2008-09 Coaching for Math GAINS An investment in energizing 7-12 mathematics educators

Welcome Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch Student Success Learning to 18 Implementation, Training and Evaluation Branch

Leadership “The heart of school improvement rests in improving daily teaching and learning practices in schools, including engaging students and their families.” Ben Levin, 2008 Collective efficacy Trust Focus on student achievement

Context $7M investment in 7-12 mathematics 4% increase in Grade 9 Academic EQAO Research shows that job-embedded coaching models make a difference Will to improve student achievement and close gaps in mathematics Grass roots readiness to leverage 2007-08

Context K-12 alignment in mathematics Alignment between 7-12 mathematics and literacy Recommended approaches align with Student Success Action Plan Collaboration with math education researchers, and publishers

Vision Now to June Every board will: help teachers shift practices in ways that improve student achievement and close gaps build on existing capacities, and add a new coaching dimension build mathematics leadership capacity share evidence of what works

Vision Now to June Every math coach feels part of a provincial network of learner-leaders Every coachee benefits from the coaching relationship Every system leader recognizes and supports 2008-09 Coaching for Math GAINS

Goals: February – June, 2009 Each board: Each coach and coachee: takes up this challenge Is sensitive to readiness of coaches, coachees, and local context Each coach and coachee: experiences the support of a math-knowledgeable board, school, or provincial-level coach receives the support needed to experience a productive professional relationship

Goals: February – June, 2009 The Ministry: Collectively, we: supports each board’s engagement provides opportunities for networking, sharing, collective problem solving communicates about activities and student achievement Collectively, we: support shifts in teachers’ practice share our learning and experiences communicate the positive impact of this investment

Michael Fullan Change Wars, 2009 Top-down reform does not work, nor do decentralized bottom-up strategies. What we need is a blended model of simultaneous top-down/bottom-up forces: top-down direction and investment coupled with bottom-up capacity-building

Sharpening the Instructional Focus 37 indicators in The Guide for Administrators and Other Facilitators of Teachers’ Learning for Mathematics Instruction 8 criteria in the Student Success Action Planning Template 2006 - 3 strategic approaches May 2008 1 key focus September 2008

Sharpening the Instructional Focus Three strategic approaches: Fearless listening and speaking Questioning to evoke and expose thinking Responding to provide appropriate scaffolding and challenge The Advisory Panel on Connecting Practice and Research in Mathematics Education identified three strategic instructional approaches for 08-09: Fearless listening and speaking Questioning to evoke and expose thinking Responding to provide appropriate scaffolding and challenge They agreed that these approaches are important in mathematics classrooms and in professional learning sessions for teachers, and for system-level leaders, regardless of their formal education in mathematics. As it turns out, a literacy panel, decided that these three instructional approaches will work equally well for 7-12 literacy, so you will see alignment in this regard across literacy and mathematical literacy. Last month, members of the panel agreed that with the opportunity to really focus on math in 08-09, we should sharpen the instructional focus even more. …so that every educator will be clear what that focus is. The driver for instructional improvement in 08-09 will be ‘questioning to evoke and expose thinking’. Driver for 2008-09 See Background for Questioning Focus

Sharpening the DI Focus Differentiation of content, process, and product based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile 2004 - 08 Differentiation based on student readiness 2008 - 09 , and differentiation at the concept development stage

Connecting Foci Questioning Fearless listening and speaking Responding This graphic shows interconnections among the 3 strategic approaches and differentiation, and suggests why questioning will be the driver for 2008-09 Responding Differentiating

Strategies Regular opportunities to: share approaches cross-pollinate ideas build on each others’ learning support each other with challenges Respect for the power of complexity theory in guiding our path forward collective learning adaptive behaviours emergence, self-organization sensitivity to local conditions respect for specialization and diversity

Strategies Multi-level support: Provincial-level coaches Regional steering teams Provincial steering team Advisory Panel of stakeholders Just-in-time possibilities for support materials

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