Coaching For Math GAINS Summary of Board Action Plans and Survey Monkey

Board Action Plan Analysis *Boards may have multiple responses

Grade Focus* Grade 9 Applied 28 boards Grades boards Intermediate Division 17 boards *explicitly mentioned in Board Action Plan

Teachers Involved All teachers in a grade/course Selected schools Families of schools Tied to other board initiatives Volunteers Identified by administration

Content Focus* Menu of Content Choices12 boards TIPS12 Lesson Study 3 Math Processes 6 Differentiated Instruction11 Manips/Technology/IWB’s 10 *explicitly mentioned in Board Action Plan

Content Focus* (Continued) Big Ideas 4 boards Questioning 9 PRIME/First Steps 5 EQAO Prep 3 Assessment 3 *explicitly mentioned in Board Action Plan

Professional Learning Format Many-to-one 8 One-to-one 26 Many-to-one with One-to-one between 14 Survey Monkey Response

Survey Monkey Results Selected Responses

Respondent: “The most important thing that has changed about my teaching is that I have moved away from textbook work. Rather than a set of questions to answer, I plan with a focus on questioning/hands-on problem-solving and the big ideas. My kids have begun to look forward to math, rather than dragging their heels into the classroom. They know that everyday I have new challenges, and fun ways to help them open their minds up to math.”

Participant Experience How many years experience do you have teaching mathematics? <1 year 5.7% 1-5 years 22.7% 6-10 years 26.8% years 19.7% years 10.0% years 6.1% years 3.9% >30 years 1.7%

Respondent: “This was a great opportunity to collaborate with other teachers, to refine our skills together. This was a great opportunity to demonstrate to students that it is good to take risks and learn from and with each other.” “This has been the best PD I've experienced in 20 years of teaching. Please continue the program, and fund more Math Coaches.”

Role of Respondents Coach 19.4% Coachee 64.3% Regional steering team representative 5.8% Administrator of a school whose teachers were coached 5.3% Other 13.0%

Other Board Initiatives 52.3% of respondents said that this was the only professional learning series in which they were involved “Teachers do not want to be out of their classrooms if they can help it; job-embedded professional learning minimizes the time away from students and the coaching model maximizes the potential for teachers shifting their instructional practice. The math coach is a perfect fit!”

Content Focus Co-planning lessons 67.5% PRIME/First Steps 19.9% Teaching through math processes 51.6% TIPS 47.5% Effective uses of manips/technologies 69.2% The role of questions in differentiating instruction 55.4% Collaborative assessment 33.0% Effective uses of IWB’s 30.8% Focusing on important mathematics 39.9% Professional learning resources based on the work of established researchers 34.9% Observations of others’ classrooms 35.8% Other 9.1%

Respondent: “I now feel more confident to take risks in using the types of activities that let the students create their own learning, and to use questioning as a form of instruction.” “Teachers are focusing more on the students as learners rather than themselves as teachers.”

Responsibilities of Respondents Grades % Grades % Grades % Grades % Grades % Grades % Grades K %

Respondent “I am working with my grade partner to use innovative activities to teach the BIG Ideas and trying to encourage a greater understanding of math ideas through manipulatives and various methods of teaching the same concepts.”

Role of Questioning Exclusively 3.0% A great deal 46.1% Somewhat 43.2% Not at All 7.7% “I now ask questions that get at the deeper understandings of mathematical concepts.”

Support Network 91.3% of respondents reported that they now have one or more additional persons they can call on for support as a result of participation in this initiative. “The group we are working with are really talking now. They are opening up to new possibilities and trying the things they have seen.”

Some Additional Comments “I am now making more of an effort to provide activities that meet all levels of students.” “I am much more interested in students’ approaches to answering questions and work with them on it.” “My shift to a more problem-solving approach to instruction has engaged even the reluctant learners.”

…And “I learned about the power of stepping out of the center of learning and allowing the kids to figure things out more on their own.” “Honestly, my shift would certainly be from moving the textbook along to moving students along.”

…And “Thank you for the opportunity to be involved in this initiative. Knowledge for teaching math continues to grow in Ontario through the efforts of this ministry. It is an exciting time to be teaching math here.”

…And “Kids asked to do more of this math.”

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