done on a Prezi following a comment on Twitter from John Johnston (@johnjohnston) who mentioned that he had never considered using it as a planning tool until he saw a previous post by me – well, I had never considered it either until he said it!  I had been waiting for a flash of motivation and 10 minutes in front of my SMARTboard to plot my ideas into writing – indeed I had even started the Notebook file.

Anyway, the prezi is attached here.

So far, this project is a triumph of Twitter and my new and ever reliable personal learning network.  Since joining Twitter and joining in the chat I have found contacts, received support and criticism and, perhaps most importantly, been provided the ideas and reading which will realise this project in my classroom.

As the title of the post suggests, this is just the beginning – I have a long track to get around to see this project through with many questions about management, ownership, assessment and evaluation still to answer.  But I’m excited about pitching this idea to the class and hearing their ideas about how to proceed – am I already half way to a good outcome?

We have known from school records across the country, for a long time now that pupils can falter as they enter S1 from primary school.  Of course the kids are all different; some thrive on the new challenges of a large comprehensive secondary school, some simply don’t manage to progress much in the first few months and some unfortunate souls find the transition so hard that they can fall behind in their classwork because every ounce of effort they can muster goes into survival.

As a school we have certainly not been sitting back and watching this happen.  We have, and many of you will be familiar with these strategies I’m sure, tried to ease the transition process in ways which I have blogged about before.

This year we are trialling a project which all of our P7 catchment pupils will start in primary and continue in secondary school.  To get us started we held meetings with primary and secondary school teachers to discuss a suitable topic which could be used.

Time and measure was chosen in relation to the pupils’ journeys to school.  We are situated in a large rural area covering approximately 100 square miles.  Up to 10 primary schools feed into Thurso High School.  These primaries range fr0m large town schools to very small country schools.  The majority of the pupils attend their most local school and experience very similar journeys as their peers.  On arrival at secondary the pupils are set into maths classes according to the 5-14 Level which they have achieved (or are working towards) with pupils from all primaries.

View Thurso High School Feeder Primaries in a larger map

We have chosen to maintain flexibility for teaching staff to approach the topic in a way which suits individual classes at this very busy time.  It is, therefore, inevitable that the pupils coming will all have different learning experiences in primary school and will have varied prior knowledge and skills. The only set criteria for each pupil’s portfolio is that it should contain the following information:

1. What their mode of transport will be.
2. The distance of the new journey.
3. The time the new journey will take.

At primary school today I enjoyed the first half of this project being put into action.  Pupils have all been given a cover sheet, designed at the secondary school and including all of the school logos, which will be attached to the work they are currently completing.  They will bring this with them to high school when they attend transition days next week.  During their visit to secondary the pupils will follow their new timetables with their new classmates for 2 days.

While the pupils are with us in the maths department we will look at the question:

How does my journey to school compare to my new classmates?

We have designed a single class chart to show all pupils’ modes of transport – every pupil will make a contribution to this and it will then be displayed on the classroom wall.  Once again, individual class teachers are left the option of what other information to help them answer the question above with their classes.  As all classes are set by ability it will allow us to choose appropriate topics within the CfE experiences and outcomes to suit the learning needs of our new pupils.  Some classes may focus on collecting and displaying data about  distance and time of journeys whilst others may progress to consider the relationship of speed, distance and time.  Any work completed will be kept for them to continue after the summer.

With this project we hope to create an immediate sense of belonging within each class, an ethos of contribution, team work and relevance.  We must remember that the transition process is the main focus and not the mathematical knowledge at this stage.  Our aim is to provide a continuous learning experience to minimise, or at least reduce, any anxiety about secondary school maths.

The pupils are visiting next week – watch this space and I’ll try to let you know how it goes.

PS – at the beginning of all this I wrote a Prezi to try to piece my thoughts together.  Please feel free to have a look if it doesn’t make you queasy!

http://prezi.com/69297/

I found this document while looking for more recent ramblings about the transition work I am currently involved in and am pleased that it gives me a foundation to build on.  As a department we are working hard to develop strategies to ease the Primary/Secondary transition process to enable pupils to continue to achieve, maintain their confidence in maths and progress in their learning.  Maths should, after all, be considered as a continuous subject – there is no difference between the skills and knowledge or the methods of delivery that can be employed.

