Setting the scene for STEM in 2010/ 11 John Holman, National Director, Science, Technology,...

Setting the scene for STEM in 2010/ 11John Holman, National Director,

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Programme

CBI Education and Skills Survey, 2010

Responses from 694 employers

CBI Education & Skills Survey 2010

A Level Maths earns a premium

Both graduates and non-graduates who took maths A-level ended up earning on average 10 per cent more than those of similar ability and background who did not.

CENTRE FOR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE 1999

7

A Level Mathematics entries, 1996-2009

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10,000

20,000

30,000

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60,000

70,000

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Increases in A Level entries, 2005-2009

STEM A Level Entries

% increase in entries, 2005 to 2009

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Geography

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Male Female

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A larger increase in females entering A level maths than males

9,800 more male pupils in 2009. This is a 34%

increase on 2005

8,700 more female pupils in 2009. This is a 50% increase on 2005

10

Greater increases in sixth form colleges and maintained sixth

forms

45%49%

39%35%

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CBI Education & Skills Survey 2010

How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top

McKinsey, September 2007

‘Above all, the top performing systems demonstrate that the quality of an education system depends ultimately on the quality of its teachers’

New government, emerging priorities

1. Mathematics and Science education remain high on the agenda

2. Reduced spending3. More autonomy to schools and colleges4. A review of the curriculum.

Unfinished business in mathematics education

What did I hope to achieve by carrying out classroom research?

Try out an ICT programme that was unfamiliar to me.

Evaluate its effectiveness in enhancing particular aspects of teaching and learning.

Evaluate how the programme matches different pedagogies of how children learn mathematics.

The ICT programme that I evaluated was a dynamic number line (Intel plc,Clark-Jeavons,A & Oldknow,A 2005)

I felt that this would be a good programme to use with my class as it can be adapted to suit the wide range of abilities in my class; simple one step formulae for some children and more difficult two step formulae for others.

It presents algebra to them in a child friendly way, using a number line, a resource that they are familiar with.

The children will also have to make predictions

HOWEVER - to enable the children to develop these skills, the program must be used in a way that lends itself to developing them, sitting the children individually at a single computer, asking them to work in silence and only asking for the correct answer clearly is not going to develop these problem solving skills.

It can also be used in a way to encourage the children to give reasons for their choices.

The number line also develops their understanding of other mathematical concepts such as place value, properties of

number and relationships between numbers.

The number line can be used in a way to encourage the children to record workings in a systematic way,

As well as looking at the mathematical skills the Number line can help develop, I am also going to be evaluating the piece of ICT based on how well it matches what I already know about the way children learn mathematics

Anghileri believes that “the confident use of language is acquired through representing, talking, listening, writing and reading as children are actively involved in doing mathematics.” (Anghileri, 2005, p.54)

Vygotsky believes that “language makes thought possible and regulates behaviour,” it encourages “higher mental functioning which involves activities such as thinking, perceiving, organising and remembering, functions that originate in social activity.” (Lefrancois, 2000, p.243).

“Children learn most effectively when they are engaged in dialogue with adults and also benefit in a number of ways by being required to collaborate with peers” (Moll, 1992, p. 54).

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_images_n300/children_talking.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.acclaimimages.com/search_terms/children_talking.html&usg=__qWhLzN-UwWjBNv0vHagfe0bOtmw=&h=278&w=300&sz=24&hl=en&start=1&itbs=1&tbnid=aHdDSOB2GG7SJM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchildren%2Btalking%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

How can ICT be used effectively?NATIONAL CURRICULUM

It believes that ICT can help pupils develop their mathematical skills in many ways such as being able to “recognise patterns, relationships and behaviours”, “be creative and take risks” and “review and modify their work to improve the quality.”

