Adventures in Math at Lake: Learning Together

Part of the journey for me this year was to learn along with the teachers to use an assessment tool called PRIME. The Prime Diagnostic tool identifies five phases of development that students travel through in five areas of Mathematics. These areas are Number and Operations; Patterning and Algebra; Data Management and Probability, Geometry and Measurement. The prime looks at both conceptual understanding as well as procedural knowledge when assessing the student. The booklet helps the teacher identify which level to begin with the students. Once the level has been accurately assessed, the guide provides strategies to move the student to the next phase of their learning path. Typical phases for each grade are as follows: Grades k=1 Phase 1; Grades 1-3 Phase 2; Grades 3-5 Phase 3; Grade 6- Phase 4. The data obtained from the implementation of the PRIME assessment tool is to be used to facilitate school-based discussions around best practices in Mathematics instruction and ultimately to lead to improved student learning. I was lucky enough to participate in the process at various points in 5 classes this year. I was involved in the marking process as well as charting the results to ascertain our next steps. In one of the junior classes we looked carefully at the growth from October to April. In the overall scores over half the students moved into the next phase on the Operations Tool. Out of the remaining 9 students, 4 of them scored higher than their previous score, although it did not move them to the next phase. The phases for the Operations Diagnostic Tool D are divided as follows: Phase 1 less than 7; Phase 2 7=16; Phase 3 17=25 and Phase 4 26-28. The information is charted to give a visual representation of the results and to make it quite easy to see areas for growth. In this particular class relationships, subtracting decimals and mental math represented areas in need of attention and this guided the teachers program to fill in these gaps. The tool may take some time to administer, but in the end it is useful because it identifies clearly where the students are, drives the instruction to addressed the student needs; and provides positive reinforcement as the progress is evident. Exploring this assessment tool was a valuable experience in developing my instructional leadership. Working with teachers, learning along with them’ and sharing the experiences was invaluable. When the need involving mental math was identified the idea of using ‘Number Talks’ by Sherry Parrish was brought forth to help the student develop efficient, flexible and accurate computation strategies for addition, subtraction. Basically the ‘Number Talks’ strategy involves a daily 5 to 15 minute conversation daily around purposefully crafted problems. The talk is critical because it allows students to verbalize their strategies, justify their ideas and ask for justification if needed. As my next steps it is important to continue this collaborative process encouraging other teams to work together to promote professional dialogue and to increase everyone’s comfort in teaching Mathematics. A report from the Ontario Ministry of Education entitled A Forum for Action: Effective Practices in Mathematics Education discusses 10 conditions for success and provides a model for me to work towards as well as reiterates and validates the importance of the team approach. The following represents the 10 conditions: 1. Belief in the ability of students and staff 2. Student voice and attitude underlie improvement efforts 3. Team approach is needed 4. School and system leaders play key role in building capacity 5. Identifying learning gaps clearly is basis for improved instruction 6. Effective instruction builds on prior knowledge and understanding 7. Greater alignment is needed between elementary and secondary 8. There is no single strategy to improve mathematics teaching and learning 9. Direct instruction and practice have a place 10. Visual and tactile representation is useful to promote deeper learning Special thanks to Ms Marquardt, Mrs Slepica Stewart, Mme MacPhee, Mme Malette, and Mrs Langille for their time and support in exploring this tool together.