BTP Blog

Kirsty Jones

Teacher Educators in the Eastern Institute of Technology’s (EIT) practice-based Bachelor of Teaching Primary (BTP) programme regularly visit their partnership schools to support Candidate Teachers to make connections between their learning on campus and their learning in schools.  Our recent visits focused on understanding more deeply the unique innovations and the key developments our partners are engaged in, and using that learning to strengthen our programme.

On my school visits I was inspired by the wide range of innovative, and successful practice offered in response to learner’s needs. There were many different approaches to teaching and learning within, and across schools taking place, all of which empowered teachers and enabled them to act with agency. Diversity in school philosophy and strategic direction, and vision was embraced and celebrated too.

The schools also recognised the value of working with each other though, and through communities of learning and other clustering models they had a common commitment to improving student learning.

I noticed that teachers were implementing their unique style within the individual school context while maintaining strong practices of collaboration among their colleagues, and with other schools.

These collaborative practices common across schools in communities of learning and school clusters were carefully defined through the use of boundary objects. These are ‘treaty’ agreements, achievement challenge statements and other information that enable agreement about the fundamentals that underpin effective teaching and learning, allowing for individual school agency and autonomy as well as guiding collective decision making, and the implementation of developmental actions.

Two current educational frameworks are alive as boundary frameworks across schools in our BTP partnership.

1. The 7 Principles of Learning (OCED, The Nature of Learning, 2016)
2. The Effective Teaching Profile (Bishop et al., 2003)

The ‘overarching ideals’ in these frameworks enable respect for different approaches as well as the ability to collaborate successfully. These frameworks are alive within the curriculum and the partnership practices between schools and EIT, further building coherence for our preservice teachers when they work within multiple, diverse but connected schools. These boundary frameworks enable a shared language between Teacher Educators and school personnel that collectively supports Candidate Teachers to successfully navigate their understanding of effective teaching and learning, and identify their own teaching dispositions.

With the increasing need to share the responsibility for meeting learner needs, at all levels of our education system balancing individual agency and school autonomy can be embraced within deep collaboration, through effective frameworks, structure and systems.

EIT’s Bachelor of Teaching Primary Teacher Educators and Partnership School Principals and Mentor Teachers – 2018

References

Bishop, R. Berryman, M., Tiakiwai, S., & Richardson, C. (2003). Te Kotahitanga: The experiences of year 9 and 10 Māori students in mainstream classrooms. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.

The Nature of Learning (2016). http://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/50300814.pdf

TKI – Te Kete Ipurangi (2018).

http://tekotahitanga.tki.org.nz/

Wikipedia Foundation Inc (2018). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_object

In December 2017, I attended the Maths Association of Victoria conference at La Trobe University, Melbourne, which provided an opportunity to learn more about engagement in maths. The topic of student engagement in mathematics (or lack of) is a cause for concern among maths educators. A lack of maths engagement can “limit one’s capacity to understand life experiences through a mathematical perspective” (Attard, 2012a, p. 9).

I gained inspiration particularly from sessions led by Catherine Attard (an Australian researcher and maths educator), and Dan Finkel (a researcher and maths educator from Seattle, USA). In this blog post, I share with you some key insights and tasks from those sessions.

Catherine Attard

Attard immediately captivated us, as we got busy (and totally engaged!) folding a paper circle in many ways. The task involved us in rich discussion of the mathematical language associated with geometry and the attributes of 2D and 3D shapes, and engaged us in some deep thinking and mathematical reasoning. Take a look at this great task (and others) located in Attard’s excellent website: http://www.engagingmaths.com   https://engagingmaths.com/teaching-resources/

Attard cautions us, however, that although we might think students are engaged when they appear to be busy working and are on task, ‘it is only when students are experiencing cognitive challenge, are actively involved and are enjoying and appreciating mathematics, that they are truly engaged’ (Attard, 2012, p.23).

