When we met back in October ...

1. When we met back in October ... • Discussion took place: • issues that arise from doing group work • encouraging students to talk • spreading this practice beyond our own classrooms • Various questions came from the discussion

2. Issues that arise from doing Group Work and Encouraging Pupils to Talk

3. The problems we found ... • Not something classes will always do “naturally” • Classes need to be ‘trained’ • Pupils find it difficult to explain things to each other • Pupils want to work independently on their own rather than discuss • Hate not being told how to do things • Scared of getting it wrong

4. Here are a few ideas that the team have ‘tried and tested’ ...

5. Speed Dating • Sit round the room as best you can • Give the answer too • Don’t forget to swap cards! • Encourage and praise • Vote for best teacher See Speed Dating Cards

6. Kagan Structures – Pair Work • Work in pairs • Only one pen • Take it in turns to answer (See example of algebraic Fractions Quiz)

8. Jigsaw Lessons • Good after a test! • Set up experts who have already got the questions right • Experts teach subgroups and these then teach their original groups • Teachers then free to wander between groups and listen How do you choose the subgroups?

9. Collective Memory • A picture is displayed on a ‘hidden’ screen • Pupils take it in turn to look at the picture • Relay information back to their team (See example of Percentages Thinking Skills)

10. Thinking Skills Teams of 4 - choose who is 1, 2 3 and 4 1. Number 1 Team Members will come out and look at a Picture for 30 seconds 2. Return to Team and spend the next 2 minutes giving as much information as possible and developing a STRATEGY on how the rest of the team will get the information from the picture 3. Number 2, 3 & 4 Team Members will then come out IN TURN when I call them for 30 seconds and get some more information, then return for 2 minutes and relay their information. We will do this twice.

11. 50% = ÷ 2 1% = ÷ 100 30% 40% 20% 10% 5% 10% = ÷ 10 1% £10 2% 3% 4% 50% 25% £200 20% 50% 4% 5% 1% 25% 40%

12. Thinking Skills Calculate the value of the coconuts at the end of each percentage palm Calculate the values of the sets of coconuts on the floor

13. Graduated Information • Give the problem with minimal information • Keep adding extra bits of info • Pupils sit down when they feel they have had enough help to continue with task • Differentiation

14. Writing Frame Structure • What questions could you ask? What maths could you use? What resources? • Could use a picture from an exam question • Then show and do the question afterwards See Thinking boxes and Reading images – CATS

15. Writing Frame Structure

16. TASC Wheel • To help structure a group work task Could be used to support activities such as Security Camera

17. GCSE Revision Quiz • Question cards set up at front of room • Different area of maths (N, A, S, D) • Different grades (B, C, D, E) • Each question carries a different amount of marks (5 for B, 4 for C, etc) • Activity has time limit • Wining team has most points

19. Show your Working Activity • Give pupils cut out cards that show the stages to work out an answer • Ask pupils to order the cards and stick onto A3 sheet • They must annotate the stages with a written description of how to get from one step to another (See example of Solving Algebraic Equations)

20. Subtract 5a from both sides Subtract 5 from both sides Divide both sides by 6

21. Talking Starters What happened next……? • Using a screen shot to promote class discussion • Could be taken from BBC news pictures For example: • This could be used as an introduction to parallel and perpendicular lines

22. Talking Starters Starter thoughts • Pose a question to generate discussion on a topic, for revision, consolidation, to identify prior knowledge For example • Who would win in a fight…. • What would you rather be….

23. Talking Starters Starting points • A selection of starters designed to get students “Talking Maths” For example:

24. Talking Starters Cartoon Concepts • Available from: www.conceptcartoons.com • Starting points for discussions around misconceptions

25. Impress me…… • Show me everything you know about…. • Give a resource, picture, task, diagram (for example: removed from question from an exam paper) • Students encouraged to think of ideas that no one else has

26. Other Techniques • Questioning……..encourage discussion within class • Never answer a question • Basketball not ping-pong • Instilling confidence to get it wrong – if they are happy to get it wrong they will talk more • Always, sometimes, never– consolidates learning from previous years, or true/false see transformations true/false • Looking at misconceptions – discussion around where you could go wrong rather than what is right • Put the ‘trendy’ one in charge

27. Other Techniques • Allocate roles – make the gossips leader or in charge of feedback, scribes • Pass the Parcel – generate a question • Competition • Memory wall with post it notes • Video yourself doing a construction etc • Random name generator • Label tables instead of random name • No hands up policy • Get different students to use a different colour pen

28. Spreading this Practise beyond our own Classrooms

29. How do we get the rest of the department to do this too? • Team observations • Modelling • Whole school targets help - everyone has it as a target this year • Functional weeks – so everyone has to do it! • Put classes on a carousel, same activity with different groups………can try something with a different class • Talk and try out in the department meetings • Make it easy for everyone to be able to do then follow up meeting. • Collaborative planning – can you work from other people’s lesson plans?

30. The Next Step ... • Put together all our ideas to be adapted by you for the appropriate topic and class ability • Examples to help