Dates: Thursday, February 6/March 6

Time: 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Location: Victor Scott School

Aspiring for Teacher Leadership

Aspiring for Math Teacher Leadership

•Reflection on Rounds & Coaching•Confidence Survey

•Effective Planning & Rigorous Tasks

•Coaching around Worthwhile Tasks

Facilitator: Rebeka Matthews Sousa – rsousa@moed.bmContent Specialist Teacher for Mathematics

5:00 pm

5:15 pm

5:30 pm

6:30 pm

Key UnderstandingsDuring this session, teachers will:O Rate their confidence in various aspects

of teaching and coaching mathematicsO Reflect on their Instructional Round and

Coaching ExperienceO Deeper understanding of the coaching

model and the purpose of coachingO Have a deeper understanding of what a

rigourous task is.O Investigate how to support teachers

through Planning

Teacher Leader Confidence Survey

http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/RMatthewsSousa/forms.cfm Rate your confidence level according to each of the following statements:1. Deeply knowing the mathematics curriculum for the year level

that you teach.2. Deeply knowing the mathematics curriculum for all year levels in

your school.3. Planning effective mathematics tasks for your own year level.4. Planning effective mathematics tasks for all year levels in your

school.5. Knowing and using a variety of effective teaching strategies for

your own year level.6. Knowing and using a variety of effective teaching strategies for

all year levels in your school.7. Coaching a teacher in your school around planning effective

mathematics tasks.8. Coaching a teacher in your school around using a variety of

effective teaching strategies.

Reflection1. What did you focus on during your

Instructional Rounds?2. What did you learn from your rounds

about the Mathematics at your school?

3. Discuss your experience of being coached.

4. What did you learn about your own teaching during the session with your coach?

5. Based on your coaching experience, what is a goal that you would like to set for your own mathematics teaching?

What is the Purpose of Coaching?

OTo promote reflective practices in teachers

OUse questioning techniques to assist teachers through reflection of their lessons.

Coaching Models

BEFOREPreconferenc

ePlanning

DURINGClassroom

visitData

Collection

AFTERPost-

conferenceReflection

Developing Leadership skills

Coaching and Professional

Development

Content and Pedagogy Knowledge

Build on content knowledgeQuality Instructional practices

Develop of a common language for the elements of good teaching (using rubric)

Where to begin

ODevelop our own understandings of the curriculum/content and pedagogy

OBegin by supporting teachers through PD and Planning

OWhat does this mean for us?

Questioning

Student Engagement

Communication

TASK

Effective Planning

Checklist for Planning Effective Mathematics TasksThe Lesson Has a balance of skills: mental math, conceptual understanding, problem solving, and

computational skills May include the Three-Part Lesson as a vehicle to Teach Through Problem-solving:

(Activate Thinking, Working on it, Reflect and Connect) A good instructional task captures students’ interests and imagination and

also satisfies the following criteria.The Task(s) Are aligned with the Cambridge Objective(s). Provides a learning situation related to key concept or big ideas. Or problem is meaningful relevant and interesting to students. Cognitively demanding (solution is not immediately obvious) and there may be more

than one solution) Or problem promotes the use of one or more problem solving strategies (multiple entry

or exit points) Differentiated Requires decision making above and beyond the choosing of a mathematical operation. May encourage collaboration in seeking solutions. Resources, materials, manipulatives prepared in advanced.Assessment Variety of assessment tools to access students throughout the lessonQuestioning Questions are prepared in advance to encourage mathematical thinking and

communication of mathematical reasoning.

A visit to a mathematics classroom:

What do you see when you go into the mathematics

classrooms in your building?

What (and whom) do you hear when you go into the mathematics classrooms in your building?

Have you ever had this conversation?

What is Rigour?ChocolateA preparation of the seeds of cacao, roasted, husked, and ground, often sweetened and flavored, as with vanilla.

RigourStrictness, severity, or harshness, as in dealing with people

What’s All This Talk about rigour?Using the T-Chart, place the descriptors under

the following headings:

Learning Experiences that involve Rigour

Learning Experiences that do not involve Rigour

What’s All This Talk about Rigour?