Engagement with mathematics (Attard, 2012b, p.23)

Attard also reminds us how important it is that we as teachers of mathematics are engaged if students are to be truly engaged. In her view, engaged teachers are ‘fully invested in teaching mathematics, work collaboratively with colleagues to design meaningful and relevant tasks, go beyond the minimum requirements of delivering curriculum, and genuinely enjoy teaching mathematics in a way that makes a difference to students’ (Attard, 2017, para. 5). In other words, teacher engagement in mathematics is critical for student engagement in mathematics!

In her session, Attard also challenged us to promote ‘substantive discussion’ in our classrooms, as a strategy for engagement. One suggestion for doing this was to use images for ‘Which One Doesn’t Belong?’ Discussing one of these images would make a great maths starter in a classroom, offering students the opportunity to think mathematically and to articulate and justify their thinking to classmates.

Dan Finkel

Dan Finkel’s session, ‘Playful Explorations to Deep Questions’, also captivated and engaged us. Finkel’s goal is ‘to give everyone the chance to fall in love with mathematics’. His website https://mathforlove.com/ is well worth a look – or better still, sign up to regularly receive informative emails and great maths teaching ideas.

You might also like to spend a very valuable 14 minutes watching Dan’s inspirational TED talk ‘Five Principles of Extraordinary Maths Teaching’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytVneQUA5-cI

He promotes these five principles to engage students in mathematics:

• Start with a question
• Students need time to struggle
• Teachers are not the answer key!
• Say yes to students’ ideas and questions
• The willingness to play

Finkel suggests that the first job of teachers is to provide a rich environment for students to play, as often that play has deep mathematical thinking attached. Challenging play produces a state of ‘productive struggle’.

Like Attard, Finkel recognises the importance of student dialogue and building numerical conversations with students. Two questions in particular Finkel loves to use for promoting deeper discussion and thinking are ‘What if…?’ and “How many?’ Images such as the one below are particularly useful for discussing ‘How many?’

Follow this link for more ‘unit chat’ images (with teaching explanations) that make for great discussion based on the ‘How many?’ question in particular. Try some in your classes and enjoy the numerical conversations that result. https://www.dropbox.com/s/81ju3nei20543zv/Unit%20Chat%20Images%20by%20Dan%20Finkel%20-%20Math%20for%20Love.pdf?dl=0%3Cbr%20/%3E

Some final questions to consider:

1. How might you enhance your own engagement with the teaching of mathematics?
   2. How might you adapt your own maths teaching practices to ensure that mathematics in your classroom is engaging for your students?
   3. How might you foster productive mathematical conversation in your classroom?

Lynn Davies
May 2018

References

Attard, C. (2012a). Engagement with mathematics: What does it mean and what does it look like? Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom 17(1), 9-13.

Attard, C. (2012b). Applying a framework for engagement in the primary mathematics classroom. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom 17(4), 22-27.

Attard, C. (2017). Are you an engaged teacher? (Blog Post). Retrieved from https://engagingmaths.com/2017/05/23/are-you-an-engaged-teacher/

I’ve been reading two reports (Caygill, Hanlar, & Singh, 2016; Caygill, Singh, & Hanlar, 2016), that share information in relation to Aotearoa New Zealand and the most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). I was excited to read that our Year 5 and Year 9 teachers are engaging in professional development around maths – more so than teachers in many other countries who completed the survey. This excitement morphed into melancholy when I found that our teachers, in comparison with teachers from numerous other participating countries, have less confidence in maths teaching activities.

With greater engagement in professional development, I’m left to wonder why confidence levels are not also greater. From informal discussions with teachers, it’s evident that maths does not appear to be a popular part of the teaching day for some (or many?). What is it about maths that creates this reduced teaching confidence? In amongst my wonderings, I thought about the beliefs and attitudes that teachers may hold around maths, and the twelve mathematical myths (Smith, 2009) came to mind:

1. Men are better than women in maths.
2. Maths requires logic, not intuition.
3. You must always know how you got the answer.
4. Maths is not creative.
5. There is a best way to do a maths problem.
6. It’s always important to get the answer exactly right.
7. It’s bad to count on your fingers.
8. Mathematicians do problems quickly, in their heads.
9. Maths requires a good memory.
10. Maths is done by working intensely until the problem is solved.
11. Some people have a “maths mind” and some don’t.
12. There is a magic key to doing maths.

