Teaching and Learning

TEACHING AND LEARNING– APPROACHES AND STRATEGIES

No matter what area of teaching they work in, teachers will be presented with a full-on, action packed, hands-on day and leave enthused and inspired to make their teaching even better.  The day will cover the following topics:

• The learning environment

• Fostering Positive Attitudes

• Learning Styles

• Multiple Intelligences

• Developing Higher Order Thinking

• Thinking Strategies and tools

• Different styles of instruction and Learning:

• Directed Teaching

• Cooperative Learning

• Inquiry based learning

• The 5e Instructional Model

• Scaffolding

• Differentiation

• Timeframes - Pace and Wait

• Reflection

• Testmonials

What does a good Middle Years maths class look like?

• What is a good maths class?

• What structure do we put in place?

• How do we know if the students have learnt something?

• What are the students doing?

• What is the teacher doing?

• What is the environment like?

• Big picture – goal setting

• Explicit teaching

• Working Mathematically

• Reflection and feedback

• Assessment

This session encompasses many ‘best practice’ teaching and learning theories.  It can apply to any subject area, but this session will focus on mathematics in the Middle Years.  It will cover environment, expectations, preparation and planning, integration and differentiation to name a few.  Participants will take part in hands-on examples from a variety of content strands of mathematics.  These models will then be examined and analysed in regards to the reasoning behind the theory.

This session will help build the confidence of teachers working in Middle Years Maths Class and will certainly challenge their thinking about what they do in the classroom and why.

Developing Inquiring Minds
Catering for Enrichment and Extension in the Classroom

We work hard on ensuring our lower level students are well catered for, so surely our higher level students deserve to be catered for as well.  How do we challenge the higher level students within our multiple ability classrooms?    If just getting students to attain and maintain the levels that our curriculum expects is taking all your time and attention, then this PD will show you how you can enrich and extend the learning of your higher ability students and help them reach their potential without you having to spend a lot of time preparing something completely different. 

The focus of this PD is to be able to recognize and develop methods and strategies to cater for multiple ability classrooms with particular focus on the higher achievers.  Participants will take part in some sample lessons which will then be analysed in detail in order to identify the components that lead to developing an inquiring mind.  Lesson plans will also be provided to illustrate how the scaffolding would look. 

Discussion will revolve around the teacher’s role and will include:

• Planning

• goal setting

• strategies

• expectations

• scaffolding

• questioning

• providing choice

• and reflection

Developing the Thinking Classroom

This PD will introduce participants to the value of thinking strategies in the classroom.  By leading participants through some examples, this PD will examine the benefits of this approach for the ‘above’, ‘below’ and ‘average’ learner.  It aligns the various thinking tools and strategies with the ‘Blooms’ framework of thinking, providing question starters to guide learners to understand the expectation of given tasks and to equip them with appropriate learning/working tools and strategies to help them achieve these expectations.  During the course of the day, participants will experience a number of cognitive and cooperative tools and strategies and will be encouraged to identify their place in the framework and to reflect upon the application of these into their own classrooms, year levels and KLA areas.

This PD is suitable for administrators and teachers of all levels and KLA’s.  Participants will depart the session empowered with strategies they can implement the very next day.
Testmonials

Planning Curriculum Units

This PD provides a simple method of planning units with a focus on student product.  The unit can be anything from a day to a term in length.  The product is broken down into the skills needed to achieve the desired student products, which becomes the major content focus lesson by lesson.  Skills are identified in both the lesson content and the student products (assessment tasks).  Teacher’s list outcomes they want to achieve – including departmental, school, classroom, academic, organizational, social or personal outcomes, and these too guide the plan.  Strategies, Tools and Resources are all recognized as are the Departmental Expectations (e.g. Victoria – VELS).  Multiple groups can be catered for.  Once complete, these simple, single A4 page plans provide masses of information for principals, unit leaders, CRT’s, parents and school councillors as well as being a working document for the teacher on what is actually done in the classroom.

Teachers will commence developing a challenging unit during the session.  This PD would be suitable for anyone involved in curriculum and planning (P-VCE).