Enable children “to experiment and learn from feedback”, “think logically and develop problem – solving skills” and “observe and explore patterns” BECTA

Generally consider there to be five major opportunities for children to use ICT in learning mathematics.” These are; learning from feedback, observing Patterns and seeing connections, exploring Data, teaching the computer and developing visual imagery

Leask and Meadows believe that “of the many factors involved in organising an ICT task, there are four which are particularly important: organising the children into effective groups, ensuring the children understand the educational aims for their discussion, software design and the teachers involvement in the structuring of the task”. (2000, p.42)

For my classroom research I decided on my own five criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of the Dynamic Number Line.

Form their own rules (APP materials)

Think logically and develop problem solving skills (National Curriculum)

Learn from feedback (BECTA)

Make and test hypothesis and predictions. (National Curriculum)

Observe patterns and see connections (BECTA)

The Activity

The activity will involve the children using the dynamic number line programme.

The children are all working round one computer

Wegerif (1996, pp52) who states “Computers can be used effectively to support pupils’ talk when they work in small groups on collaborative tasks”. However sitting at the computer together is not necessarily enough to ensure that the children work together. This is supported by:

Leask and Meadows (2000, p.40) who state: “In primary Schools it is common practice to ask children to work together at the computer. A crucial requirement for the success of such joint work is that pupils are able to communicate competently with one another. Without such collaboration, the potential of ICT to support learning is diminished.”

METHODOLOGY – How did I collect my information?

Listen to the discussion and see whether the discussion is being led by the ICT programme, are they discussing the changes they make on the computer and the changes they observe?

Interview the children after the session and discuss the usefulness of the program in terms of their learning and whether it encouraged them to discuss their ideas.

Carrying out both the observation and the interview, will make my results more valid and give me a better insight into whether it was actually the ICT being used that helped to develop the children’s understanding or whether another activity without the ICT could have worked just as well.

Was this ICT program effective in developing these children’s mathematical understanding?

To answer this question I referred back to my original criteria that I set to evaluate this ICT program.

1) Encourage the children to observe patterns and see connections

Children were able to do this very well with comments such as “when ‘n’ moves up one ‘a’ moves up 2”. I feel that the computer played an important part in developing these skills as it

was visual and they could “show other people what they meant on the computer.”

2) Make and test hypothesis and predictions

Children seemed keen to make predictions and again I feel this was due to the computer, the children wanted me to move the ‘n’ value so they could see whether the ‘a’ value

moved to where they thought. If it didn’t the children were keen to get it right next time. If the children had not had the immediate feedback, I do not think they would have been so

keen to come up with predictions.

3) Learn from feedback

This objective was met was clear when a child stated “3 add 4 is definitely not 8” after I had moved the values and her prediction had not been supported. The fact that the children were

happy to test out ideas and didn’t mind when they were wrong,

4) Think logically and develop problem solving skills

The children were able to do this and it was really interesting to have the opportunity to work with the small group and observe how they worked their problems out. The children were able to

describe why they thought certain numbers would be good choices and why others may not be. For example they decided 10 would not be a good choice because “10 would go off the scale”.

5) Form their own rules

All of the children were able to do this and even if they were not always correct, after looking at the computer they were happy to try another solution.

Although it was not one of the criterion that I had chosen to observe I feel that it is important to state that the BECTA objective of developing visual imagery was a skill that all the children developed. I feel that this skill was one that allowed the other skills to develop so well. It

appeared that the computer was needed to ensure the children understood the task. Through observation and in the interview most of the children made some reference to not understanding

the task until they had seen it on the computer.

BUT…

Although it is clear that the ICT was a valuable resource and did enable the children to deepen their mathematical understanding in a lot of areas this does not mean that all ICT used in any way would produce the same results.

Some factors that could have also been responsible for the activity being such a success.

Children were working in small groupsChildren had the undivided attention of the teacher so perhaps felt eager to please.Discussion with each other was highly encouraged

The activity was suitably matched to challenge the children.

ALSO, I am not a researcher, I am a class teacher and there were limitations to my study.

I only worked with a small group of children so my findings are not necessarily true of all children in all school.

If I had had the time I would have liked to analyse the written notes that the children had made.

I have only evaluated the effectiveness of one ICT program so I am unable to say that all ICT resources will be as useful.

