Mrs. Simcox is teaching an English grade 2 and 3 combined class this year. Right now is story time. The students are sitting on the carpet, and Mrs. Simcox is reading a picture book to the students.

Teachers read to classes all the time. and there are many different objectives that teachers consider before reading. Do they want the children to make predictions? Do they ask children to make pictures in their heads? Do they want children to learn key vocabulary words.

Today the students are listening Listen Buddy by Helen Lester. They are sitting on the carpet while their teacher reads from a chair in front of the carpet. Mrs. Simcox will occasionally pause to ask questions (Who knows what a briarwood is?) or take comments from children. Sometimes when reading a picture book to children, the students notice things in the pictures that us adults miss. They like the chance to share what they saw. When allowing one child to share in grade 2 or 3, you will find that many more children want to contribute their thoughts. That is great. Oral language is such an important part of the school day, and in our lives in general.

“What nouns did we hear from the story?” The students remember many nouns from the story and almost everyone contributes. Excellent work kids. 🙂 For some, once they have shared their ideas, the wiggles kick in. Carpet time becomes a bit more active than it needs to be, and teachers have many subtle (or not so subtle) means of refocusing their students.

But now it is time for gym. Perfect timing. Students line up, and it important to find your proper place in line. Who is last? Who gets to go first? Do we have to change? Can I wear these shoes? Very important questions. Quickly the line forms, the class becomes quiet, and they are on their way? The doors are closed and I am all alone in the class. 🙁 I’ll get over it. They’re probably looking for me in the office anyway, so I will just finish this blog and head down there.

Listen Buddy is a story with many wonderful images. Teachers can also use picture books with no words to generate language discussions. The web site, Wordless Pictures, has number of great ideas for parents and teachers. Find a picture book from the list, and discover how creative your child can be as they put words to the pictures.

A couple of other web sites that may be of interest are:

• Loni Edwards’ Blog: Perfect Picture Book Fridays – Listen Buddy
• Reading Aloud: Tips for Parents and Teachers
• Oral Language Development, the Foundation of literacy

Make time to read picture books with your kids. Trust me, you’ll love it.

Take care.

On Friday, teachers and CUPE staff worked together for part of the our professional day looking at math. The staff discussed many ideas related to how we teach math, and how students develop their understanding of math concepts.

Thanks to our district’s math resource teacher, Shannon Sharp, out staff participated in many rich discussions about teaching math. The information I am sharing was provided to staff by Shannon Sharp, and help frame our conversations.

In 2007, the new Math IRP was published, and there were some changes from the previous math curriculum. The main content changes can be summarized in 4 content areas:

• Number
• Patterns and Relations
• Shape and Space
• Statistics and Probability

For the above content areas, learning outcomes vary according to grade. Kindergarten and grade 1  students receive no formal instruction in Statistics and Probability. Grade 7 students start exploring patterns using linear relations, while grade 6 students look at tables and graphs to understand patterns.

What are the changes?

Number

• Focus on conceptual understanding in primary years
• Stress personal procedures and mental math strategies
• Fractions are introduced in grade 4 (wih decimals)
• Operations with fractions are introduced in grade 7

Patterns and Relations

• Equality concepts are introduced at grade 1
• Use of variables (symbolic representation) begins in grade 4
• The use of tables is more prevalent in the middle years leading to linear relations later on

Shape and Space

• Temperature, optical illusions, money and direction (North, South, East, West) have all been removed from the Math IRP

Statistics and Probability

• Emphasis is on interpretation of data
• Outcomes have been removed for Kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 2
• The first explicit technology reference is introduced at grade 4
• Probability is introduced in grade 5

Along with the changes, there was an emphasis on the following mathematical processes:

• Communication
• Problem Solving
• Visualization
• Reasoning
• Connections
• Technology
• Mental Mathematics and Estimation

These processes are connected to a number of learning outcomes (9 in Kindergarten & 25 in grade 7). Teachers create a variety of lessons that foster the development of numeracy knowledge, skills and attitudes.

M key thoughts from the day were:

• Let children play with math in the primary years.
• Focus on conceptual learning and the rote learning will come.
• In primary classes, teachers can set a math task, and then guide students’ learning through play/practice.
• Use pre-assessments to see where students are at is a good planning tool.
• We want children to be engaged and talking about their math learning
• Model mistakes – it is ok to be wrong. Take risks in learning. Check out this idea from the UK.
• We need to help children take responsibility and ownership for their learning.
• More is not always better – we don’t have to assign every question.
• Math that will be coming home will look different.
• Math should not be for homework.*

* This one might be a bit controversial. The thought is for teachers to do math where they can help children develop concepts and understanding. I will write more on homework issues later.  For now, try reading this blog.Parents can support the development of math concepts through games and other math activities. Visit some web site (Mathematically Thinking or Mental Math Strategies) if you want to look more into teaching math.

We will continue to talk about learning and teaching math. You may see some changes in math instructions. Please remember, if you have any questions, start with your child’s classroom teacher.

Take care.

I have many thoughts about teaching math. Sometimes thoughts can be expressed in question form:

• How do we ensure that children learn the language of math?
• Why do children need to memorize the times tables?
• When should a child start working on problem solving skills?
• Do children understand the difference between mathematics and arithmetic?
• Do adults?
• Are children given enough time to play with math and explore ideas?
• Do we make math meaningful to children?
• Where are the best places to learn math?
• When is the best time of the day for math class?
• Are math tests an appropriate means of showing what children have learned?
• What do we do in school that makes children say they hate math?
• How do we relate math to the arts?
• Do we ask too many either or questions with only one correct answer?
• How are we going to teach math better?

