NCCRESt 2007 Collaborative Planning in Middle School Mathematics: Meeting the needs of ALL students Anna McTigue Education Development Center

NCCRESt 2007 The Addressing Accessibility in Mathematics Project Professional development models and materials developed with NSF funding 6 school districts in Boston area – Math teachers and special educators in grades 5-8 – 20 Study groups – 5 Workshops focusing on: Introduction to Accessibility, Language in Mathematics, Accessible Assessment, Collaborative Teaching and Technology (Workshop Activity Examples and article)

NCCRESt 2007 IEP 504 IEP Range of Learners Project Goal: To help teachers make math instruction more accessible for a to Improve Student Learning

NCCRESt 2007 The Study Groups: Who Who: Grade-level groups of math and special education teachers A trained facilitator 4-8 group members When: Meet regularly: a class period every 2 weeks or monthly What: Use a protocol Look at student work or plan Plan accessibility strategies

NCCRESt 2007 What Have We Learned About Study Groups? We worked with 20 study groups, each meeting regularly for 2 years Teachers value the time to focus, reflect and work together Each group is unique and evolves in its own way Through our research, we identified key factors for highly functioning study groups See Handout for Findings and Key Factors

NCCRESt 2007 Key Factors Match Teacher Needs Group Goal Setting Use of Protocol Trained Facilitators Follow-Up Time See Handout for Findings and Key Factors

NCCRESt 2007 Challenges for Study Groups Getting a regular time to meet Taking follow-up actions Staying focused Taking ownership of the process Being overwhelmed by other initiatives Dealing with difficult group member

NCCRESt 2007 The Case of One Middle School The School – 643 students, urban – 86.2% low income – 69.7% first language not English; 45.6% limited English proficient – 17.4% receive special education services The Study Groups – Math, Special Education and Bilingual Education teachers

NCCRESt 2007 Group Goals Improving student writing in mathematics: open-response questions - Grade 5 Activating math vocabulary in instruction - Grade 6 (I Have - Who Has Activity) Scaffolding lessons: making content more concrete - Grade 6 (Video) Linking prior knowledge to new material and vocabulary - Grade 8 (Vocabulary Match) Creating accessible assessments - Grade 7

NCCRESt 2007 Looking at Student Work in Year 1 Look at the math problem Video: teacher provides background information Examine the student work Video: study group members discuss student work Brainstorm strategies Video: study group members plan strategies Develop Follow up Plan

NCCRESt 2007 Planning Accessible Lessons in Year 2 Consider math goals Discuss the lesson Discuss needs of focal students Create accessibility strategies Plan follow-up actions