I am pleased that I have managed to follow through on most of the promises I made to improve my practice – the walls are, indeed, covered with S1 work and I have continued to embed AiFL strategies, discussion and formative assessment into lessons.  With the impending timetable change looming it is good to remember the pledges I made a year ago and re-draft them for this year.  Many are useful for all years, not only S1.

I had intended to blog about our department’s transition project this evening but that will have to wait now.  I’m going to focus my attention on the classes coming in Tuesday and how I can do my best for them instead.

Primary – Secondary Liaison Report 2007/08.

Stephanie Disbury – Mathematics Teacher – Thurso High School.

Aim – to discuss the similarities and differences between mathematics learning and teaching between primary and secondary school and evaluate strategies to reduce barriers in the transition process.

The more I consider the difference between primary and secondary mathematics teaching and learning the more I am convinced that the fundamental difference is in our overall objective. Drawing on classroom observations, discussion with colleagues, various in-service training courses and educational literature it has become clear to me that in secondary school the emphasis in our classrooms is on attainment, in primary it is on learning.

There is pressure on the teacher and pupil at every stage to prepare for assessments but in secondary it becomes imperative that the child is challenged to achieve the best possible results whilst completing the 5-14 curriculum so that they can go on and achieve best results in Standard Grade. Why? The time constraints involved in SQA examinations require secondary courses to constantly push forward so the more they can cover before S3 the better chance the pupil has of recalling facts for the external exam! A primary teacher has the responsibility of assessing pupils individually and setting realistic assessment dates allowing time for learning to take place at the pupils’ pace and for consolidation of skills. The courses I teach in secondary aim to maximise learning capacity for every pupil in a structured timetable of prescribed topics. If I deviate from this configuration I risk the progress of the pupils by not allowing enough time to complete the course, therefore, lowering attainment in assessments and ultimately lowering their potential for of success in the SQA exams.

I have found it easy to get carried away in a wave of exam frenzy. Approaching the assessments in November I pre-warned classes of the imminent evaluation of their learning so far this year by carefully explaining the amount of work that we still had to cover, not to mention the revision exercises and homework which had to be completed in lieu of the pending test. Pupils in S1 should not immediately recognise this as exam pressure because of the nature of their assessment in primary school and yet most still understood the importance of their placing in school as the result of rigorous testing. This self imposed anxiety to succeed causes many of them to under-perform. At what point do the pupils become aware that test results are the most important means of assessment in secondary mathematics education? I must work harder to reduce exam pressure by ensuring that assessments are part of standard classroom routine.

At the lower end of the ability spectrum the pressure to perform well can act as a barrier to learning and as a catalyst for poor behaviour. Misbehaviour acts as a distraction from the lack of understanding, pupils preferring to be the class clown than admit their difficulties.

In terms of AiFL strategies I feel that both primary and secondary teachers are committed to incorporating best practice. Continuous assessment including show me activities, peer assessment and self evaluation are commonplace in both. In particular, the secondary schools use assessment as learning by employing a variety of strategies for evaluating exam performance in order to improve future attainment. With many primary classrooms including groups at different 5-14 levels and completing work on different topics it appeared essential to use peer assessment as a tool to evaluate understanding. The pupils I witnessed implementing this were honestly critical of each other’s work and were keen to produce quality work to avoid the disapproval of their peers.

With setting key in secondary mathematics all pupils are completing the same work with little differentiation required. It is very easy to set an independent task and collate the work to check or mark. Setting up effective pairs or group work requires more preparation and careful moderation in secondary but if I continue to employ a range of peer assessment strategies and provide more opportunities for pupils to practice the skills in pairs and group work which they learned in primary it will remain the norm instead of being considered a treat. Thus the excitement and novelty factor will not be allowed to develop to the stage where pupils are unproductive. All of my research indicates that allowing pupils to talk about their work will help them to understand but like all skills, interpersonal ones must be practiced to ensure they do not degenerate. I must identify more chances for pupils to discuss their work with each other by using co-operative learning strategies and providing clear focus and learning intentions for discussions.

Both primary and secondary have efficient homework policies in place. All pupils are expected to produce work regularly and meet completion deadlines. This consistent approach should be maintained at all levels.

Moving around different classrooms is one of the fundamental changes for pupils moving up to secondary. Whilst standard rules are uniform throughout the secondary, simple conventions such as whether to use a pen or pencil, protocols for leaving the classroom and routines for collecting equipment can vary considerably.

