My practice and the impact on

student learning

By Tori Noll
 Placement context

 Back to basic concepts to do with number (Reys et al 2017)

 Refreshing their memories from last terms work on number/partitioning
 Red group – low-level learners, speech and literacy, tasks or task instruction must be simplified for this
group to understand
 Focus students are all in Year 2 – they are from 3 different levels of learning
 Planning

 Sullivan (2011) six key principles for effective teaching of

mathematics
 Approaches to planning
The lesson itself generally consists of 3 phases: (1) introduce
(2) investigate, instruct or explore and (3) reflect/ summarise.
In the lesson plan, the lesson outline details these phases of
the lesson (Reys et al 2017).
 Planning through using open-ended tasks which are aligned
with a sequential and topic specific curriculum known as
content specific open-ended tasks.
The tasks had multiple possible solutions and solution
strategies and will therefore encourage and allow rich
classroom discussions and create the expectation that
students will explain what they have done and their
underlying thinking (Sullivan 2011).
3 learning experiences in Maths

Year 1 and Year 2 Australian Curriculum – Number

  Number sequences – skip counting;
addition and subtraction

1  Represent multiplication
  Partitioning numbers using
place value
 Addition and subtraction
 Represent multiplication

2
  Write and order numbers
 Locate numbers on a number line

3
 ‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’
Benjamin Franklin

Pedagogy

 Strong pedagogical content knowledge has been identified as allowing for a deepening of
understanding of students’ understanding of mathematics, knowledge of the mathematics
curriculum and the selection of instructional tasks (Reys et al 2017).
 This theory from Vygotsky emphasises the importance of shared interaction, collaboration
and negotiated meanings. Vygotsky’s notion of the zone of proximal development is also
important for teachers (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing & Le Cornu 2015).
 Effective teachers use manipulatives when appropriate to provide concrete experiences
that help children make sense of mathematics and build their mathematical thinking (Reys
et al 2017).
 Practice and demonstrations – explicit teaching of the concept
 Collaborative task – learning from each other
 Clear lesson goals - progression
 Successful experiences in learning mathematics result in self-confidence (Reys et al 2017).
 Differentiation focus (PIP)

 Differentiation focus of Professional Inquiry Project (PIP)

 When differentiation is considered in this sense, flexibility on the part of the teacher and
student is required to support further student learning and participation in mathematics
(Reys et al 2017).
 For differentiation to be achieved the tasks may be set at different stages of difficulty or
linked to different experiences or interests to engage a broader range of learners
(Tomlinson & Moon 2013).
 As Smutny and Von (2010) explore, teachers play an important role in using students
learning needs and therefore, ‘guiding the process of thinking, applying and inventing in
their learning’. This approach to teaching relates to the constructivist learning theories
and learning styles that will have influencing factors towards student motivation,
engagement, and academic growth (Algozzine & Anderson 2007).
 Coloured dots (learning levels), year level (based on curriculum)
Assessment for
learning

Criteria used - Grading system

Assessment strategies:
❑ 2 stars and a wish (teacher
feedback)
❑ Student self-assessment to
influence student learning
❑ Discussions of feedback with the
students
(Brady & Kennedy 2012)
(Education Services Australia)
(Reys et al 2017)
Zoo challenge

✓ Feeling success
✓ Challenge
themselves
✓ Teamwork
✓ Sharing ideas
Number creatures

✓ Hands on learning
✓ My turn, our turn,
your turn
✓ Demonstrations
✓ Visual learning
✓ Engagement
✓ Use of powerpoint
Number challenge cards

✓ Practice time
✓ Achieving
success
✓ Number focus in
different digits
 Future teaching

 Student learning
 Future teaching directions
 Diversity of the learners - differentiation
 References

 Algozzine, B & Anderson, KM 2007, Tips for Teaching: Differentiating Instruction to Include All Students, Preventing School Failure:
Alternative Education for Children and Youth, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 49-54.
 Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) 2018, F-10 Curriculum, Mathematics, Australian Curriculum,
Assessment and Reporting Authority, accessed 21 September 2018, <https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-
curriculum/Mathematics/>.
 Brady, L & Kennedy, K 2012, Assessment and Reporting – Celebrating Student Achievement, Pearson Australia, 4th edition, Melbourne,
Victoria.
 Education Services Australia, Assessment for Learning, Professional Learning accessed 21 September 2018,
<https://www.assessmentforlearning.edu.au/professional_learning/peer_feedback/peer_strategies_enhance.html>.
 Groundwater-Smith, S Ewing, R & Le Cornu, R 2015, Teaching Challenges & Dilemmas, Cengage Learning Australia, 5th edition, Victoria
Australia.
 Reys R, Rogers A, Bennett, S Cooke, A Robson, K & Ewing, B 2017, Helping children learn mathematics, 2nd Edition, John Wiley & Sons
Australia, Ltd, Milton Qld.
 Roy, K 2015, Effective Teaching Strategies: Lessons from research and practice, Chapter 5: Becoming a reflective teacher, Cengage,
Melbourne.
 Smutny, JF & Von, SE 2010, Differentiating for the young child teaching strategies across the content areas, preK-3, 2nd edn, Corwin,
Thousand Oaks, Calif.
 Sullivan, P 2011, 'Teaching mathematics: using research-informed strategies', Australian Council for Educational Research, Australian
education review.
 Tomlinson, CA & Moon TR 2013, Assessment and student success in a differentiated classroom, ASCD, Alexandria, VA, ch. 1.