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.

As a teacher and a volunteer at a youth organisation I am in the enviable position of being able to learn alongside young people.

Just because I am older does not make me the expert. In many ways I have a better capacity to interpret new knowledge because I am often more aware of my own learning preferences and I have many more experiences with which to associate and compare new situation. In many ways I am at a disadvantage, previous misconceptions need to be overcome, it is often difficult to find a place for new information and I find it difficult to learn new practical skills.

Together my S3 class and I learned how to play Mario Kart – on Wednesday they beat me soundly – again!
Tonight I learned how an Air Speed Indicator works collaboratively with a group of cadets – although I’m not sure any of us know exactly what the Pitot tube is I know that they could offer explanations regarding pressure differences as well as me now.

Tonight I feel privileged to work with these people and tomorrow when they anger me I will try to remember writing this!

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/

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!

If there are 60 million people in the UK and you don’t have internet access, how many teachers are there? Our department split into 2 groups and got 2 estimates - 400K and 600K.  Both groups used prior knowledge of local population to make informed calulations. Why?  As a lesson in groupwork.  To find out how we, as individuals, react in group situations so that we can begin to understand the different roles that our pupils may assume in a similar situation. 

Next step – get a class to complete the same task. As an exercise in teamwork and team dynamics I was very pleased with my S2 class.  They are a low Level E class and the maths was sticky in places but the aim of the lesson remained to work together not to find a solution.

Eureka moments included the girl who suggested that each member of one group count the number of teachers in a different department and then come back together to add them up.  The group who knew there were about 1000 pupils, decided there were about 25 in each class and divided to estimate that there are 40 teachers.  Entirely incorrect but the process were sound.

3 groups out of 6 were almost at an answer by the end of the lesson. 

Group 1 were finding the percentage of people who are teachers in Thurso using prior knowledge of local population and an estimate of the number of teachers in Thurso.  They got stuck calculating the percentage and were busy with text books and notes at the end of the lesson.

Group 2 had googled the number of schools in the UK – the results only gave the number of primary schools.  They went on to estimate the number of high schools by using their knowledge of how many feeder primaries our school has.  Estimates were made for number of teachers in each type of school and the correct sums completed to arrive at a conclusion.

Group 3 had come up with the 40 teacher theory but weren’t sure where to go with it next.

The other 3 groups were all busy trying to decide how many teachers were in our school by various methods – counting classrooms, by subject, by block – they challenged each other on many points eg: teachers of more than 1 subject, do learning assistants count and rooms used by more than 1 person.

When the task started there was an obvious atmosphere of rejection and unrest.  Even the pupils’ body language was clearly negative.  The temptation is to jump in immediately and give them a start point or more information.  Thankfully at this point I was distracted and when I returned a couple of minutes later most groups had made a start on something. The aim, I reminded myself was to improve discussion skills so I prompted pupils to explain other people’s ideas to me as I moved around the class and challenged their plans.  I also offered help advice with the maths involved but tried to let the groups follow their own strategies – very difficult when you can see them so close to a good idea.

If we are to move forward by embracing the 4 capacities of Curriculum for Excellence then I see this as the kind of lesson to aim for.  Already commonplace in highly successful countries like Japan the method of posing an open ended question will certainly help our pupils to develop problem solving, teamwork and communication skills.  The maths skills that we teach them become intrinsic to a wider task, therefore more meaningful.  

A way forward, not “the only” way forward.