Week 10 Term 1 Staff Meeting’s learning intentions were to:

1. Reflect on our Literacy Process and see if the model is applicable to Numeracy.

2. Revise, make additions 3. Share something you believe you do well in your current maths lessons 4. Professional reading on “How Children Learn Best”

Week 11 Term 1 Staff Meeting’s learning intention was to continue professional reading on “How children learn best” but with a particular focus on numeracy. A video clip from also shown of the school's students responding to the question, “How do you learn best in maths?” In pairs of PLT’s [Professional Learning Teams] the staff read, discussed and feedback on the following professional readings.

•  Effective Pedagogy in Mathematics—UNCESCO

•  Characteristics of Effective Teaching of Mathematics: A view for the West by Glenda Anthony and Margaret Walshaw

•  Effective Numeracy Teaching extract from Numeracy in Practice: Teaching, Learning and using Mathematics They identified that following significant points in the articles.

•  the need to build on students learning

•  mathematical communication and language

•  assessment for learning is essential

•  worthwhile mathematical tasks must be authentic learning and make connections to prior learning and fields beyond maths

•  connectionist teachers, cooperative and collaborative learning

•  student engagement and mathematical relevance

•  expert teachers provide challenging goals for all students and assess levels of students’ learnings and provide feedback Week 3 Term 2 Staff Meeting learning intention were to continue the discussion Numeracy Blocks and develop consciences on its essential components Week 4 Term 2 Staff meeting presented collated results from the previous week’s meeting on a set of common components of a numeracy block. The Common components were as follow.

•  Know the students and their abilities. Two of the four essential questions for Professional Learning Teams work “What do they already know?”

•  Preand post-testing about what the teachers expect their students to learn, and “How do teacher know if students have learnt it?”

•  Teach to/for the students (not for the teacher or the text)

•  Develop a deeper knowledge

•  Flexibility within the whole programme—grouping children, activities, resources, assessment

•  Relevance for the student, small group work

•  Modelling

•  Explicit teaching all agreed very important

•  Discussions, refinement, editing occurred Week 6 Term 2 Staff meeting’s learning intentions were review and agreed to the common components and understandings of an effective Mathematics Block, to consider and request what support teachers would like, to ensure this implementation process occurs and is achievable. Much discussion, refinement, additions, editing occurred until finally the following common components in an effective mathematics block was established and agreed upon:

•  Pre-testing (know the students and their abilities)

•  Warm Ups

•  Explicit teaching Develop a deeper knowledge

•  Modelling

•  Relevance for the student

•  Teach to/for the students

•  Flexibility within the whole programme

•  Flexible grouping throughout the programme

•  Reflection/ Feedback—verbal, journaling, consolidating

•  Post Testing: How will we know they have learnt it?