Secondary pupils no longer have ownership of their own space. Many education writers consider a person’s environment to be vital for effective learning. Pupils must feel safe and in control of their own accountability so my own rules and expectations must be made very clear. It is also considered essential to have a sense of belonging to any group in which they are working. Again the organisation of primary has the advantage. Every pupil must be given the opportunity to contribute to the class and displaying work can be a useful tool to help pupils accept each classroom as their own place of work in secondary. My current S1 class made the number line which is displayed in the classroom and are delighted when I tell them that other classes often make use of it. I must make more time to update displays with new work from all classes.

Interactive work is critical at some levels in mathematical learning. Pupils in S1 and beyond are often not physically ready to accept or understand abstract concepts without concrete materials to aide them. The primary classes I visited were utilising various resources including ICT, games and puzzles to consolidate and introduce topics on a regular basis. Pupils are familiar with using these resources as a tool to develop mathematical skills such as logic, patterns and basic numeracy and as an opportunity to converse using mathematical language. Numerous resources are available at secondary level. Although many require customisation to suit the requirements of courses and classes the only barrier is finding time for effective preparation and evaluation of success. I will continue looking for effective resources and use a range of activities which meet the requirements of the class and course.

There are fundamental issues in the transition process which cannot be addressed as a single teacher or department within the school such as school rules, moving around classes, personal organisational skills which must be acquired and the inevitable social changes. With so much to cope with already I hope that I have identified some areas in which I can help to ease the transition process within my own classroom. Time will tell!

CfE Level C Term 1 Project

My own aim here is to identify a way to link our existing course outline to the new Curriculum for Excellence maths and numeracy outcomes.  (Of course, I have a professional duty now to conside the Health and Wellbeing and Literacy outcomes but I would like to master my own trade before adding the extras.  I will however aim to account for the general themes wherever I can in class.)

I’m not trying to be lazy and avoid the new ethos of CfE but I have to accept that my department have been very successful for a very long time.  Indeed I am a graduate of the Thurso High School maths department and no harm has come to me.  I even got a refund from the tax office last week!

Having only been a member of the team for 2 years I ask them all at once to forgive the liberal use of “we” and to accept this post for what it is – just my thoughts, a suggestion – that’s all.

We have tried various text book resources over the years trying to find a balance between challenge and practice, searching for meaningful courses that enable progression through, not only 5-14 levels, but through mathematical ability, building skills and gaining new knowledge.  Thankfully CfE offers the same flexibility in numeracy and mathematics.  Maths teachers can all recognise the need for competence in the current 5-14 curricular areas and therefore the theory behind the new outcomes – the wording may reflect a new era of empowerment to the pupils and a renewed effort to help the pupils to see the bigger picture and understand what they are trying to achieve but the skills and knowledge remain the domain of basic arithmetic, geometry, algebra and statistics.

The task remains then to change How we teach, not What we teach.

Plan a day trip.

As simple as that but let me try to go into detail.  My last blog on a Tinned Fruit theme outlined topics that could be included and other subjects that could be involved.  In this post I want to focus on a workable course plan for a specific class leading to assessments and, ultimately, reporting to parents and SMT in S1.

I’m only going to consider a single set class of pupils in the first draft.  They have come from primary having attained Level B – working towards Level C.  Please excuse my use of old 5-14 levels but they give me and, no doubt you, a benchmark to start from.

We currently have a comprehensive course outline to cover level C using MIA Book 1¹.  Term 1 includes chapters 1 to 5 and 18.  (Whole numbers, decimals, angles, letters and numbers and information handling.) with an assessment due early November.  This outline includes advice regarding the use of ICT and concrete resources to engage pupils and enhance learning.  It is far removed from a list of essential exercises to complete.  Complementing the course are homework exercises, problem solving resources and extension work.

The new ethos suggests that I should create a scheme relating more to real life scenarios and helping to facilitate the fostering of the 4 capacities.  To me this means that my lessons should be relevant, not specifically to life as youngsters know it now but to what it could be.  Taking their ideas and helping them to realise that one day they could make it happen.  So I need to find a topic they can engage with and help them to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to make it happen.

Ok – here goes!