HOWEVER – carrying out the research has not only been extremely interesting I have taken a lot from it and I feel the children have also.

It is clear that there are still barriers to using ICT effectively but when I see such positive results as I did in this study I am even more determined to ensure that I use ICT more regularly throughout the curriculum.

Some of the barriers:

Keong, Horani and Daniel (2005) agree with the idea that there are still some barriers which prevent the integration and adoption of effective use of ICT in maths. Some of these barriers include lack of time in the school schedule, difficulty in integrating and using ICT tools in single lessons and lack of knowledge about ways to integrate ICT to enhance the curriculum.

Even if these barriers are addressed Higgins and Moseley (2001) state: “Knowledge of, and experience with, computers is not enough to enable teachers to make the best use of ICT in the classroom. The way teachers’ skills, beliefs and practices are related is complex and this affects the way they choose to use ICT and how effective they are at using it.”

One of the most powerful quotes that I found while carrying out this research was:

“It is the problems that are posed, not the technology with which they are attacked, that make all the difference. With computers, as with pencils, some problems are great and some are a waste of time.” (Goldenburg 2000 pp1).

In conclusion:

Benefits of the research for me:

Found new ICT resources to use in the classroom

Developed my understanding of how to use ICT effectively (BECTA, National Curriculum)

Saw a group of children in my class really enjoying and responding well to a new piece of technology

Felt reassured that other teachers, researchers etc identify that there are still some barriers to using ICT

Will work even harder to try and overcome these barriers as I have seen how well ICT can be used

I am able to share my findings with the rest of the school and hopefully show them how ICT can be used effectively and encourage them to do the same.

Benefits of the research for the children in my class:

Will be able to try out new ICT programs to extend their understanding

Develop their mathematical knowledge in many areas by using ICT

Feel more confident in using ICT as they are using it more often in a range of subjects across the curriculum

Understand that they can develop their mathematical understanding in a range of different ways and ICT is just one of those ways.

Make connections between different areas in maths

Be self-motivated to find out more and prove or disprove an idea with the use of ICT

Impact in practice

Presentation to NCETM Annual ConferenceJack Jackson

17th June 2010

National Centrefor Excellence in theTeaching of Mathematics

Aims:

• Inform, educate and entertain.

Objectives:


• Describe the setting which I work in.• Reflect on developments in mathematical

teaching and learning.• Consider the impact of these developments.

About Launceston College

• Founded in 1409, • Genuine comprehensive school, • Everything to everybody, • Learning outside the classroom.


Facts and figures• 1365 students,• 250 in the sixth form,• Attainment on entry just below national average, • mean CAT 94-100, mean KS2 SAT level 3.8 – 3.9,• %5+A*-C 72%,• %5+A*-C inc EM 54%,• CVA at KS4 1014,• %A*-C in Maths 65%,• 80% of our parents went to LC as students,• Average attendance last year 94.3%,• Fixed term or permanent exclusions almost zero.


Developments in mathematical teaching and learning

• Investigation in maths, • The purple box,


Shaded square problem

What fraction of the square is shaded yellow?

How do you know?National Centrefor Excellence in theTeaching of Mathematics


1/8 1/2 1/32 X ¼

GP with first term = ½ and common ratio = ¼

S∞ = a

1 - r

S∞ = ½

1 – ¼ S∞ = 2/3

X ¼

Developments in mathematical teaching and learning

• Investigation in maths, • The purple box,


Shaded square problem

• The dominance of the SMP,• Teacher as researcher, • The National Strategy,• Developments in ICT.

The impact of these developments

• Learning forum,• Funded higher degrees,• “Have a go fortnight”,• Online networks,• Restrict shopping basket CPD,• NCETM.

Aims:

• Inform, educate and entertain.

Objectives:


• Describe the setting which I work in.• Reflect on developments in mathematical

teaching and learning.• Consider the impact of these developments.

Setting the scene for STEM in 2010/ 11 John Holman, National Director, Science, Technology,...

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