Developing Thinking
Tools and Strategies to Promote Thinking in the Classroom and Workplace
2 hour workshops

WORKSHOP ONE:  ENGAGING THE INTEREST

• Generating ideas rapidly
• Engaging learners in topics
• Encouraging focus
• Making connections
• Retention of detail

Strategies include: RAS, KWL, Y-chart, See-saw; Hot Potato

WORKSHOP TWO:  DEVELOPING IDEAS

• Generating ideas quickly and inclusively
• Striving for the best product
• Thinking beyond the obvious
• Considering other points of view

Strategies include: Round Robin, PMI, Extended PMI; I:4:P:C:R; Jigsaw, Comma Thinking Rule

WORKSHOP THREE:  ENGAGING THE LEARNER

• Engaging the learner through different levels of thinking
• Developing activities to get the most out of them

Strategies include: Silent card shuffle; Multiple Intelligences

WORKSHOP FOUR: ORGANIZING THINKING

• Organization Strategies for students
• Organization strategies for teachers
• Making ideas feasible and achievable

Strategies include: T-bar, concept maps, venn diagrams, Lotus Diagrams, Grids, Unit planning techniques

WORKSHOP FIVE:  DECISION MAKING

• Prioritising
• Justifying
• Planning (short term, medium,)
• Critically analysing
• Considering all factors

Strategies include:  Competition Organiser, Justified Best Choice, Round Robin,

WORKSHOP SIX: REFLECTIVE THINKING

• Assessment of effectiveness
• Thinking about ideas
• Identifying possible problems
• Identifying needed improvements

Strategies include:   SWQ2, Rating Gauge, S.W.O.T analysis; Six thinking hats,

Get the most out of your Thinking Toolbox

• All workshops include some cognitive and co-operative strategies
• All workshops make reference to the framework for thinking at different levels
• All workshops encourage reflection and transfer of strategies learnt by participants
• All workshops can be run as after school PD – cut your CRT costs

Discuss the times that best suit you.  Demonstrations of the Toolbox CD’s can be arranged.

Fostering Positive Attitudes to Maths

This session aims to give students positive experiences in Mathematics through enjoyment of confidence-building activities.  It aims to demonstrate, review and create engaging tasks to motivate students to learn.  The tasks will build the knowledge and confidence needed, without being too tedious.  They will help prime the students’ minds to want to succeed and to be more prepared to immerse themselves into challenging situations. 

Through hands on activities and reflective discussions, participants in this session will depart with an array of games and activities that they can use in their own classrooms the very next day along with the confidence to apply what they have learnt in this session to create many other invaluable activities suited to the needs of the students with which they work.

GROWING MATHEMATICS

This Middle Years Maths session is about growing a good activity into an even better one; growing learners into better learners; and growing knowledge into more knowledge. 

The session begins with an engaging challenge.  It then uses an integrated learning approach to lead participants through a number of learning activities that could be explored after it. 

Best Teaching and Learning practices will be identified throughout, and participants will be guided in developing mini units during the session.   A number of maths examples will be grown.  Attention will be paid to learning styles, thinking strategies and to catering for all abilities within the class.   

All examples used will be suitable for application to any Middle Years Maths classrooms and participants can grow them into even better outcomes for their students.

Some Remedies for the "I hate maths Syndrome
Strategies for Enhancing Middle Years Numeracy

This PD focuses on engagement and success and will involve active participation in hands-on activities by all participants.  It encompasses ‘best practice’ in numeracy teaching with middle years students and incorporates differentiated curriculum, multiple intelligences, thinking strategies and organizers, reflections on current practices and an investigation of real life applications. 

Much of the groundwork for this presentation comes from the presenter’s extensive experience with ‘youth at risk’ groups, but has also been applied very successfully in the ‘normal’ middle years classroom.  Insight into some of the symptoms, causes and remedies for the ‘I hate maths’ syndrome are exposed – which includes scrutiny of teaching methodology.

STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING MATHS IN THE MIDDLE YEARS

• Evaluating current Teaching and Learning practices

• Disengagement – discussing the issues

• Strategies to consider

• Consistency/Routine

• Variety of Presentation

• Clear instruction and direction

• Making Maths enjoyable

• Provision for all abilities

• Some activities to try

• Feedback and Evaluation

• Other administrative considerations