MR Tracker in action. February 15, 2008
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : East Lothian, Mr Tracker , add a commentI visited Longniddry Primary today. The infant staff received MR Tracker training in October and have began implementing the strategies in the classroom.
I have yet to speak to the P1 teacher, but I have been told that she has been using the progressions and teaching strategies as the basis for her teaching. The school reports that there is difference in the children’s level of understanding of number and the children are further on than what they would usually be at this stage - this is very exciting. I have asked to visit this classroom so I can write about the children’s experiences.
The infant staff have been using the progressions and techniques for their mental maths session (about 20 minutes each day). In particular they have been putting greater emphasis on number word sequences and number word after/before to improve the pupils knowledge and understanding of the number system. They have also been making more use of spatial and finger patterns. They are now wanting to look in more detail at the progressions so that they can adopt a more problem-solving approach to numeracy. We will be looking at this together over the next few weeks. Of course I shall add these sample lessons to the blog.
Catherine Jack, Head Teacher, is keen to get the whole school using Maths Recovery techniques. In the future she plans to have all her teachers trained, to varying degrees (She already has two teachers trained in Maths Recovery). The Learning Assistants are learning about some of the tecnhniques so that they can recreate what the teacher has done when supporting children’s learning. This really is a whole school approach.
I must not forget to mention the wonderful support that the Maths Recovery teachers (Pam Clark and Amanda Hutchison) are giving to the school’s MR Tracker teachers - I am sure this will contribute to the success of MR Tracker in school.
Teaching ‘tricks’ without numerical understanding February 14, 2008
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : Learning , add a commentI came across this entertaining video clip today.
It really highlights how much we (teachers) can focus on training children to do ‘tricks’ that result in apparent success without enhancing their knowledge and understanding of number.
Developing an active approach to learning numeracy requires us to make good use of concrete materials that help children to understand number and then manipulate (screen) these to engender sophisticated strategies based on understanding. By doing this children should be able to understand a wider range of strategies, see relationships between them and use/adapt these to solve unfamiliar problems. In doing so we are preparing children for life-long learning - not just getting them through the curriculum.
Planning Formats February 13, 2008
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : East Lothian, Mr Tracker, Planning , 1 comment so farTwo styles of forward plans have been developed so far:
Forward plan 1: This forward plan includes the generic features recommended by the Early Years Strategy Group. It has been suggested that this could be used as a forward plan or a weekly plan.
Forward Plan 2: This plan is less detailed but is perhaps supported by weekly plans.
I will track a real class and then use this information to develop a few exemplars what these might look like filled in.
Children Develop Their Own Strategies. February 11, 2008
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : East Lothian, Learning , 2commentsI have posted this clip because it demonstrates a child’s ability to develop his own strategies:
This task (usually shown on paper as 4+=6) is a complex one which most teachers struggle to teach. The reality is, that if children are given time to understand the problem using concrete materials and then screens, they will be able to make their own sense of the problem and then develop their own strategies for solving it. It is only complex when a teacher tries introduce a strategy that children do not have the experience to understand.
It is important to point out that the child in this clip is in his first week of P1 and has never had any teaching of numeracy strategies. He is solving the second task based on his experience of the first task. As his experience with number widens he will be able to use more sophisticated strategies to solve the task.
Information to Support MR Tracker February 6, 2008
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : Mr Tracker , add a comment
As requested, I have added more details of MR Tracker. If you look at the top of the blog you will see a ‘MR Tracker’ tag. If you click on this tab, you will see a variety of subpages to explore. Over time I aim to add details of good resources, planning formats being trialled, tried and tested learning activities, to name a few.
If you would like to contribute please leave a comment.
MR Tracker Training February 1, 2008
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : East Lothian, Mr Tracker, Training , add a comment
There are two new groups being trained in MR Tracker:
Group 1
7th Feb 9am-12noon Townhouse Haddington
21st Feb 9am-12noon Brunton Theatre Room C
(School Task)
14th April 4pm-6pm Conference Room John Muir House (Joining with group 2)
Group 2
28 Feb 9am-12noon Townhouse, Haddington
6 March 9am-12noon Townhouse, Haddington
(School Task)
14th April 4pm-6pm Conference Room John Muir House (Joining with group 2)
Session 1:
- Background of Maths Recovery
- The role of assessment
- The MR Tracker progressions overview
- Assessing Progressions:
- Forward Number Words Sequences and Number Word After
- Backward Number Words Sequences and Number Word Before
- Numerals and Numeral Sequences
- Addition and Subtraction (Addition Strategies)
- Relationships between the progressions and teaching points
Session 2:
- Review of session 1
- Changes in teaching practice
- The MR Tracker progressions overview
- Assessing Progressions:
- Addition and Subtraction (Subtraction Strategies)
- Finger and Spatial Patterns
- Multiplication and Division
- Relationships between the progressions and teaching points
- Outline of School Task
School Task
- Half day out of class
- Assess a child (a good P2) using MR Tracker assessment
- Video it
- Reflect on experience
- Work with a partner who has been trained?