I have difficulty with most of the myths above, though it was concerning for me to find my head nodding just a tad at a couple! On reading them, was your head nodding as you read?  Or did you have difficulty with any, or all, of them? From my difficulty in believing, along with my head nodding, I moved to thinking what the potential impact on both teaching and learning might be if teachers do carry a belief in these myths, and I came up with a whirlwind of thoughts and questions as I reread the myths one-by-one, so I quickly jotted them down.

1. Men are better than women in maths. Are males really better at maths than females, or is it the belief of that myth which leads to higher expectations of males by teachers, which may then become a self-fulfilling prophecy? Or is it the social norms that lead individuals to believe that maths is a ‘male’ domain in learning and employment? Or are males actually better at maths than females?
2. Maths requires logic, not intuition. Does intuition play a part in the first attack of a problem that needs solving … or does it always come down to logic?
3. You must always know how you got the answer. What happens if you just don’t know how you got the answer … does that make you wrong?
4. Maths is not creative. Are a variety of patterns and relationships that are inherent within maths discussed with learners, or with other teachers? Is the wondrous use of fingers when multiplying by nine shared and discussed? Or is the way to check for correctness by adding together the digits of those ‘times 9’ answers explored? Here’s a video link that might provide a dose of mathematical wonder. 
5. There is a best way to do a maths problem. If variety is the spice of life, then might it also be the spice of maths?
6. It’s always important to get the answer exactly right. We round numbers and ‘play’ with them in everyday life, so if we’re wanting students to gain an understanding of everyday maths, is it okay to be less exact in the classroom at times?
7. It’s bad to count on your fingers. How many of us had our hands smacked with a ruler when using our fingers to work with numbers? Should finger counting only be used by students learning at lower levels of the New Zealand curriculum? You might like to access this resource for some interesting information.
8. Mathematicians do problems quickly, in their heads. How many classes in our schools have the weekly speed test? Does any learning occur for the learners from these tests? Can individual teachers justify why these tests are used, or not, in the classroom?
9. Maths requires a good memory. If a good memory is essential for maths, then is understanding of maths needed? Is it memory that’s required, or is it our positive attitude, energy, effort, and learning from our mistakes that’s required?
10. Maths is done by working intensely until the problem is solved. Can any of us describe/explain other areas of life where we’re given a problem and are expected to work at it until we find a solution? If not, then why might we expect this with maths work?
11. Some people have a “maths mind” and some don’t. How would you describe a maths mind? What makes you think that there is or isn’t such a thing?
12. There is a magic key to doing maths. A magic key? Does that unlock all the information, or, again, does our energy, effort, and learning from mistakes enable us to do maths?

I’m hoping the questions I’ve asked prompt you to consider your own beliefs around maths and the teaching and learning that surrounds maths in your classroom. I thought I’d leave you with a challenge … provide one or more of the questions above to teachers to consider prior to a team, syndicate, or staff meeting. They’ll then (hopefully) be prepared and encouraged to discuss, reflect and consider their own, and others’, beliefs around maths and maths teaching. If we give time to consider the maths myths that we, as teachers, carry, then perhaps there’s an opportunity to bust those myths and build confidence with maths teaching activities.

Julie Whyte

References

Caygill, R., Singh, S., & Hanlar, V. (2016). Mathematics: Year 5: Trends over 20 years in TIMSS: Findings from TIMSS 2014/15.  Wellington: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/180388/TIMSS-2014-Maths-Y5-Report.pdf

Caygill, R., Hanlar, V. & Singh, S. (2016). Mathematics: Year 9: Trends over 20 years in TIMSS: Findings from TIMSS 2014/15.  Wellington: Ministry of Education. Retrieved from http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/180342/TIMSS-2014-15-Mathematics-Year-9-Trends-Over-20-Years-in-TIMSS.pdf

Smith, K.J. (2009). Mathematics: Its power and utility (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

by Dr Emily Nelson, Programme Coordinator

Kia Ora koutou. We have come to the end of another highly successful year of the EIT Bachelor of Teaching (Primary), our fifth in Hawke’s Bay and our third in Gisborne. 19 final year Candidate Teachers are eligible to graduate and are excited to begin their teaching career. Their graduation is bitter sweet for the Teacher Educator team— we feel the loss of such wonderful candidates in our day-to-day lives – but we share their excitement to enter our teaching profession.

