I'll be discussing the 5 principles from the Edugains PDF document found here.
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/studentsuccess/FoundationPrincipals.pdf
Focus on Mathematics:
What is being said here is that the teachers should be starting with the curriculum. The overall goal is helping students along their journey of understanding problem-solving and critical thinking. From a basic structure set in which students are developing their understanding of Mathematics through year by year scaffolding, students should then be introduced to various ways of connecting and relating to the learning as it pertains to their environment. Students should be trying to develop their higher level thinking skills, these include the following:
-Problem Solving
-Reasoning and Proving
-Communicating
-Representing
-Connecting
-Reflecting
-Selecting Tools and Computational Strategies
Coordinate and Strengthen Mathematics Leadership
Leadership roles are ones in which that need to be considered as mediators as well as witnesses to the learning taking place around the school within subject areas. In regards to Mathematics, leaders should be taking a buy-in mentality to developmental arrangements made for students who need further assistance as well as programs that are built to enhance the overall strengthen of this subject area for students in general. Good leadership could sometimes look like co-planning, co-teaching, or even co-learning.
Building Understanding of Effective Mathematics Instruction
Its not as easy as handing a book to a student and having them do the homework as required according to the textbook. I spoke earlier in a response post to a colleague (Introduction posts) and mentioned a lesson I had done to build the development of data management, mean, median and mode. Coordinating an activity that was simple enough but really just taking the lesson out of the book and building it on the surface plain of reality not a fictional world in which everything always equals "true". Through this lesson and reading more about "effective instruction" I feel ultimately we are facilitating and simply saying "yes" to questions asked. As Oldridge spoke in a Vimeo video earlier video during course work (see previous posts for links or references), it is probably the hardest thing to do-facilitating-because as teachers, we instinctively take on a show and tell role; with this paradigm shifting into a more "facilitator" role-there are a lot of questions and sometimes (as reality permits), no answers.
Design a Responsive Mathematics Environment
Creating an environment in which the teachers are not only facilitating but conducting classes in a way that allow for the students to really reach potential; one in which students are receiving the assistance and support needed in the classroom to succeed. This idea may include forms of differentiated assessment and tasking.
This is the foundation in which Teachers are expected to adhere to the expectations of students assist them by making sure they will succeed in the next level. Students have been supported through whatever means necessary while still keeping a good association of Mathematics in tact.
Provide Assessment and Evaluation in Mathematics that supports student learning
Teachers need to achieve holistic learning moments. Opportune times to really see learning occur. This could be done in a number of ways but usually (like most teaching tasks), it occurs during assessment and evaluation. This is why the evaluation process in which feedback is provided, is so very important to students.
Facilitate Access to Mathematics Learning Resources
This sounds like it would be referring to student's access to materials but the truth is that the focus of this particular foundation is for the teacher. Students in turn may have access to the same things as the teacher in a round-a-bout way, however in particular the things that Math Teachers have access to make the difference using up to date with all the latest and greatest ways of approaching different topics in regards to Mathematics.
What are my thoughts on manipulative and assistant tools in the classroom.
Well after having my original piece deleted due to stupidity and faulty internet, this won't be half as profound but here it goes. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was using Project Based Learning to help students keep their interest in Math, so its reassuring to know that I have an idea of what proper facilitation looks like. I think its important to know that the students who are participating in any learning within the class are working together with the teacher. But most of all, I think the process of learning is always in need of becoming more and more tangible. I believe this so much so that it is something that I would like to bring to my classroom, group by group.
I would like to see in my classroom groups, learning Math in a three step process. What if the teacher walked through a general idea, instruction if you will, which leads into the problem/discussion. Step two for the students would be that the class tries their best to visualize using tools from a tool box; each group could have different tools or the same really (doesn't matter), but things they could use to visualize the problems/puzzles might be the following, pencils, post-it notes, pattern pieces, rulers, protractors, pipe cleaners, plastic coins, barrel of monkeys, deck of cards, cubes-really anything that can be used to count with or help them describe to their peers how they understand the problem. After the problem has been understood, the group is now working on a way to develop a solution. The solution process will be proposed to the teacher. After the solution was shared with the teacher, the students would be granted a chance to explore further for the solution as needed, researching online, etc.
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