Twilight Session:
- (In school groups - strongly recommended that a member of management attends)
- Reflect on Mr Tracker Progressions
- Purpose of MR Tracker
- Relating MR Tracker to active learning
- Planning numeracy lessons
- Next steps
Implementing MR Tracker in the Classroom. January 18, 2008
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : East Lothian, Mr Tracker , 1 comment so farOver the next few weeks I am visiting and supporting schools in the Preston Lodge cluster who have had MR Tracker CPD. I have talked to a number of the MR Tracker teachers and already they are reflecting upon and improving their current practise. The way in which they each organise their numeracy lessons will naturally vary but the tracker will enable them to share a common approach: understanding early arithmetical strategies, observing children to see where they are at, sensitive intervention and tracking progress.
These teachers can take control. They do not need to be dictated to by schemes of work but make decisions about learning and teaching activities based on the understanding of how their pupils are learning.
Over the next few weeks we are going to:
- experiment with planning numeracy lessons
- identifying key questions that will support active learning
- experiment with models of organising a numeracy lesson
- identifying ways to maximise the learning of a pupils
- Effective Resources
I shall try to summarise these issues as we tackle them.
The 2008 Maths Recovery Conference January 6, 2008
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : International Developments , add a commentThis Maths Recovery conference will give you the opportunity to hear from the developers of the Maths Recovery programme, the authors and contributors of the books and to participate in workshops run by Maths Recovery practitioners from other countries.
The conference will be held in the Castletroy Park Hotel, Dublin Road, Limerick, Ireland.
Full details, including how to book, are available by downloading the conference leaflet: mrc-conference-2008.pdf.
First Feedback on MR Tracker CPD November 19, 2007
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : East Lothian, Mr Tracker, Training , add a comment30 teachers from the Preston Lodge Cluster have had initial CPD in MR Tracker. This is the first time that this training has taken place and the initial feedback has been very positive.
Here are the evaluation comments:
- Next steps for teaching are much clearer
- The assessment resulted in the teacher knowing each individual child’s strengths and weaknesses much better
- The assessment gave us a better understanding of the strategies being used by the children
- Created a greater awareness of the concepts of before and after
- The knowledge gained from an assessment should prevent any child being moved on to more complex processes when the evidence suggests that they haven’t mastered some of the basic concepts.
- It allows you to pinpoint difficulties
- The teaching programme takes the children further on e.g. beyond 20, it encourages the teacher to move them on.
- We have learned that interactive materials can be used as a successful assessment tool ( written assessments can give a false indication of a child’s ability)
- Mr Tracker encourages you to track the child further than you may expect - you don’t stick to the level they are working at with planned work e.g. A1, A2
- Staff found ‘no praise’ difficult
- We learned not to make assumptions about what children can and cannot do
- Children take a while to absorb a concept
- We were not limiting the child’s use of maths ( by sticking to A1,A2 etc)
- There are really good activities which benefit all the children
- Staff wondered how filming affected the child’s response
- The children took longer than expected to complete the assessment
- Children needed sufficient vocabulary to explain how they worked out an answer
- Staff need guidance about when and how frequently we should use the assessments ( time allocation)
- It was a good experience!
- Surprised to note extent of reversals e.g. 15 for 51
- The test could be used across all ages P1 - Level D
- EOL child could sort out numbers in teens, tried very hard to sort out numbers 20 and above by looking at the units
- We would need to carry ou the assessment quite a few times to get slick at it
- Could you use the assessment in smaller blocks e.g. addition only?
- Next steps for teaching are much clearer
- The assessment resulted in the teacher knowing each individual child’s strengths and weaknesses much better
- The assessment gave us a better understanding of the strategies being used by the children
- Created a greater awareness of the concepts of before and after
- The knowledge gained from an assessment should prevent any child being moved on to more complex processes when the evidence suggests that they haven’t mastered some of the basic concepts.
- It allows you to pinpoint difficulties
- The teaching programme takes the children further on e.g. beyond 20, it encourages the teacher to move them on.
- We have learned that interactive materials can be used as a successful assessment tool ( written assessments can give a false indication of a child’s ability)
- Mr Tracker encourages you to track the child further than you may expect - you don’t stick to the level they are working at with planned work e.g. A1, A2
- Staff found ‘no praise’ difficult
- We learned not to make assumptions about what children can and cannot do
- Children take a while to absorb a concept
- We were not limiting the child’s use of maths ( by sticking to A1,A2 etc)
- There are really good activities which benefit all the children
- Staff wondered how filming affected the child’s response
- The children took longer than expected to complete the assessment
- Children needed sufficient vocabulary to explain how they worked out an answer
- Staff need guidance about when and how frequently we should use the assessments ( time allocation)
- It was a good experience!
