Upcoming online events for mathematics and statistics teachers:
While we cannot currently gather in person these 2 free online events offer the chance to keep growing our practice.
- Build Math Minds Virtual Maths Summit: February 27 & 28 NZT and replays available through to March 9.
There is always a great line up of presenters for this free event and if you watch the replays you can cover more in less time by speeding up the replay - March 8; 7.30pm Assoc professor Fiona Ell, Dr Lisa Darragh and The Education Hub bring us a free webinar, Mathematics and statistics teaching at primary school”, where they will share what the research says about designing engaging learning programmes for all students to thrive. If you can’t watch live the replay will be posted on The Education Hub website after the event. Register here
Two recently released reports:
Following the Royal Society report a second report commissioned by the MoE to inform the curriculum refresh and prepared by Robin Averill, Fiona Ell and Jane Mchesney has been shared on the mathematics and statistics page of NZConline
This report considers
- mathematics and statistics skills and knowledge learners need to know by when,
- important cross-disciplinary links, and
- implications of the rapid changes and growth in computer science/ICT.
Derek Wenmouth, Futuremakers, has written a guide for hybrid learning for teachers. This document provides practical advice and guidance for planning for learning when you have students both in class and at home. Download Report or listen to the podcast
nzmaths updates
Added to nzmaths at the end of 2021 a bank of resources for teachers from the just in time pilot. These resources include recordins, slide decks and notes and are full of practical tips for planning, assessing and improving teaching. Focussed at Year 1 to 8 but many of the ideas could be used in years 9 & 10 and beyond.
As part of the curriculum refresh the Ministry of Education are moving all online resources to a new curriculum hub. In preparation for this the team at nzmaths are looking for help from teachers to be part of the review process. If you are interested please click on the application link below.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/nzmathsAuditApplication The work will take about 32 hours in April and early May and will be paid, either directly or through release time to your school.
Voluntary bonding money
A reminder if you are a teacher who completed your 3rd year teaching at the end of 2021 to check to see if you qualify for the $10 000 grant. THis must be applied for within 6 months of completing your 3rd year. Mathematics and statistics is a defined subject so it does not matter what the decile of your school.
See if you qualify here and if you are not sure email teachnz directly
Numeracy & Literacy
While we eagerly await the release of last years pilot questions, many discussions have been happening. At this link you will find questions and answers and a summary of some of discussions teachers have had. Some of these are informal and are at a point in time so things may have changed. There are also copies of Ministry documents and other resources that could help to inform your planning.
Recently shared on the Secondary literacy forum was an interesting article from Dr Paul Swann discussing the impact of understanding vocabulary on numeracy.
The article focusses on the development of vocabulary as a first step in being able to comprehend a word problem in mathematics. Given that students need a well-developed Tier One vocabulary and a specialised Tier Three vocabulary, it makes sense to incorporate these elements in to the pedagogy of a mathematics lesson.
The resources from past NCEA change accord days are still available online should you wish to return to them through the learning management system. Enter as a guest for easy access. It is interesting to also scroll through some of the literacy resources from TOD 2 in May 2021.
Assessment related info
The A3 Standard summaries for internal standards have been checked and are current for 2022. Download them from here
NZQA offer online learning workshops to help with the assessment of internally-assessed standards. These are available through NZQA’s Learning Management System, Pūtake, You need an Education Sector Logon to access the Pūtake platform
Remember to check NZQA’s mythbusting sheets if you have not looked at them recently. These sheets help separate fact from fiction and may clarify some misunderstanding relating to assessment practices.
Additional support from the Ministry
With the ongoing uncertainty of COVID in our community, the Ministry of Education of have put in place additional supports for schools including
- Releasing a new set of home learning packs for years 1 to 10.
- Extending the closing date for regionally allocated PLD February 25
- Offering 25 hours of facilitator support to schools and kura to help with plans for hybrid learning and mitigating the effects of COVID. They have simplified the application process and no reporting is required. if you would like to use these hours your first step is contact your ministry advisor through your school channels to discuss your needs.
Archive of AMA 2021 event resources
AMA maintain an archive of resources and recordings of events for you to return to as your need. To watch recordings from AMA events and download resources from the last couple of years goto our Resource archive page.
Recordings from event keynote sessions and AMAonline Saturday mornings can also be viewed through the AMA Youtube channel
Resources for teaching and learning
Teachers are great sharers of good practice and favourite resources. Here are 5 links that you can use for inspiration.
- The bar model method for solving equations is a widely used teaching strategy in Singapore. Re(solve) have put together a series of lessons with animated powerpoints showing how the bar model method can assist in solving problems involving whole numbers, fractions, ratio, and percentages. Have a browse.
- From Statistics teachers day 2021 Anna Fergusson curated the resources onto a dedicated website called Exploring worlds through data. If you are teaching statistics this year at any year level you should have a look.
- Can’t remember where you saw something? Robyn has collected many of the links shared over 2021 onto one page.
- A thoughtful read that fits well with the upcoming webinar on March 8. Five research derived themes to consider when teaching mathematics and statistics.
- Towards the end of 2021 teachers from Northland Maths Association curated a collection of rich tasks and supporting resources to enrich teaching and learning at Level 4 and 5 of the curriculum. This is a wonderful gift to the mathematics community.
Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on Unsplash
