Maths Inquiry

11 March 2013
Grace and Theresa

Slideshow and resources on PapSth Ultranet site, Professional Development page

Critical Conversations

Russell Eastwood

Leadership Team Session 3

As we're learning these critical conversations there is the need to have a critical friend to check in with for support, debrief, bounce off, reenergize, get feedback, keep on track. Need to be someone you trust, who can be open and honest.

When in the conversation check in with the person that they are thinking the same way as I am. Stay in the moment listening to their conversation.

Review:

• Activating event, thought, image, sensation, behaviour, own emotion
• Belief - thinking at all levels, awareness of our feelings
• Consequence - feelings and emotions, our reaction to the Activating event.
• Dispute - logically and accurately challenging the underlying beliefs - develop a ritual or language to move into this stage, emperically, pragmatically, logically

The Basic Principles

• Focus on the situation, issue, or behaviour, not on the person
• timeliness of the conversation
• step back and look at the bigger picture
• avoid letting personality differences keep me from dealing with a problem
• make decisions based on facts
• consider other points of view
• Maintain the self-confidence and self-esteem of others
• come from a neutral position
• leave them to come up with the solution
• ask questions - be in the moment
• bring them back to a point when they were successful
• openly express confidence in others
• recognise accomplishments and ideas
• encourage people to express their ideas
• encourage people to use and expand
• Maintain constructive relationships
• listen in the moment
• watch yours and their body language
• awareness of what else is going on with the person
• reconnect with the person that the relationship is still there
• use every interaction as an opportunity to build relationships
• acknowledge problems openly, honestly, and objectively
• deal with conflicts as they arise
• share information
• Take initiative to make things better
• don't ignore it
• make decisions even if it is controversial
• work towards the same goal and everyone is accountable
• look for opportunities for improvement
• stay informed
• explore a solution to every problem
• ask for and offer help
• Lead by example
• consistant in messaging
• lead by example in language, actions, role modeling
• belief needs to be messaged
• if we make mistakes we admit it, learn from it and move on
• model the behaviours I expect others to practice
• follow through on my commitments
• admit my mistakes
• challenge myself and others to try new ways of doing things
• Think beyond the moment
• uphold the ethical standards of my school
• weigh the impact of my decisions before taking action on them
• set objectives that motivate action
• plan ahead

The Qualities of Genuine Leadership

• Collaborative
• needs to be clear and shared
• WE, not a predetermined outcome followed by a fake process
• trust 
• buy in
• open of how final decisions are made
• Inventive
• Skilled
• Visionary
• big picture
• Mindful
• of all stakeholders
• conscious of not taking sides
• think of the bigger picture

Before going into the meeting think positive, think about the outcome.

Setting Expectations

• State the purpose of the discussion
• Explain how the work helps the school/children
• Mutually discuss expectations and measures
• Recap and check for commitment
• Set a check-in date

Giving Recognition

• Explore opportunities to give recognition
• given as is needed, not as a build in to something that needs fixing
• Detail the behaviour as quickly and specifically as possible
• Outline the consequence on you and on the organisation
• include this to add to the impact
• Barriers to giving recognition - personality, other areas are 'crap' (target the positives), consciousness - noticing the behaviour

Delegation

• Share why they are the person you have chosen
• is your time worth more than the job at hand?
• right person for the job
• Explain how the task fits in to the bigger picture
• careful not to let the task speak for itself
• Describe a picture of success
• what will the result look like
• what is the impact of what you are doing?
• What help is needed
• what sort of follow up will you need from me? Agree so not too little or too much support.
• preempt problems and deal with them at the beginning
• Verify understanding and commitment
• need all 5 steps
• dates and time
• are they interpreting what you want them to do in the same way you are?
• beware not to micro-manage

Resolving Conflicts with your Peers

• Describe the issue
• State the impact on results
• Invite an open exchange of reactions
• Ask for suggestions on ways forward
• Gain agreement on next steps

Providing Constructive Feedback

• Verbalise your positive intentions
• this is what I've observed
• I'd like to have a talk about the meeting we had in the staffroom this morning...
• we haven't addressed this but we're addressing it now...
• Tell them in detail what you have seen
• examples, not what you've heard
• keep referring back to these
• Outline the impact of the behaviour or action
• the impact of your comments have been ...
• be clear about the impact!
• Invite a response from the other person
• 'That's a conversation for another time, we're talking about what I've seen and the impact of the behaviour'
• Keep the discussion focused on solutions
• timeliness of conversations
• how would you like me to keep you honest
• agree on an action by the end of the meeting

So What For Me and My Time?

• Look for legitimate opportunities to give recognition including when the reason is obvious and someone is blowing their whole horn
• Prepare and practice a critical conversation. Start with the easy ones - giving recognition and delegation. Have the conversations with the staff. Discuss how the conversations with Mark.
• Prepare and practice constructive feedback conversation with team members. To be supported by all leadership team members. Stick to a current situation.
• Role play conversations with Mark?
• Share with the Leadership Team my conversations and opportunities for conversations I've seen.

Engaging Boys in Writing

In house PD and feedback from course that the PapSth Writing team went to.

How are boys and girls different as learners?

Boys :

• Rush
• Want to win, competitive
• Switch off
• Too much talk - are surface listeners
• Need short instructions
• Can't always think of an idea
• Hitchhikers on others ideas and imagination
• Hands on
• Visual, kinesthetic
• Need a reason to write
• Conditioned to roles
• Impulsive, cheeky

What does success look like to boys?