- Surprised to note extent of reversals e.g. 15 for 51
- The test could be used across all ages P1 - Level D
- EOL child could sort out numbers in teens, tried very hard to sort out numbers 20 and above by looking at the units
- We would need to carry ou the assessment quite a few times to get slick at it
- Could you use the assessment in smaller blocks e.g. addition only?
- Next steps for teaching are much clearer
- The assessment resulted in the teacher knowing each individual child’s strengths and weaknesses much better
- The assessment gave us a better understanding of the strategies being used by the children
- Created a greater awareness of the concepts of before and after
- The knowledge gained from an assessment should prevent any child being moved on to more complex processes when the evidence suggests that they haven’t mastered some of the basic concepts.
- It allows you to pinpoint difficulties
- The teaching programme takes the children further on e.g. beyond 20, it encourages the teacher to move them on.
- We have learned that interactive materials can be used as a successful assessment tool ( written assessments can give a false indication of a child’s ability)
- Mr Tracker encourages you to track the child further than you may expect - you don’t stick to the level they are working at with planned work e.g. A1, A2
- Staff found ‘no praise’ difficult
- We learned not to make assumptions about what children can and cannot do
- Children take a while to absorb a concept
- We were not limiting the child’s use of maths ( by sticking to A1,A2 etc)
- There are really good activities which benefit all the children
- Staff wondered how filming affected the child’s response
- The children took longer than expected to complete the assessment
- Children needed sufficient vocabulary to explain how they worked out an answer
- Staff need guidance about when and how frequently we should use the assessments ( time allocation)
- It was a good experience!
- Surprised to note extent of reversals e.g. 15 for 51
- The test could be used across all ages P1 - Level D
- EOL child could sort out numbers in teens, tried very hard to sort out numbers 20 and above by looking at the units
- We would need to carry ou the assessment quite a few times to get slick at it
- Could you use the assessment in smaller blocks e.g. addition only?
- Next steps for teaching are much clearer
- The assessment resulted in the teacher knowing each individual child’s strengths and weaknesses much better
- The assessment gave us a better understanding of the strategies being used by the children
- Created a greater awareness of the concepts of before and after
- The knowledge gained from an assessment should prevent any child being moved on to more complex processes when the evidence suggests that they haven’t mastered some of the basic concepts.
- It allows you to pinpoint difficulties
- The teaching programme takes the children further on e.g. beyond 20, it encourages the teacher to move them on.
- We have learned that interactive materials can be used as a successful assessment tool ( written assessments can give a false indication of a child’s ability)
- Mr Tracker encourages you to track the child further than you may expect - you don’t stick to the level they are working at with planned work e.g. A1, A2
- Staff found ‘no praise’ difficult
- We learned not to make assumptions about what children can and cannot do
- Children take a while to absorb a concept
- We were not limiting the child’s use of maths ( by sticking to A1,A2 etc)
- There are really good activities which benefit all the children
- Staff wondered how filming affected the child’s response
- The children took longer than expected to complete the assessment
- Children needed sufficient vocabulary to explain how they worked out an answer
- Staff need guidance about when and how frequently we should use the assessments ( time allocation)
- It was a good experience!
- Surprised to note extent of reversals e.g. 15 for 51
- The test could be used across all ages P1 - Level D
- EOL child could sort out numbers in teens, tried very hard to sort out numbers 20 and above by looking at the units
- We would need to carry ou the assessment quite a few times to get slick at it
- Could you use the assessment in smaller blocks e.g. addition only?
MR Tracker Trainers September 13, 2007
Posted by Mhairi Stratton in : East Lothian, Mr Tracker , add a commentIn the summer term of 2007 East Lothian trained 15 experienced Maths Recovery teachers to become MR Tracker trainers.
These Maths Recovery teachers are key to making MR Tracker a success. Not only will they be training class teachers in this approach but will then support implementation in their cluster schools.
The MR Tracker trainers in East Lothian are:
Mhairi Stratton (Humbie), Therese Laing (Humbie), Janice Inverarity (Sanderson’s Wynd), Janis MacCaig (Windygoul), Janice Inverarity (Sanderson’s Wynd), Janis MacCaig (Windygoul), Sheena Aitken (Dirleton), Pam Clark (Longniddry), Amanda Hutchison (Longniddry), Gail Corr (Cockenzie), Anne Mackenzie (Prestonpans Infants), Janette Gordon (East Linton), Lindy Lynn (Innerwick), Susan Whiteford (St Mary’s), Anne Hubbard (Knox Academy), Alison Elgin (Musselburgh Burgh), Sharon Dixon (Pinkie)
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