www.educationscotland.gov.uk scottish survey of literacy and numeracy improving numeracy

www.educationscotland.gov.uk

Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy Improving Numeracy

Transforming lives through learning

Aim of SSLN Improving Numeracy Engagement Events

• Raise awareness of the programme for the SSLN surveys

• Share the findings and key messages from the SSLN Numeracy 2011 report

• Engage with the SSLN Numeracy Professional Learning resource

• Provide an opportunity to engage with the advice and guidance provided within SSLN Numeracy Professional Learning Resource with a focus on improving numeracy


Overarching Aims

• To support the raising of attainment in mathematics and numeracy across all stages

• To raise awareness of the strengths and areas for improvement in children and young people’s numeracy skills

• Review strengths and areas for improvement identified within children and young people’s responses within the SSLN Numeracy survey 2011


Main activities for today

• Review of strengths and areas for improvement identified within inspection activity and SSLN numeracy survey

• Explore features of an effective curriculum and programme of learning

• Explore the range of tasks and activities to support learner understanding and development of broader skills

• Exploration of progression within a programme of learning• Exploration of breadth, challenge and application in improving

learning


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Developing Numeracy skills:

Identified good practice in primary and

secondary environments

approaches to

learning andteaching

contextsfor

learning

rangeof

resources

collaborative learning:sharing thinking

use of localenvironment

early stages:active &

exploratorylearning


Effective learning and teaching in numeracy

“All teachers have responsibility for

promoting the development of numeracy. With an increased emphasis upon numeracy for all young people, teachers will need to plan to revisit and consolidate numeracy skills throughout schooling.”

Building the Curriculum 1


The Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN)

What is the SSLN?

• National sample-based survey

• The survey focuses on literacy and numeracy in alternate years, with some pupils trialling assessments for the following year’s survey each time.

• Schools across Scotland are invited to participate in the SSLN survey.

• Provides a snapshot of pupil attainment in literacy and numeracy at a specific point in time and allows for comparisons over time to be made.


The Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN)

• Provides valuable information at a national level on literacy and numeracy performance at P4, P7 and S2.

• The SSLN is undertaken as part of a partnership between the Scottish Government, Education Scotland, the Scottish Qualifications Authority and education authorities.


Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy 2011 (Numeracy)

Highlights from the report:

“ the vast majority of pupils said they enjoyed learning, though the strength of agreement reduced among older pupils. Over 90 per cent of pupils agreed that what they were learning would be useful to them outside school”

“ The percentage of pupils not yet working within their respective levels in numeracy was less than 1% in P4, about 2% in P7 and about 32% in S2”

“ Pupils were less likely to receive feedback on performance and improvement in S2 than in P4 and P7.”



“ pupils were generally more successful with tasks assessing data and analysis and time. Tasks assessing measurement and fractions, decimal fractions and percentages were found to be more challenging for learners”

“ Teachers reported high levels of confidence in delivering the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) numeracy experiences, with generally over 95% of primary and secondary maths teachers confident or fairly confident. The one exception was the area of ideas of chance and uncertainty…”


Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy 2011 (Numeracy)Highlights from Scotland’s Results were published on 28th March 2012 with full results available on www.scotland.gov.uk/ssln

Also available to view are the teacher and pupils questionnaires which capture the experiences and opinions of learning and teaching in literacy and numeracy, exemplar questions and further data.

Learning and teaching resources( professional learning resource) based on the SSLN survey findings support and inform learning and teaching practice in schools and can be viewed at

http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/learningteachingandassessment/assessment/ssln/resources/numeracyprofessionallearningresource/index.asp


www.scotland.gov.uk/ssln

www.sqa.org.uk

www.educationscotland.gov.uk



SSLN Numeracy 2011

The SSLN Numeracy 2011 survey reported that there are many strengths in children and young people’s performance within numeracy.

The results from the SSLN numeracy survey highlighted the need to improve aspects of learning in the following numeracy organisers:

•Measurement

•Fractions, decimal fractions and percentages (including ratio and proportion)

Primary teachers and non-maths secondary teachers expressed a lack of confidence in delivering ‘ideas of chance and uncertainty’


Scottish Survey of Literacy and NumeracyProfessional Learning Resource ( Numeracy)

Professional learning materials provide:• guidance and advice to help inform

learning and teaching practices in line with the survey’s main objectives

• practitioners with more detail on children’s and young people’s strengths and areas for improvement identified within the in-depth analysis of the survey data

• opportunities for members of the learning community to engage in professional reflection, dialogue and debate about numeracy.


What does the SSLN Numeracy professional Learning Resource look like?



Key aspects explored within the professional learning resource

• Tasks and activities

• Progression in learning

• Assessment Practice



Section 1 Introduction

•Setting the scene

•CPD presentation

Section 3Pupil Performance

•Pupil performance in measurement

•Pupil performance in fractions, decimal fractions and percentages (including ratio and proportion)

•Ideas of chance and uncertainty

Section 2

Numeracy

• The place of numeracy within the curriculum

• Discrete and contextualised learning

• Word problems, real life problems and problem solving

• Links between attitudes and attainment


Section 3


Big ideas we need to think about now?

