Using Process Success Criteria in Mathematics

1. UsingProcess Success Criteriain Mathematics

2. Aims • To increase teachers' understanding of the use of process success criteria in mathematics. • To explore how the use of process success criteria can develop children's understanding in mathematics. • To provide examples of good practice.

3. Assessment for Learning • Assessment for learning: Using the teacher’s assessment of pupils’ performance to inform planning and future teaching. • Involving the children in this process to ensure that they really understand.

4. Success Criteria What do you understand by the term Success Criteria?

5. Learning Objectives to Success Criteria Learning Objectives: “What are we going to learn?” Activities: “How are we going to learn?” Success Criteria: “How do we know if we have succeeded?”

6. Different Types of Success Criteria • The success criteria is a statement of what the child will • be able to do if they meet the learning objective. • It should also be linked to an age-related example which • children can attempt to show whether they are successful. • The process success criteria are the steps which could • help the child achieve the learning objective.

7. Process Success Criteria A set of criteria written to guide pupils through the learning process in mathematics, in order to support and develop their understanding of the concept and achieve the learning intention. The best criteria will relate to learning as opposed to task instructions and include examples of what the pupils have to do.

8. Implications for Mathematics • Most mathematics has specific ‘objective-defined aims’ whereas literacy has a ‘horizon of goals’. • Which type of criteria to use depends on the skill / concept / knowledge. • Specific or closed learning objectives require use of process success criteria.

9. Process Success Criteria – an Example • Learning Objective: To use a multiplication grid to calculate TU x TU • Success Criteria: I can calculate TU x TU by using a multiplication grid. • Process Success criteria: • Partition the numbers into T and U on the grid. • Multiply the numbers for the first square and put the answer in the box. • Do the same for the rest of the grid. • Total the four boxes. etc

10. Generating Process Success Criteria • Essential for children to be included. • Write the success criteria in children’s words. • If there are a lot of steps (e.g. in a calculation), write each one as that step is modelled. • With the whole class, look at anonymous work. • Get the children to have a go first, then generate the criteria.

11. Effective criteria will: Be written to support understanding Include examples Be short Be clearly laid out and visible Relate to the learning and not the task Effective use will be when pupils: Know their purpose Use as and when they need to, either to: - support learning - act as a reminder Use as a check Effective Process Success Criteria

12. Activity – Planning Process Success Criteria Year R Objective: Recognise and recreate simple repeating patterns. 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1

13. Process Success Criteria and the Plenary Time to: • Reflect upon the learning intentions using the criteria against which the work will be assessed So pupils can: • Identify their own achievements • Recognise areas for improvement • Direct their own improvement “A major part of the plenary should be children’s reflective comments about their learning, followed by teacher summary”. Shirley Clarke

14. For Whom is it Most Effective? Process success criteria is most effective when used to support the learning of those children who are working slightly below age-appropriate expectations and those who are less confident. The reasons for this are: • It gives children the confidence to ‘have a go’ at mathematics within a defined and structured framework. • Because they have access to a list of steps they become less dependent on an adult to guide them individually through each step in the process. • It encourages children to be more self-evaluative and able to identify exactly where they are stuck.

15. For Which Mathematics is it Most Effective? It is especially useful for: • aspects of place value, ordering and rounding, e.g. multiplying or dividing by 10/100/1000 • many aspects of calculation, including written methods • areas of the measures curriculum, such as measuring angles using a protractor, using a ruler, calculating area and perimeter and reading a scale • aspects of shape such as reading and plotting coordinates • constructing graphs and diagrams, including Venn and Carroll diagrams • solving word problems, i.e. carrying out the calculation once it has been identified

16. For Which Mathematics is it Least Effective? It is less helpful for: • exploring properties of number or shape • interpreting data • solving word problems, i.e. identifying the operation

17. How to Decide? A good rule of thumb when deciding whether the use of process success criteria is helpful is to identify whether the area of mathematics is based around a sequence of steps. If this is the case then it would be more appropriate. This works mainly when the barrier to children’s learning is remembering the steps, not the understanding of the concept. The use of process success criteria does not support children in understanding mathematical concepts or remembering key facts.

18. Impact on Pupils • Gains in confidence through being able to identify small areas of difficulty. • Children become more independent. • Self and peer marking is a more robust process. • Identifying steps to learning helps with booster classes as it meant that the session foci can be more tailored to the children’s own needs.

19. Impact on Teachers • Marking is more effective. • Clarifies the progression of learning in the mind of the teacher. • Expectations are more focused and therefore potentially higher. • It enables teachers to pinpoint more precisely those areas which needed to be consolidated or reviewed. • Better dialogue with teaching assistants.

20. Impact on Teaching Assistants • Have a better understanding of the learning steps. • Better dialogue with teachers.

21. Impact on the Learning Environment • The classroom environment can be used to support learning more effectively by displaying the steps to learning and worked through examples. • Children are able to identify where to look for support with topics.

22. Impact on Home/School Partnership • Helps parents to support effectively with homework.

23. Barriers • It is important not to become too rigid when using process success criteria. It may turn some of the children off learning if they have to follow each step of the process, especially more able children. • Some children may become over reliant on them, and therefore unable to function when not given a set of process success criteria. • It does not lend itself to all areas of mathematics, so trying to impose it in every lesson would be counter productive • Teachers need to have good subject knowledge to be able to identify the steps in learning.

24. Summary • If the use of process success criteria is to work, assessment for learning needs to be well established in school. • The end goal is about the learning and the links in learning, so children need to understand that ultimately they need to work independently without relying on the steps in place. • If higher ability children don’t need to use process success criteria, teachers should ensure that they are still able to explain methods and strategies, which promotes the use of vocabulary.

25. Summary • Teachers should not agonise over putting the process success criteria in place in every unit/ topic. Some, like aspects of shape, just don’t lend themselves to the process. If it’s not going to enhance the children’s learning, don’t do it! • It is particularly useful when working with methods of written calculation. Schools should have a written calculations policy in place that is being followed by all staff for the use of process success criteria to be successful.

26. Summary • The implementation of the use of process success criteria in maths should be supported by the senior leadership of the school. This will ensure that time is given to allow the mathematics subject leader to discuss with and support other teachers. • There is no one fixed model to implementing the use of process success criteria in mathematics. Schools should apply the elements flexibly and develop them to fit their school situation. Each school should agree on certain ‘non-negotiable’ elements, e.g. format, name etc to promote and ensure consistency.