We continue to confound the broader employment statistics for beginning teachers currently circulating in the media – our graduates continue to impress. Almost all of our 2017 cohort have secured fulltime teaching positions for 2018 already! Congratulations to them and to their employing schools, we are so proud of the continuing high caliber of our Candidate Teachers. We are thrilled to hear consistently from principals that our Candidate Teachers interview well, and bring a wealth of concrete teaching experience to the interview experience.

This year’s final year cohort presented the teacher educator team with this beautiful taonga to symbolize our partnership. It is engraved with the whakataukī ‘Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini ke’ (My strength does not come from me alone but also from others). It holds pride of place in our foyer and we love it! I want to thank the BTP teacher educator team for their tireless commitment to the success of our Candidate Teachers!

Our Candidate Teachers’ success is due also to the superb mentoring and coaching they receive from their school Mentor Teachers, and class teachers in their partnership school. In our programme Candidate Teachers participate in school life and teaching two days per week, from the beginning of Year 1. Collective mentoring is vital in assisting them to synthesise their theoretical and practical learning. Growing great teachers is a collaborative commitment! What a thrill to see this expertise gathered together in one photo – the BTP partnership is strong!

Hawke’s Bay Partnership School Principals, Mentor Teachers and Teacher Educators celebrating another successful year together.

We particularly acknowledge the continued commitment of our three foundation Mentor Teachers—Lynda Allen (Frimley School), Shona Burrough (Havelock North Primary) and Heather Wilkie (Te Mata School). These three busy school leaders have mentored our Candidate Teachers in school-based learning, two days per week for five years continuously. Our Mentor Teachers are essential to our programme, and to the professional and personal growth of our Candidate Teachers as developing teachers. We value their wisdom, experience and coaching abilities more than we can say!

Lynda Allen (front row, 2nd from left), Heather Wilkie (front row, 4th from left)

Shona Burrough (front row, 1st on right)

This year we farewell three long-standing partnership schools —Flaxmere Primary, Haumoana School and Arthur Miller School in Hawke’s Bay and Awapuni School in Gisborne. These schools are taking a ‘sabbatical’ as partnership schools. We thank them for their commitment to the BTP and most especially their support of our Candidate Teachers. The diversity of our partnership schools is one of our greatest strengths and all our CTs have been enriched by the unique experiences these departing schools have offered them. We look forward to our continuing relationship with these schools as they host our CTs for practicum placements.

We welcome a number of new partnership schools into our network in 2018 also—Ebbett Park School, Bledisloe School and Puketapu School in Hawke’s Bay. We have been thrilled by the continuing level of interest among schools to partner with us and look forward to productive and rich relationships into next year and beyond. Our Tairāwhiti partnership school network is expanding also – we look forward to announcing these schools once partnership agreements are signed in the new year.

Sadly we are losing Jan Baynes, a foundation teacher educator in the Tairāwhiti team. Jan has contributed her wealth of literacy expertise to the BTP programme as well as an enduring commitment to provide wrap-around support to her students. We wish her well as she moves back into consultancy work – she is booked already well into 2018 across the country!

Tairāwhiti Candidate Teachers enjoying poroporoaki time together on the wharf at Tolaga Bay

It is with great excitement that we conclude this celebratory post by congratulating our original cohort of graduates who are now fully certificated teachers! The teacher educator team was cheering along from the audience at the recent Havelock North Graduation ceremony – we wish you continuing success in your teaching career! We were thrilled that out of the 16 teachers recognised in the ceremony we attended, 12 were from the EIT BTP!

As you wind up for Xmas and all your little soaps, boxes of chocolates and bottles of wine are ferried home to keep you going over summer, on behalf of the BTP programme in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti, I would like to wish you a fully relaxing, safe and rejuvenating break.