Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
2.1 - Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.1 - Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
At my school we run mathematics blocks. During this time, students may move to different classrooms with different teachers. The groups are ability based, allowing for targeted teaching to occur. At any one time, students from up to 3 different year levels may be present in the same classroom.
Planning teaching and learning programs and units of work for maths groups is an extensive task. I run a rotation system within my classroom that allows me to explicitly teach my entire class on Monday. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I have a rotation system in place that has one group working independently, one group working on laptops with an Education Assistant and one group working with me. On Friday I explicitly teach the whole class again.
All tasks for maths rotations must be developed to engage the students at all times and to provide as many hands on and diverse learning experiences as possible. In order to create these activities I must apply my knowledge and understanding of effective teaching strategies for numeracy by incorporating ICT, collaborative learning, instructional strategies, creative thinking, higher order thinking skills, problem solving, differentiated learning and by linking this all directly to curriculum outcomes/objectives.
Planning teaching and learning programs and units of work for maths groups is an extensive task. I run a rotation system within my classroom that allows me to explicitly teach my entire class on Monday. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I have a rotation system in place that has one group working independently, one group working on laptops with an Education Assistant and one group working with me. On Friday I explicitly teach the whole class again.
All tasks for maths rotations must be developed to engage the students at all times and to provide as many hands on and diverse learning experiences as possible. In order to create these activities I must apply my knowledge and understanding of effective teaching strategies for numeracy by incorporating ICT, collaborative learning, instructional strategies, creative thinking, higher order thinking skills, problem solving, differentiated learning and by linking this all directly to curriculum outcomes/objectives.
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Every week I create a document as is displayed above. The curriculum objectives/outcomes are always displayed at the top so I know what the end goal is and all activities are planned around development and application of this skill.
As you can see, the lessons show that I have a thorough understanding of the relevant teaching strategies required for students to develop the skills and understandings. The lessons all have a mixture of activities including hands-on activities using manipulatives, ICT based activities (laptop or tablet), worksheets for reinforcing skills once developed and collaborative activities that allow for topic based talk and interaction with other students.
As you can see, the lessons show that I have a thorough understanding of the relevant teaching strategies required for students to develop the skills and understandings. The lessons all have a mixture of activities including hands-on activities using manipulatives, ICT based activities (laptop or tablet), worksheets for reinforcing skills once developed and collaborative activities that allow for topic based talk and interaction with other students.
When incorporating ICT into my numeracy rotations I regularly use Khan academy and IXl. Khan academy has a number of explanatory videos and then questions to answer and IXL provides different questions and answers. Students have log-ins for both sites which allows me to track their answers and results. Majority of the questions on these interactive sites are word problems allowing students to develop their problem solving skills. The questions are in year levels and link directly to the Australian Curriculum. IXL is perfect for differentiation as I can give students access to higher and lower year group questions depending on their ability.
Above is a screenshot of an IXL question. I deliberately answered the question wrong and IXL has explained the correct answer.
When designing the tasks for my independent group, I need to take into account the level of the task as students need to be able to complete it without my help but it cannot be too easy. I also need to think about engagement as without direct supervision the task needs to be extremely engaging to ensure all students stay on task. I have found that task cards are a great way to differentiate for my groups, they keep students engaged and on task and students are accountable as in the plenary we always mark the task cards and record their score. I have found that task cards with QR codes on them are particularly engaging. These task cards allow students to check their answer straight away using a QR code scanner on an iPad. Students get instant feedback and this helps to keep them engaged and on task for the duration of the lesson.
Above is an example of some task cards used in mathematics by my independent group when learning about data and graphing. The QR code can be scanned and the answer to the question will be displayed.
Using manipulatives and hands-on activities is essential in the development of mathematics concepts and understandings at all ages. I strive to use hands-on and collaborative activities as often as possible within my mathematics rotations as a strategy for supporting numeracy achievement in my students.
Students creating a 3D cube as part of maths groups. The students were developing their knowledge and skills regarding 3D shape, volume and capacity through a hands-on and collaborative exercise.
Using hands-on activities and manipulatives during maths rotations to develop and understanding of volume and capacity.
Using hands-on activities and manipulatives during maths rotations to develop and understanding of nets of 3D shape and of symmetry.
Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
2.2 - Content selection and organisation
2.2 - Content selection and organisation
Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
2.3 - Curriculum, assessment and reporting
2.3 - Curriculum, assessment and reporting
Designing and implementing teaching and learning programs using knowledge of curriculum, assessment and reporting requirements is imperative in the classroom. When planning I always have the curriculum open and plan my learning sequences using this directly. One method that I use in mathematics to ensure that all curriculum outcomes are achieved is an excel spread sheet tracker. This document has been created for all year levels and has all curriculum objectives for that year level. I use this as a working fluid document. I often have it open on my computer or tablet and I use it to record as students demonstrate understanding and correct application of outcomes. It is a formative assessment document and is altered regularly.
The three spead sheets above cover all areas of the mathematics curriculum. I colour code my documents - red means the student can perform the skill, orange is they can almost perform the skill, red means they cannot perform the skill and white means the skill has not been assessed yet. I also add anecdotal notes to my spread sheets about certain skills or problems students are having. Adding the notes is extremely helpful come reporting time, as accurate and relevant feedback is already saved on my spread sheets.
*All student names have been removed for privacy.
*All student names have been removed for privacy.
Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
2.4 - Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
2.4 - Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
2.5 - Literacy and numeracy strategies
2.5 - Literacy and numeracy strategies
This standard has been covered in another section along with another standard. The standard that this links closely with is:
Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
Standard 2.1 - content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
This standard can be found at the top of this page.
Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
Standard 2.1 - content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
This standard can be found at the top of this page.
Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it
2.6 - Information and Communication technology (ICT)
2.6 - Information and Communication technology (ICT)
This standard has been covered in another section along with another standard. The standard that this links closely with is:
Standard 3 - Plan for and implement teaching and learning
3.4 - Select and use resources
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Standard 3 - Plan for and implement teaching and learning
3.4 - Select and use resources
Click on the standard mentioned above to be taken to this page.