Teaching mathematics to children is not easy. It shouldn’t be.

 “There is a poetry and beauty in mathematics and every student deserves to be taught by a person that shares that point of view.” ~ Long and DeTemple

We need to rethink math teaching.

Math class has to involve play. Math class has to have children talking about math and working together to explore concepts. Math tests need to be about allowing children to show what they know, not what they don’t know. Assessments need to help the adults understand what children have learned and what we need to teach.

Math class has to allow children to make mistakes.

We need to better understand what children need from us adults (parents and teachers alike) to develop as mathematicians.

The BC Ministry of Education’s Mathematics K-7 Curriculum (2007) has the following goals for students to be working towards:

• using mathematics confidently to solve problems
• using mathematics to better understand the world around us
• communicating and reasoning mathematically
• appreciating and valuing mathematics
• making connections between mathematics and its applications
• committing themselves to lifelong learning
• becoming mathematically literate and using mathematics to participate in, and contribute to, society

One strand of mathematics that I think needs far more attention is problem solving. We need to nurture in children the passion and patience to solve problems, in both math class and in life. Children need to be taught a variety of skills and be given a chance to play with problems in a safe and supportive environment. Teaching problem solving is essential.

Dan Meyer, a math educator from the United States has  a lot to say about teaching problem solving to children: “We just give problems to students. We don’t involve them in the formulation of problems.” His TED talk, Math class needs a makeover, is a good watch. “Today’s math curriculum is teaching students to expect — and excel at — paint-by-numbers classwork, robbing kids of a skill more important than solving problems: formulating them.

“The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill.” ~ Albert Einstein

If you are an ITunes user, check out their “Creative Problem Solving” course.

More Reading on Teaching Problem Solving

• Teaching Problem Solving Skills
• Why Is Teaching With Problem Solving Important to Student Learning?
• Math word problems — the do’s and dont’s of teaching problem solving in math
• Math Problem Solving
• Over Fifty Problem Solving Strategies Explained

“We need more patient problem solvers” ~ Dan Meyer

The good news is that the Cleveland teachers are having discussions about learning and teaching math. We are trying to understand how do we get children engaged in math lessons.

Children are exploring math and talking about math. Children are helping each other learn math. Math is happening here.

I look forward to math everyday.

Take care

You may remember the post that I wrote on November 9th about Ms. La Prairie’s class trying out BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) in the class. Students were very excited, and started doing some work with iPod Touches, smart phones, non-smart phones and laptops. Some concerns were raised, with some of the concerns being addressed in the original blog or emails from Ms. La Prairie to the parents of the students in her class.

Some of the key behaviours that I have found interesting in this trial include:

• Using phones as calculators – often students in grade 7 require a calculator to work through some of the problems that they are given, and students are using their devices to help with math.
• Calendar and homework tracking – we see students using the phones to take pictures of their homework board, and noting due dates on their calendars.
• Research – some students access our wireless with their iPods or laptops when there are not enough laptops available for everyone in class. We have many laptops in use daily, but sometimes more than one class wants them at a time.

Due to interest from Mme Simpson and her students, we have now started a trial in her classroom (grade 6/7). She has emailed her parents about some of the key discussion points I had with her class:

• educational use only – we discussed many different ideas on how to use technology, and will discover more as we move forward with these projects.
• in-class use only – for now, we are keeping this in the class. This is not permission to take out iPods at lunch and listen to music.
• follow the Code of Conduct – all behaviour when using technology must fall within the guidelines of our school’s code of conduct.
• used with teacher supervision only – Teachers are aware of when students are using their devices, and students are showing respect when we ask that they put the devices away.
• optional – it is optional to bring a device from home. Many concerns over security are brought up, but for most kids, they seem to feel more secure being allowed to keep their phones or iPods in their pockets, than when they have to leave them in their backpacks. If a parent says no, we support that choice.

There now seems to be interest in other classes, especially at the grade 6 and 7 level. I will be talking to their teachers first before I talk to the students about the proper use of devices at school.

We will also work on developing clearer communication with parents about BYOD. It will take time.

Please note: this is not an opportunity for students to try to get their parents to buy them new devices. Bringing a device is optional.

I have had discussions with some parents about concerns with the BYOD initiatives. How do we deal with equity? Should children truly be bringing their family laptops to school? Wouldn’t it be better to buy more laptops for the schools? I don’t know all the answers to those questions, but we do consider them when discussing technology and its use.

We are looking at many ideas about using technology at school. Teachers are looking at iPads, apple TV, laptops and other devices and how they could be used in schools. We are still learning.

If you have any questions about using personal devices in school, please contact your child’s teacher.

This year the staff is looking to develop a school technology plan. These BYOD trials are helping us better understand how we can use technology to support and enhance learning in the classroom. We still make use of school laptops and desktop computers on a daily basis, and many classes make use of the computer lab.

For those of you who are interested in, here are a couple of blogs about the topic:

• 7 Myths About BYOD Debunked by Liam Nielsen
• It is TIme For Schools to Seriously Consider BYOD by Eric Scheninger

There may be links out there against BYOD, but I have boon looking more at why we should try it. We will continue to have dialogue about technology in schools over the coming months.

Take care.