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Connecting Research and Practice CIIM: Themes, results, implications

Connecting Research and Practice CIIM: Themes, results, implications. OMCA Winterlude Retreat January 10-11, 2008. Dr. Chris Suurtamm Dr. Barbara Graves. The iterative dynamic of connecting research, policy & practice. Focus. Examine the context of math education in Ontario

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Connecting Research and Practice CIIM: Themes, results, implications

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  1. Connecting Research and PracticeCIIM: Themes, results, implications OMCA Winterlude Retreat January 10-11, 2008 Dr. Chris SuurtammDr. Barbara Graves

  2. The iterative dynamic of connecting research, policy & practice

  3. Focus • Examine the context of math education in Ontario • Share and discuss what the CIIM research is saying • Data from the CIIM report • New ways of looking at the data • New data • Discuss what this means for OUR work

  4. The plan • Ontario math education & the CIIM report • Context of math education • Highlights of CIIM report • Research ideas emerging connected to CIIM report • Who are the teachers and what are their practices? • What does this tell us? • What are the implications for our work? • The critical role of the teacher • Challenges • Ways to help

  5. Who is the audience? • Math coordinator/consultant/resource • Classroom teacher • School board administrator • Ministry of Education personnel • Other 26 1 1 1 3

  6. Who is the audience? • Math coordinator/consultant/resource • Classroom teacher • School board administrator • Ministry of Education personnel • Other 23 0 1 3 2

  7. Mathematics Education in Ontario • Commitment and cooperation of mathematics educators • Knowledge of math leaders about what is happening • Evolution of curriculum in Ontario and other jurisdictions • International standings

  8. Where does Ontario rank in international assessments of math? • At the international average • Above the international average • Below the international average 3 29 0

  9. Performance on international assessments • TIMSS - Grade 8 • 1995, 1999, 2003 - Canada ranked in top 10 countries • 1999, 2003 - Ontario studentsscored significantly higher than the international average in all 5 content areas • PISA • 2003 - Ontario students performed significantly better than the international average, particularly in problem solving • 2006 - results just in

  10. PISA 2006 Math results - countries with scores statistically significantly above OECD average Source:http://www.pisa.oecd.org/

  11. Not statistically different from OECD average • Germany 504 • Sweden 502 • Ireland 501 • France 496 • United Kingdom 495 • Poland 495

  12. Slovak Republic 492 Hungary 491 Luxembourg 490 Norway 490 Lithuania 486 Latvia 486 Spain 480 Azerbaijan 476 Russian Federation 476 United States 474 Croatia 467 Portugal 466 Italy 462 Greece 459 Israel 442 Serbia 435 Uruguay 427 Turkey 424 Thailand 417 Romania 415 Bulgaria 413 Chile 411 Mexico 406 Montenegro 399 Indonesia 391 Jordan 384 Argentina 381 Colombia 370 Brazil 370 Tunisia 365 Qatar 318 Kyrgyzstan 311 Statistically significantly below OECD average

  13. But . . . we continue to work for improvement

  14. Background of the research project

  15. “So, is this curriculum working?” “I don’t know - are they doing it?”

  16. Focus of the research • To understand and describe the implementation of the current mathematics curriculum for Grades 7 - 10 • "In the USA reform recommendations usually reach the classroom in the form of new curricula that teachers are expected to implement. However, teachers often transform such new materials in light of their own knowledge, beliefs, and familiar practices; as a result, the ‘enacted curriculum’ can be quite different from the ‘written curriculum’. . .” (Sherin, Mendez & Louis, 2004, p. 210)

  17. Focus of the research • To determine how the current intermediate mathematics curriculum is understood and taught • To determine how teachers have been supported in the implementation of this curriculum • To describe environments where an alignment of the written and enacted curriculum is evident (or has been made possible)

  18. Lead Researchers Dr. Barbara Graves, University of Ottawa Dr. Chris Suurtamm, University of Ottawa Consulting Researcher Dr. Geoff Roulet, Queen’s University Project Manager Suhong Pak Research Assistants University of Ottawa Emily Addison Ann Arden Nicola Benton Arlene Corrigan Adrian Jones Martha Koch Jennifer Hall Tom Hillman Queen’s University Steven Khan Jill Lazarus Kate Mackrell Research Contributors

