Our Actions:

We take time at every staff meeting to focus on our school story and school focus.  At our March staff meeting, we used small group discussion and a Mentimeter to gather information about our learners (staff and students).  We posed three questions:

• What is something in Math/Numeracy that is going well?
• What is something you are still wondering about connected to Math/Numeracy?
• What have you noticed about your students’ confidence and competency related to Math/Numeracy?

Our Observations and Reflections:

• What is something in Math/Numeracy that is going well?

Staff members shared they are trying a number of new math routines in their classrooms. The most talked about structures and strategies were Number Talks and Math Games to provide additional practice.

• What is something you are still wondering about connected to Math/Numeracy?

Staff who were part of the Facilitating Collaboration project had all tried various forms of Math Workshop. Staff shared that these structures opened up the learning and widened the net to include more students.  Staff noticed that math games and working in small group increased confidence in their students.

Some staff had questions about how to include students who are two to three grade levels below their current grade.

Other staff wondered about retention of information? Remembering things from day to day.  Find in younger students what they remember varies from day to day. Why is that and what can they do about it?

• What have you noticed about your students’ confidence and competency related to Math/Numeracy?

The more staff did the new routines, the more comfortable students became and this increased their confidence in math/numeracy activities.

One teacher noted lots of improvements with her group. Even with a wide range of math skills, from beginning to quite a bit of knowledge, she was noticing progress and an increase in their confidence.

When they work in groups, they have more confidence.

Next Steps:

• We will look at the student voice data at a future staff meeting so we can see if we can make connections between staff observations and students views about Math/Numeracy.
• Continue to use math structures and routines to strengthen math confidence and competence in our students.