Class Activity – Discuss what the class would like to do on a day trip.   (Take opportunity to introduce think pair share, listening and other group discussion skills and tools.)

Links to maths – tally, collect data.
Links to CfE capacities – effective contributors.

I rather like the idea of assessment being a sales pitch – pick my day out!  Pupils all complete individual cost analysis of a day trip of their choice and sell it to their peers.  I get the info I need about their understanding of the chapters/topics/outcomes covered through individual summative assessment and the pupils get to choose whose was the best offer/deal/presentation – everyone wins.

This is a theme will extend beyond S1 level C, I can already imagine how I could extend this to level D and beyond.

It doesn’t quite fit in exactly without making adjustments but I reckon I’m on the right track!

Your thoughts, always would only make this more useful.

I’ve just woken up on the couch.  It’s Sunday evening, my third year reports are due on Tuesday and I’ve been avoiding them all weekend.  This post is further procrastination but I’m sure that it will at least be useful in the long term.

Myself and some colleagues were in the school staffroom one lunchtime last week.  Our conversation wasn’t very big or clever, we were maturely discussing which fruit offered the best qualities by regarding how easy it was to select tasty fresh pieces in a supermarket and also it’s portability. For example – how do you choose a fresh pear and can you eat a kiwi without cutlery?

It’s a typically, trivial topic for our staffroom and although I have no evidence to support this, I suspect we’re not the only people who fall for the great cake/biscuit debate from time to time.

My tuppence worth was to suggest that tinned fruit was definitely the way to go – no surprises when you open the tin and it’s just as good for you as the real thing.  Our home economics teacher wasn’t so sure.  Surely all of the goodness is boiled away in pasteurisation?  Flash boiling kills the bugs that are alive before the canning process – can this also destroy the vitamins?  Vitamins are not alive, so can they be killed or eliminated in another way due to the process?  We, as a group of reasonably well educated people, concluded that we didn’t know whether tinned or fresh was actually better and left content.  (Although the home ec teacher did suggest that she wouldn’t rest until she actually knew.)

So why have I just woken up on the couch on a Sunday evening thinking about this?  It’s the potential Curriculum for Excellence learning opportunities that arise from this question that have just struck me like the proverbial bolt.

 Which is better – fresh fruit or canned?

Following Fearghal Kelly’s structure how could the initial discussion with a class work out?

How can we tell which is better?

·         Measure how much goodness is in fruit

Where can we find the information?

·         Online research

·         Science

How can we present our findings and extend our knowledge to different food?

·         Display work

·         Testing

Why do we can food anyway?

And we’re off…..

The pupils have chosen how they are going to answer the question, taking responsibility for their learning and the first steps to engaging in the task.

My bias is maths so here’s where I would go next.

With the raw data I now have several options for topics so I’m going down the road of a term long project to cover all of them. Unlike my last post where I suggested  only  vague ideas and the potential to learn a range of skills this time I’m thinking a little deeper and trying to fit them into learning outcomes.

The most obvious start point is statistics or information handling.  From a large list of data we can cover any of these outcomes to any different level from simple bar charts to standard deviation comparisons and beyond.

The next is percentages, what is the percentage difference between the fresh and canned information?   This can be extended to include fractions and probability, estimation and decimals, differentiated to the level of the class involved.

What about weight, measure and volume outcomes?   We will be dealing with everything from micrograms to kilograms, quantities that can be increased to suit the learning depending only on the information that we base the project on.  This too can be differentiated to incorporate basic number calculations or extended to include standard form notation and calculations.

Ratio and proportion, a notorious concept for pupils at a younger age can be introduced.

Problem solving.  Pupils throughout school age have difficulty explaining in words the meaning of their calculations.  A strong emphasis can be placed on evaluating and interpreting the numbers produced.

Will that keep us busy for a couple of months?  I do hope so. 

What about assessment – how do I know if the pupils have learned anything?  More importantly, how do the pupils know if they have learned?  It is hard to let go of complete control as a class teacher.  If I can’t have 3 standard block tests anymore I at least want to hold onto some justification and control.

Formative assessment would continue as normal in the classroom and I can easily test their skills with a summative assessment that can provide evidence of progress with a grade for the school, the parents, the pupils and me.  It may not be entirely in the spirit of Curriculum for Excellence but it will satisfy my need to know!