Learning experiences that involve rigour … 

Experiences that do not involve rigour … 

challenge students are more “difficult,” with no purpose (for example, adding 7ths and 15ths without a real context)

require effort and tenacity by students require minimal effort

focus on quality (rich tasks) focus on quantity (more pages to do)

include entry points and extensions for all students

are offered only to gifted students

are not always tidy, and can have multiple paths to possible solutions

are scripted, with a neat path to a solution

provide connections among mathematical ideas

do not connect to other mathematical ideas

contain rich mathematics that is relevant to students

contain routine procedures with little relevance

develop strategic and flexible thinking follow a rote procedure

encourage reasoning and sense making require memorization of rules and procedures without understanding

expect students to be actively involved in their own learning

often involve teachers doing the work while students watch

What Research Says About Rigour (TIMMS Video Study, 1993)

OMost of time in US math classes is spent practicing mathematical procedures and reteaching

OThe key feature of success is that students engage in active struggle with mathematics concepts and procedures.

(Stein, 2000) 20

Defining Levels of Cognitive Demand of Mathematical Tasks

OLower Level DemandsOMemorizationOProcedures without

connections

OHigher Level DemandsOProcedures with ConnectionsODoing Mathematics

21

Levels of Cognitive Demand as Compared to Bloom’s Taxonomy

Doing Math

Procedures with Connections

Procedures without Connections

Memorization

Lowest Levels

Highest Levels

22

Verb Examples Associated with Each Activity

Lower Level of Cognitive Demands

OKnowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state.

OComprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate.

23

Defining Levels of Cognitive Demands of Mathematical Tasks

Lower Level Demands

OMemorization:What are the decimal and percent equivalents for the fractions ½ and ¼ ?

OExpected Student Response:½=.5=50%¼=.25=25%

24

Defining Levels of Cognitive Demands of Mathematical Tasks

Lower Level Demands

O Procedures without connections:Convert the fraction 3/8 to a decimal and a percent.O Expected Student Response:

Fraction 3/8Divide 3 by 8 and get a decimal equivalent of .375Move the decimal point two places to the right and get 37.5 %

25

Verb Examples Associated with Each Activity

Higher levels of cognitive demand

OApplication: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.

OAnalysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.

26

Defining Levels of Cognitive Demands of Mathematical Tasks

Higher Level Demands

OProcedure with connections:Using a 10 by 10 grid, illustrate the decimal and percent equivalents of 3/5.

27

Verb Examples Associated with Each Activity

Highest levels of cognitive demands

OSynthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.

OEvaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate

28

Defining Levels of Cognitive Demands of Mathematical Tasks

Higher Level DemandsO Doing Mathematics:

Shade 6 small squares in a 4 X 10 rectangle. Using the rectangle, explain how to determine each of the following:A) the percent of area that is shadedB) the decimal part of the area that is shadedC) the fractional part of the area that is shaded

Sort the Tasks into the 4 Levels of Cognitive Demand

Lower Level Demand

Memorization Procedures without Connections

Higher Level Demand

Procedures with Connections

Doing Mathematics

Be prepared to explain your reasoning.

Analyzing Mathematics Instructional Tasks

Task Level of Cognitive Demand

Explanation of Categorization

Features

A Doing mathematics

B Procedures with connections

C Doing mathematics

D Procedures with connections

E Pro with

F Pro without

G Pro with

H Memorization The task requires the recall of previously learned information. No understanding required

“textbook-like’

How do we Coach Teachers around the Task?

Building Rapport with Teachers

Coaching Ourselves around the Task

O Chapter 3 – Content Knowledge and Worthwhile Tasks

O Read p.35-38

Planning

Data GatheringReflection

Coaching around Planning Effective/Worthwhile Tasks

Coaching yourself around worthwhile tasksO Think of your own lesson that you have already

taught.O Consider the questions on p. 43. When you were

planning your lesson, did you consider these questions?

O Using planning tool 3.6 on page to rate your lesson and the task

O Use the planning tool on p.47 to redesign the same lesson. Write your answers.

O Discuss your lesson and what you would do differently with your group.

O Take a minute now to look at the reflection questions.