  19. Research Design • Focus groups interviews with leaders in mathematics education (Winter 2006) • Web-based questionnaire for math teachers in grades 7 - 10 (Spring 2006) • Teacher focus groups across the province (Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007) • Case studies in contexts where things appear to be working well (Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Winter 2008)

  20. Sharing our results • Ministry conference - February 2007 • Regional conference in Guelph - Spring 2007 • CIIM Research Report - September 2007

  21. CIIM Report:Introduction & 5 chapters • Minding the gap: Transition from Grade 8 to 9 mathematics • The use of technology in math class • The use of manipulatives in math class • Assessment • Professional development

  22. Components of each chapter • What does the research literature say? • What do Ontario math education leaders say? • What does the questionnaire data say? • Connections, concluding comments

  23. Assessment • Teachers use a variety of assessments (Tables 1,2,3 - p. 118+) • Paper-and-pencil tests and quizzes are the most frequently used forms of assessments • There are differences in types of assessments used across the grades (Tables 4 & 5 - p. 121,2) • The Achievement Chart is a concern (Table 9 - p. 126) • Reporting by strands is a concern

  24. Further research on assessment - teacher focus groups & case studies • Published assessments that accompany textbooks are frequently used in Grades 7 & 8 • Many, many assessment misconceptions • “They are only level 4 if they are beyond the grade expectations” • “Even if they get a 100 on a quiz it could only be level 3 because it is only testing knowledge” • “The Ministry requires that all marks be organized by the Achievement Chart categories”

  25. The use of technology in math class • Technology use is imbedded in the curriculum (Table 1, p. 59 • Teachers could be more comfortable with use of technology in teaching math (Table 7, p. 64) • Some technology is widely used - Graphing calculators used by 91 - 98% of Grade 9,10 teachers (Table 10, p. 67) • Other technology use is emerging - GSP (Table 11, p. 67) • Availability of computers is an issue (Table 13, p. 69)

  26. The use of manipulatives in math class • Manipulatives help to provide representation of a mathematical idea • Use of manipulatives declines as students move through the grades (Table 7 - p. 95) • Teachers’ perceptions • Only for some students • Help move from concrete to abstract • Challenges • Connecting the mathematics • Knowing how to use the manipulatives effectively • Time

  27. Further research on manipulative use - focused case study Secondary department using manipulatives • Collaborative effort • Systematic sequencing of manipulative use across grades • Focused professional development on manipulative use • Students are expected to represent mathematical ideas with concrete materials and diagrams as well as symbols • Teachers new to the department are trained

  28. Minding the gap: Transition from grade 8 to 9 • Knowledge of one another’s curriculum (Table 5 - p. 29) • Frequency of meetings (Table 3 - p. 27) • What happens at the meetings • Different cultures • Classroom practices (e.g. Table 10 - p. 34) • Beliefs - about math teaching and learning, students (Table 15 - p. 39)

  29. Further research on transition- focused case study • Family of schools • Teachers see risks and are hesitant • Administrative support is essential • Focus at meetings is shifted • Learning about and respecting one another’s cultures takes time • Developing a collaborative culture takes time

  30. Questions and your responses

  31. Who are the teachers and what are their practices?

  32. Who are the teachers who responded to the questionnaire?

  33. Mathematics teaching qualificationsorganized by panel

  34. How comfortable are you with the following aspects of the curriculum for this class? The content of the course

  35. Of the following, which group has the least experience in teaching math? • Grade 8 • Grade 9 Applied • Grade 9 Academic • Grade 10 Applied 2 29 0 1

  36. Who are the Grade 8 teachers?

  37. Who are the Grade 9 Academic teachers?

  38. Who are the Grade 9 Applied teachers?

  39. Who are the Grade 10 Applied teachers?

  40. Beliefs about practice

  41. Beliefs about practice: In this class, how important is each of the following?

  42. But we see that different grade levels have different beliefs about what is important to do in a classroom

  43. Which grade has the least number of teachers reporting that the discussion of mathematical ideas is very important? • Grade 7 • Grade 8 • Grade 9 • Grade 10 1 4 5 22

  44. In this class, how important is encouraging student discussion of mathematical ideas?

  45. Classroom practices

  46. Teacher practices: In this class, how often do the following occur?

  47. Teacher practices: In this class, how often do the following occur?

  48. Looking closely at reform practices

  49. In this class, how often do the following occur?Students work on problems with multiple solutions

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