My own preference would be to provide the pupils with a smaller sample of information on another food and ask for a report.  I would differentiate the task by the degree of openness of the questions.

While we’re busy in the maths department what else can be done around the school?

History – the origins of canning food and other ways to preserve food – perhaps jam is as good as strawberries?

Science – hopefully some of the information can be discovered in the lab.  Are there experiments that can be completed to test the any vitamin levels?  How does pasteurisation work?  What does deteriorate the quality of vitamins and minerals?

Home economics – food nutrition and healthy living has a clear link.  Of course, there is the taste test too.

PE – the food nutrition link.

English/Literacy – report writing skills, factual text, making clear conclusions and

Art – creating display work or using fruit as a subject – perhaps a look at very under-ripe and over-ripe products?

Languages – I once saw a tin of tiny octopuses at a party in my student days and they eat a lot of tinned tongue on Ch4’s Shipwrecked.  Are these delicacies from particular countries – I wonder what else you could find on the local supermarket shelves in other countries and indeed what may not be available in other countries.

ICT – research, presentation.

How can the project be extended? 
It has been reported in the press recently that fruit is being picked far too early so that it can be packaged and dispatched around the world.  In doing this the fruit has no time to mature and develop the vitamins and merits for which it is known.

This could open an even bigger can of worms; modern studies – import/export, labour, fair trade; geography – environment, climate, carbon footprint; why not chuck in the global economy as a topical debate while we’re on the subject – or rather every subject.

I wish I could summon these ideas on demand, particularly in meetings where, as a department, we scratch our heads trying to find ways to incorporate the new ethos of Curriculum for Excellence without jeopardising the numeracy and mathematical skills of the next generation of pupils to trust us with their futures.  For now I’ll settle for the random moments of clarity and continue to write them down here.

My apologies for the ‘can of worms’ comment – although I’m sure if we looked hard enough……

Thanks to Dan Meyer’s blog post My Lesson Plan: The Door Lock for this!
I read Dan’s post initially from a twitter link but my memory is dreadful so I’m afraid I can’t tell you who brought it to my attention.

However, I got myself into a conversation about problem solving strategies with my second year class this morning and used this as a trigger for discussion.  With the picture on the board I asked simply “what is the combination?”.

The discussion that ensued was based around what further information was needed to answer the problem because the maths required to state the number of possible solutions is beyond their capabilities for now.

The class came up with a single questions that they wanted answersed before they would go any further. 

How many numbers are in the code?

I only told them when they told me that they would normally find the answer to this in the question itself and what strategy they were going to try when they found out.  Some sort of ordered list seemed to be the favourite and armed now with the fact there were 3 consecutive numbers in the code they continued.

Conversation and debate followed about what consectutive could mean, whether or not they could be consecutive in decreasing order and whether 0 could follow 9.

We got it down to 14 options and everyone agreed they needed more information.  The code must be divisible by 2, the first number must be greater than the last and and the sum of the digits is fifteen elimiated all but one and brought us to a conclusion.

The important lesson today was not the maths – I know that my class can divide by 2, add to 15 and use number order.  What was beneficial was to look for the questions that had to be answered because the answers to these normally lie in the text of the question itself if they would just remember to go looking for it!

A fantastic resource and a lesson that the pupils can direct and to some degree structure themselves with the questions their own questions.  I see more potential every time I look at this and also remember that sometimes the simplest resources and ideas can provide the richest tasks.

My last post uncovered a road to Curriculum for Excellence which could keep a class engaged for a whole term, if not longer, with the arms and legs that could be developed from the initial idea.  This concept feels much more controlled.  Reading other comments on Dan’s original blog I can understand the different levels that could be investigated but for my class this was an ideal single lesson activity which empowered them to take control without me losing it.  I had a class agenda from the outset, to explore problem solving strategies, and was able to deliver my message without simply telling them.

My first year registration class were quite right to be disappointed this morning when I broke the good news that I was their cover teacher for a PE lesson.  The prospect of sitting in a maths classroom doing a Bobby Charlton wordsearch was not pleasing them so I simultaneously vowed to find something exciting for them to do and made them promise not to get their hopes up.  After all, if the lesson does turn into puzzle central I won’t need them over-excited.

