Transcript No Slide Title

Jane Jones HMI
The Product of Testing
Times Primary
NAMA conference 2007
2005-06 primary inspection findings:
where subject is a strength
• Well-planned and resourced lessons
• High expectations of behaviour and work-rate 
positive attitudes to learning mathematics and
confidence
• Teachers welcome and benefit from CPD.
• Some good use of assessment, eg analysis of test
papers  curriculum planning and grouping
arrangements and systems for recording pupils’
progress.
• Improving focus on solving real-life problems and
pupils explaining methods (but still narrow
interpretation of UAM)
• Most subject leaders are effective practitioners who
support and guide colleagues well.
2005-06 primary inspection findings: where
subject has weaknesses or issues
• Teachers not ensuring all pupils participate 
checking of understanding not an ongoing process.
Assessment remains a weaker feature of teaching.
• Use of IWBs improving but pupils lack opportunities
to use them interactively. Limited ICT otherwise.
• Overuse of worksheets dominates some pupils’
experience and reflects emphasis on skills rather
understanding.
• Cross-curricular numeracy links often missed.
• Informal mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation
mean inconsistencies in practice are not identified
and addressed
Strengths in UAM
• Planning of activities to support UAM particularly in
reasoning and in communicating ideas and solutions.
• Practical approaches particularly in KS1 and FS
• Lots of problems set in real-life contexts and pupils
choosing methods of solution.
• Increased emphasis on pupils explaining their
thinking, though not always why particular approach
adopted
• Occasional themed days/focused activities providing
rich opportunities to solve complex or unusual
problems, sometimes in teams.
Weaknesses and barriers in UAM:
primary
• Planning and assessment systems that pay little
attention to UAM. Too little guidance for staff
• A dominance of worksheets  over-emphasis of
skills at expense of developing understanding and
reasoning
• A lack of opportunity to communicate orally
• Too few connections made with other subjects
• Insufficient challenge for the most able pupils
Evidence sort for 2006-07 mathematics
inspections
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Special focus on enjoyment and understanding
Pupils know the difference between being able to do
something and understanding it.
Inspectors explore pupils’ understanding through
discussion about :
proof, through statements on odd and even or
consecutive numbers
mathematical connections
 given photograph, estimating crowd capacity
Pupils’ enjoyment – findings so far
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Pupils know what they enjoy: practical activities,
ICT, working in groups and pairs, but their
experience of these aspects varies widely between
teachers (and key stages) within the same school
Pupils know what they receive: their description of
typical lessons shows little variation – they seem
to accept this is what teaching and learning in
mathematics should be like. Can we challenge
this expectation?
Pupils are generally loyal to their teachers and
appreciate all the extra revision and booster
classes
Issue: boosting performance in tests and
examinations
• There is an increasing emphasis
(dependence?) in schools on revision
classes, intervention and booster
strategies to raise test and
examination performance.
Schools need to consider What benefits does this
bring and are there any drawbacks?
Preparing pupils for tests: what difference might
good use of subject knowledge make?
• I suggest: subject knowledge should be used in ways
that equip pupils for the assessment as well as for
the next stage of their mathematical journey.
• The best preparation for tests has to be good
teaching and learning everyday and over time, but
meanwhile what about:
– Discussions that focus on modelling thinking
rather than ‘watch me – this is how you do it’
– Questions and activities of varying difficulty and
style that include some set in unusual contexts
and/or that draw on more than one area of
mathematics
– Opportunities for pupils to be the ‘experts’ – hot
seating; preparation of guides for others; marking
own and others’ work in depth using mark
schemes/ criteria, …….
A closing thought
How important is teachers’ subject knowledge?
• Is it essential?
• Is it desirable?
• Is it not necessary? (as long as the teacher can do
whatever the pupils will need to do in their tests)
– If so, let’s stop now!
• How can each of us in our
professional roles promote the
effective use of subject knowledge
in teaching and learning?