A. Programmes of learning in mathematics and numeracy

B. Balance of discrete learning versus learning across the curriculum

C. Improving children and young people’s numeracy skills further

D. Progression pathways


A Programmes of learning which :

• provide a platform which enables learners well-placed to develop subsequent key ideas and methods

• support practitioners in understanding the key ideas and concepts that hold the key to subsequent progress and support learners to achieve an effective grasp of these core concepts and techniques

• enable practitioners to develop a stronger, more concrete, platform on which the next stage might build rather than perceive learning as a single ladder up which learners race

• promote breadth and depth – supplement and strengthen rather than accelerate

• look both forwards and backwards


B Contextualisation v Discrete

• Number of operations

• Number of intermediate steps

• Application of inverse operations which require direct operations to be known well

• Integration of techniques

• Connecting learning from across Es and Os

• Blend in the nature and frequency of examples

2.3m

2.3m

2.3m


Impact of a secondary organiser on learners’ understanding

A new television arrives in a box which is 2m wide, 2.5m deep and 3m tall.

What is the volume of the box?

Answer: ______________m³

Assessed organiser

Measurement

Secondary organiser

Fractions,

decimal fractions and percentages

SSLN questions were categorised by numeracy organiser


C Improving learners’ skills


Improving Learners’ Understanding Activity 1

Group discussionGiven:• Improving learners’ skills overview

• SSLN Performance overview

• Exemplar questions (Activity 1)

• Discussion worksheets (Activity 1)

1. Review aspects of learning which were identified as strengths and areas for improvement in the 2011 SSLN numeracy survey

2. How will your establishment use these findings to improve pupil performance in the identified areas ?


D Progression in LearningScottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy 2011

(Numeracy) findings

60% of tasks, based on the measurement organiser, were answered correctly by P4 pupils.

52% of tasks, based on the measurement organiser, were answered correctly by P7 pupils.

36% of tasks based on the measurement organiser, answered correctly by S2 pupils.


Second First Third Fourth Early

P4Counting squares to measure area of irregular shapes

Using length, area and volume of one item to estimate the length area and volume of another

Reading a scale to measure length, volume and weight.

Measuring lengths and weights involving every-day objects, particularly when involving halves or quarters.

P7Relationship between area and perimeter

Calculating volumes

Measuring and conversion of units, especially involving decimal fractions

Fractions, decimal fractions and percentages as a secondary organiser

S2Relationships between length, area and volume (including inverse operations)

Problem solving in context of length, perimeter, area and volume

Conversion of units for length, weight and volume

Fractions, decimal fractions and percentages as a secondary organiser

Progression in Measurement


Significant aspects

“Within the mathematics organisers there are significant aspects of learning which need to be strengthened at each stage in order that there is a platform from which learners are well placed to build on. In particular, where fundamental points of learning are not well known, this impacts negatively on learner performance as they move from stage to stage.”

Assessing progress and achievement in mathematics


Identifying Significant Aspects of Learning Activity 1b

Looking at the experiences and outcomes for measurement and fractions, decimal fractions and percentages;

Possible focus 1 : Choose experiences and outcomes from a particular level of either organiser and discuss and note what you consider to be the significant aspects of learning.

Possible focus 2 : Choose a group of experiences and outcomes, as identified in your programme of learning, to discuss and note what you consider to be significant aspects of learning


ProgressionActivity 2Given:

•Numeracy Es and Os

• Improving learners’ skills overview

• SSLN Performance overview

•Activity 2 worksheets 1, 2a/b and 3

Choosing either measurement or fractions, decimal fractions and percentages:

1.Identify at each stage, what are the significant aspects of learning that would allow learners to confidently answer these questions?

2.Identify the knowledge and skills which require further development to ensure effective progression to the next stage.

3. Using your identified learning progression, consider how you would plan for progression in your learning environment.


Embedding Problem Solving in Learning

“To emphasise that problem solving is fundamental to good learning and teaching in all aspects of mathematics and its applications, problem solving will be addressed within all lines of development rather than appearing as a separate element.”

Building the Curriculum 1


What does problem solving look like in your

classroom /department /school?

How are you supporting learners to develop and employ numeracy strategies in order to understand and solve a range of problems?

Activity 3

Embedding Problem Solving in Learning Activity 3


Word problems, real-life problems and problem solving

The SSLN numeracy survey included tasks with different degrees of challenge. The in-depth analysis of learners’ performance in these tasks indicate the need to strengthen their skills to:

•select and identify an appropriate strategy

•comprehend and interpret questions, particularly word problems

•connect their learning across the numeracy experiences and outcomes

•use appropriate notation and vocabulary

•realise the importance of accurate calculations


Planning for Improvement

Questioning

•Starting with one or two more challenging questions.

•Positive informed decisions about type of questions to select.

(Higher Order Thinking)

Types of problems

•Greater range involving different sorts of numbers (whole numbers/integers/ fractions/decimal fractions/percentages).

•Different contexts using similar numbers.

•Word problems which are not amenable to merely extracting key words and numbers (shift importance of focus from merely identifying leading words and numbers).

•Greater depth to support learners’ to think more deeply about the process, rather than the outcome.

Planning learning and teaching


Observing Learning in Numeracy

Do learners:

•estimate answers before carrying out calculations?

•use efficient strategies to solve problems?

•explain their strategies/articulate thinking?

•exhibit fluency and confidence in mental calculations?

•apply accuracy in written calculations?

Are learners:

•encouraged to consider the reasonableness of their answer?

•applying their skills within another curriculum area?

•all working at an appropriate level of challenge to meet individual needs?

Planning for Improvement


Planning for ImprovementActivity 4

Reflecting on the suggested strategies for improving learning in numeracy - share good practice that you have observed or any developments implemented in your school/department

Activity 4

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Documents

numeracy ssln

numeracy slide

numeracy pupils

ssln numeracy survey

learning effective learning

numeracy performance

numeracy highlights

development of numeracy