I have a total of 15 minutes free between now and 12pm when the class are due back.  Thankfully our active schools co-ordinator is online while S3 are sitting an exam and I confirmed that as a maths teacher I don’t need any further courses or qualifications to take a class out to the playing field to run around.  Nor do I require any sort of risk assessment, parental consent or, indeed, any off-putting paperwork – ok, we’re one step closer.

Now I need a plan but S4 have just walked through my door with a million questions about their exam next month.

I have half scribbled an idea on the back of the daily announcement sheet by break.  A quick run round to the gym yields a much better one – take them out and play rounders, it’s been too long since this class were out and about.  PE staff all have classes of their own but more than happy to help me get started.  Phew!

The instant there was no pressure to plan an outdoor lesson for 24 twelve year olds the creativity tap was unplugged.

Here’s what I thought would happen:

Scatter random 3D shapes around the sports field.  (well, carefully place them making sure they are evenly spaced to create pythagorean triples between points actually)  Hand over blank sheets of paper and get the pupils, in small groups, to create maps including the locations of all the shapes.

Once complete, use the maps to find the shortest route between them all, describe the journey and complete tasks at the points like describe the shapes and calculations for the corresponding numbers, also at the points.

What went well?

• I remembered to bring plenty of card and pencils along with the 3D shapes.
• A big thank you to a 6th year pupil who was volunteered to help me.
• The pupils were engaged, active and enjoying it.
• I had great fun
• Most groups selected by me, at random worked very well together.

What didn’t?

• One of the task sheets blew away in the wind
• My aim was to practice maths outdoors – not convinced there was much maths done.
• One group did not work well together – 3 boys made one other do all the work – very hard to police in a playing field.
• Having checked what the groups handed in, very little was actually completed.

Moving forward:

This was all a bit off the cuff.  As a completely unstructured task the pupils actually coped quite well at getting started.  No doubt there was lots of time wasted at the beginning as pupils tried to make sense of the expectations and they were far too excited about being outside to make groundbreaking progress mathematically but I think I saw a glimmer of something valuable.

The groups made good maps which they understood.  They could follow their own instructions back to a particular point.  They described the 3D shapes with illustrations and with words.    The groups all attacked the tasks in their own way. 

They were actually disappointed when I asked them to put the maths away!

The potential of this task is growing in my mind the more I think of it.  There are cross curricular links to geography, PE, outdoor ed, literacy, and health and wellbeing. 

Within numeracy there are ample topics to explore – scale drawing, estimation and accurate measure, shape properies, pythagoras, bearings, direction, mental maths and operations and I reckon I could even squeeze speed, distance, time in there with a bit of careful planning. 

Herein lies my own big, personal Curriculum for Excellence barrier.  The pupils cannot describe a journey using bearings unless they are already aware of the concept of bearings and compass directions.  They cannot be expected to explain the properties of shapes in a meaningful way without the knowledge required.  At the most basic level, they cannot be expected to list calculations without prior knowledge of numbers.  They must understand and appreciate the value and use of a ‘map’ before they can begin to construct their own.

So again I can see this activity as consolidation of work already completed, a group challenge, a chance to collaborate, take responsibity for the overall quality of work completed.

But I am perhaps, starting to understand the way forward – how to use this approach to learning and teaching in line with the ethos of Curriculum for Excellence…

A huge thank you must go to Robert Jones for bringing Fearghal Kelly’s blog to my attention via Twitter.  What Fearghal showed me was the process of  pupil’s choosing the curriculum come to life.  At last, how it works in practice.

My new plan for the work I presented today may look something like this:

Your task will be:

• to create an accurate map of several locations marked on the playing field
• to complete challenges at each of the locations involving number and shape
• to find the shortest route around all of the points and describe it to another team.

Now pose 2 questions:

•  what skills will you need to complete this task?
• how will you know if you are successful?

I know the pupils will come up with more questions than answers to the first but with careful questioning and perhaps a nudge (or a large shove at times no doubt) in the right direction the class will create a list of learning outcomes appropriate to the overall aim.

As a classroom maths teacher I am now free to teach the required  knowledge using my toolbox of traditional learning and teaching methods – I include AiFL, active learning, ICT and co-operative strategies under the ever changing definintion of “traditional” here.

Over the last 3 years I have been over and underwhelmed by Curriculum for Excellence, the theory has always been just outwith my practical grasp.

Tonight I feel like I’ve finally got it – kind of like the first day I ever understood where trig ratios came from – fantastic!