• Complete work
• Manage to get something on the page 
• Winning
• Finished first even if rushed
• Approval
• Like to get it right
• Not getting it corrected
• Proud of what they've produced
• Feel like they're experts
• Leader of the team
• Something published and on the wall

Feedback from the course 'Engaging Boys in Writing' (Anna)

• 6 months below girls esp in literacy. About 25 years old the boys catch up to girls.
• Plateau in learning in Year 4
• Correlation between movement and boys engagement within the classroom
• Constantly need a context for their learning. They need to know
• What they are doing?
• Why they are doing it?
• What will the finished product be?
• Need short clear instructions if you want them to be followed closely
• Let boys think creatively - even if you feel slightly uncomfortable with it
• Dads/Male Role Models need to be involved in the classroom - not just in extracurricular activities e.g. Dads' Days

What are you doing in YOUR class to nurture boys that is targeted to the boys?

• Readers are targeted to the boys in the groups
• Maths questions are worded around the children in the group - lower two groups for maths are totally boys
• Students choose fitness activities - predominantly boys in class so mainly boys games
• Humour used in some activities
• Targeted praise for certain boys

1B Writing Programme in the Middle School (Emma and Kasha)

• Hands on shared exciting moments
• Photos taken throughout the moment
• Major focus on oral language
• Use graphic organisers to plan their writing
• Work in pairs to construct 'good' sentences with a self-determined success criteria
• Take turns writing a word in different colours
• Idea is to shift towards independent writing
• Students are set up for success
• Teacher/Student reconnection when the students go back to class

Why we believe it works

• Small writing groups
• Similar ability and needs
• Hands on which increases engagement
• Clear purpose to the writing
• Identified audience
• Self-determined success criteria
• Confidence is built through cooperative and paired structures
• They enjoy what they are doing!!!
• It is done first thing in the morning

So What for Team 21?

• More hands on motivators
• More movement breaks
• More structure with writing (graphic organisers, sentence starters, paragraph main ideas)

Tu Toi Tupu Meeting

Tuesday 10 June 2014

What are multiplication and division thinkers:

·      Refer to Book 1 page 15 (2007)

Things to think about:

·      Where are our students?

·      Where do they need to be?

·      What are their targets for the end of 2014?

·      What am I doing to ensure that they get there?

Ideas for future:

·      Getting the children to write their own math questions to get them thinking about different questions and different strategies needed to answer different questions.

·      Word problems activity sheet:

·       

Problem Solving Sheet

Problem:

What are the key mathematical ideas your students will be exploring with this problem?

What key knowledge can be connected to or front loaded to support students to access to the problem?

Identify knowledge activities to use at the start of the lesson that support this key knowledge.

What key materials do your students have access to support their learning?

Anticipated Responses	Alignment with number knowledge	Next teaching step
What are the possible misconceptions or misinterpretations that may arise?	What are the next teaching steps to address these?
Reflection

Key mathematical ideas and key knowledge: If you are unsure what the difference is for the key ideas and key knowledge. This is highlighted and further discussed in Book 6 (2007).

What does this mean for my teaching and learning with Team 21?

·      Getting students to ask / create their own questions

     More articulating of strategies without whiteboards.

·      Need to have a better understanding of where my students are going. What is the bigger picture?

·      Need to have a better understanding of the key ideas and knowledge – look in book 6, reread.

How Wolves Change Rivers

Staff Only Day Term 2, 2014

Inclusiveness in the Mainstream at PSS
Mary Robertson

Inclusiveness in PSS

Looks Like

• Confident
• Engaged with the wider school 
• Engaged with the community
• Interaction with all kids
• Parent engagement
• Accessibility
• Lots of visual stimulation
• Adapted programme

Sounds Like

• Student/Student communication
• Teacher/Student communication
• Teacher/Teacher communication
• Teacher/Parent communication
• Students engaged in class conversations
• PB4L structures
• Cooperative strategies
• Respect
• Encouragement

Feels Like

• Staff are supported
• Children are supported
• Safe place for all

What we do well

• Mainstreaming
• Reverse mainstreaming
• IEPs
• Therapists
• ORS release
• SENCO
• Communications with outside agencies
• PD

What we could do better

• Transitioning for the child, staff and other students
• Review meetings
• More opportunities for TA and teacher to talk about the child
• Assessment
• PD in the wider school

Leadership Team Meeting

Monday, 19 May, 2014

Russell Eastwood - Mapping the Gap - Session 2

Follow Up and Things to Do:

Love Languages - Languages of Appreciation

• Am I using them with my team and within the wider school?
• Set aside time and effort to use with the team.

REBT (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy)

• 3rd Space before getting into the conversations. Ritual before going into a conversation to focus.
• Ask the question because you want to know the answer.  Listen to the answer and then ask the question from that. Listen in the moment.

Listening 

• Contextual Listening - when someone is talking you hear:
• Words
• Emotions, Pace, Tone, Volume
• Stress, Anger, Fear, Resistance, Understanding, Confusion
• Make the call. Do you want to be interrupted now and hold the conversation now? put it off until you can give them more time? 

Using Neutral Language

• Openness
• Not taking a position
• Not reactive
• Use 'I' statements
• Facts
• Redirect
• One message at a time