National Partnerships Schools’ Forum Korumburra Secondary College Case Study

1. National Partnerships Schools’ ForumKorumburra Secondary College Case Study

2. Algebra, Differentiation and the PLT

3. South Gippsland Maths Initiative 2009 Ideas that resonated • From inference to evidence • Data led collaborative inquiry • PLT – sharing - “Our” students not “my” students • importance of team leadership - Purpose - Process - Structure

4. Coaching 2009 Effect/influence of coaching • focus on the main idea/s for each lesson/unit • Development of differentiated tasks/activities • How will I know what students have learnt? • Reflection with the coach after the lesson • Model these coaching ideas with members of my staff • PLT focus – staff to try at least one of the activities with their classes and provide feedback

5. Last year 2010 • Development of units which include - pre-tests – a move away from text driving teaching and methodology - data collection at relevant times - focus on the big ideas and links to the developmental continuum - one task which allows for differentiation - starting to listen for the “golden question” and its implications for my practice. • link Year 7 units to Year 8 program • TPL • Patrick Griffin – Specialist Certificate in Leadership of Assessment Practices

6. PLTs at Korumburra SC The Mathematics Year 7/8 PLT comprises 5 teachers; one who teaches two year 7 classes, one who teaches two year 7 classes and one year 8 class, the PLT leader who teaches a year 7 and a year 8 class, and 2 teachers who each teach a year 8 class. PLT members vary in teaching experience from 2 to 30 plus years. Two of the three teachers teaching Year 7 classes have less than 5 years of Mathematics’ teaching experience. PLT meetings are held every fortnight for 1 hour after school. Occasionally PLT members have to attend other PLT meetings scheduled for the same day e.g. Year 7 PLT.

7. PLT structure • Ideally the PLT should – • have between 4 and 6 members • have a dedicated meeting every fortnight commencing at the start of period 6 and continuing until 4.30pm. PLT members are covered for period 6 classroom duties. • have teachers teaching more than one class per year level. Teachers can trial and embed their practice.

8. Structure of fortnightlyPLT meetings 1. Group check in: • What’s been happening in your classroom in the last fortnight. What learning have you observed in the content area?

9. 2. Mathematics content learning • Semester 1 focus : fractions • Semester 2 focus : algebra • Readings, research, VELS • Classroom observations/ modelled teaching

10. What is important to consider in the teaching of algebra in Year 7?

12. PLT process • Teachers bring agreed work sample to meeting (pre-assessment task to begin cycle) • Teachers share work samples across all classes using agreed process (e.g. rubric) • Select a group of like students and examine evidence of what students can do, are on verge of doing

13. Zone of Proximal Development - zpd • Vygotsky’s construct of the Zone of Proximal Development - “ a state of readiness”. • The zone where success had odds of 50:50 pointed to the location on a continuum or trait where intervention had the best chance of assisting development. [George Rasch] • Intervention is based on a generalised development not on a specific item-based interpretation of learning (or lack of learning). • As a result intervention can be linked to appropriate provision of resources leading to informed curriculum and learning policy. Patrick Griffin “Studies in Educational Evaluation”

14. Step 1 or 5 Gathering Data and Analysis CAT (eg. NOYCE Task) Step 4 Student Work Samples Learning monitored PLT Log analysis Step 2 Identifying Students Understandings. (eg. PLT Log using mode) Step 3 Setting Student Learning Goals New Knowledge Sixty percent of student achievement is directly attributable to the teaching practice in the classroom. (Leithwood, 2004)

17. Algebra Task Analysis Year Level 7E Noyce Task: Necklaces Date July,2010 School: Korumburra SC   [maximum 11] Range: 7 Mode: 4 Median: 4 Mean: 4 Jaiden Troy Bayley Nathan Izaak Shane Ashlea Amber Mairead Gemma Andrew Brooke Cooper Tenae Tamara Ashley Bailey Natasha Maddie Mitch Justine Sophie 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

18. Algebra Necklaces Task - Pre-test score 7E 7A 7B 7C 7D 11 10 9 ____ 8 7 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 6 ____ ____ 5 ____ ____ ____ 4 ____ ____ ____ 3 ____ ____ ____ 2 ____ ____ ____ 1 ____ ____ ____ 0 ____

19. Step 1 or 5 Gathering Data and Analysis CAT (eg. NOYCE Task) Step 4 Student Work Samples Learning monitored PLT Log analysis Step 2 Identifying Students Understandings. (eg. PLT Log using mode) Step 3 Setting Student Learning Goals New Knowledge Sixty percent of student achievement is directly attributable to the teaching practice in the classroom. (Leithwood, 2004)

