Hands Up if You Think that You Are a Good Mathematician... - #5

In my first Class OnAir episode, I asked my students to raise their hands up if they think that they are good mathematicians... only 3 hands went up. It showed me that the students didn't have a positive attitude towards maths and didn't believe in themselves.

I also collected student voice - disposition data and discovered that all of my underachieving students had rather negative beliefs about themselves as mathematicians. It was a strong signal to start building up their confidence by talking about Growth Mindset and implementing Talk Moves to support the positive norms in maths class.

I believe that the positive learning classroom culture goes beyond the ‘classroom treaty’ created in the first week of school. The positive norms in maths class needed to be constructed together so that students know what is expected of them and for them to have the tools to respond to and meet those expectations.

I want my students to work collaboratively and engage in mathematical discussions by sharing and explaining their thinking and reflecting on the thinking of others. To achieve this we have ongoing discussions around how we work together and what is important to become better mathematicians.

I believe that my students have now started to value productive struggle and they are now keen to participate in our Number Talks as they aren't afraid to take risks and make mistakes.

Data Collection and Analysis - #3

Data reveals serious historical issues that require to be addressed. Data screams for urgent actions!

Over 60% of my class are operating at the well-below and below the expected levels in both Reading and Maths. I traced back some of my students' data and found that for the past 2-3 years they always were well-below or below without showing an acceleration in any of the preceding years. As I'm still to finalise my target group for my inquiry, I consider narrowing my focus down and planning my inquiry around shifting these students' achievements in maths. 

                                                 

 

At this point of my inquiry, I feel a bit nervous but also excited as I have to come up with something different from their previous learning experiences, reflect on my own practice and extend my teaching approaches and tools to accelerate these historically underachieving students.