20. Necklaces Task Yr 7 What students can do and implications for teaching.

21. Step 1 or 5 Gathering Data and Analysis CAT (eg. NOYCE Task) Step 4 Student Work Samples Learning monitored PLT Log analysis Step 2 Identifying Students Understandings. (eg. PLT Log using mode) Step 3 Setting Student Learning Goals New Knowledge Sixty percent of student achievement is directly attributable to the teaching practice in the classroom. (Leithwood, 2004)

22. Set a learning goal for the students • Team members suggest teaching strategies to support those students • Agree on what would show that the students reach the goal • Bring back agreed evidence to next meeting in a fortnight and look at next group of students

23. Student Learning Log

24. Step 1 or 5 Gathering Data and Analysis CAT (eg. NOYCE Task) Step 4 Student Work Samples Learning monitored PLT Log analysis Step 2 Identifying Students Understandings. (eg. PLT Log using mode) Step 3 Setting Student Learning Goals New Knowledge Sixty percent of student achievement is directly attributable to the teaching practice in the classroom. (Leithwood, 2004)

27. Questions/Areas to investigate which may arise during the use of the Algebra Story Board [Longest Lunch context] • clarification of information e.g. tables are side to side • interpretation of the pattern given in words into symbols e.g. “the number of chairs is the number of tables times two plus grandma and grandpa” means c = t x 2 + 2 “the number of chairs is equal to two times the number of tables plus two” means c = 2 x t + 2 or c = 2 x ( t + 2 )

28. Are these three equations the same? How can you check?

29. If there were 20 tables, how many chairs would be needed? Can you explain why the answer is not 44 [i.e. 2 x 22 as there were 22 chairs for 10 tables]? How many tables are needed to seat 122 people? How many triangular table would seat 122people? From the point/line graph the connection between gradient and y intercept and the rule/equation can be investigated.

32. Step 1 or 5 Gathering Data and Analysis CAT (eg. NOYCE Task) Step 4 Student Work Samples Learning monitored PLT Log analysis Step 2 Identifying Students Understandings. (eg. PLT Log using mode) Step 3 Setting Student Learning Goals New Knowledge Sixty percent of student achievement is directly attributable to the teaching practice in the classroom. (Leithwood, 2004)

34. Two points in time data

35. Implications of cohort report • Significant shift from lower end to higher end Score 0 – 3 from 35 students to 14 students Score 4 – 7 from 61 students to 63 students Score 8 – 11 from 2 students to 19 students Mode from 4 to 7

36. Algebra Necklaces Task - Pre-test – Post-test comparison score 7E 7A 7B 7C 7D 11 ____ ____ 10 9 ____ ____ 8 ____ ____ ____ ____ 7 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 6 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 5 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 4 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 3 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 2 ____ ____ ____ 1 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 0 ____ Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post 7A & 7B Teacher A 7C & 7D Teacher B 7E Teacher C

37. Necklaces Task Yr 7 What students can do and implications for teaching.

38. Teams owning the work • This PLT model will work if it • is supported by school leadership teams and resourced • is owned by the teachers involved (their data, their students, their classrooms) • has an effective team leader who is committed to the work (team leader may not be the domain leader).

39. Implementing the Action Plan – How do we know it is working? • Discussion as a starting point for a unit of work • “What are the big ideas of a topic?” • Mapping the content in VELS • Knowledge and use of the mathematics continuum to selecting suitable tasks to identify students’ ZPD • Use of data and evidence to have substantive conversations about student learning • Use of data and evidence to challenge current practice

40. Implementing the Action Plan • Use of common language when discussing our students • Ongoing and opportune sampling of students’ work • Teachers suggest strategies to support like students • Identifying gaps in teacher knowledge and strategies for addressing these gaps • development and use of “rich tasks” by teacher/s

41. A sustainable approach to PLTs in South Gippsland Secondary Schools Having a common approach across all schools in the South Gippsland Region is a powerful strategy Team leaders meeting regularly across schools helps to develop leadership skills and promote collaborative learning and provides opportunity to practise PLT skills

42. Where to in 2011? • Students directing the learning/ collaboration/ follow up on “golden questions “ • What is the learning from our students’ perspectives ? • Development of a Year 9/10 PLT • Have a dedicated meeting every fortnight commencing at the start of period 6 and continuing until 4.30pm. • Development of a PLT folder • The PLT leader uses a network of other PLT leaders to continue their own skill development

43. CONTENT ‘You don’t change performance without changing the instructional core. The relationship of the teacher and student in the presence of content must be at the centre of all efforts to improve performance.’ (Elmore 2007) STUDENT TEACHER (Diagram from Cohen and Loewenberg, 2001)