Connect with Maths Engaging All Students community War on Worksheets Presenter: Martin Holt In this session, we will be putting worksheets and a range of other resources "under the microscope" to determine what role they should have in a 21st century, mathematics classroom. What's the alternative? What criteria can teachers use to assess the potential of a given resource in mathematics? We will be drawing upon the experience and expertise of participating teachers to develop an improved framework for unit and lesson planning using the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standards and Content Descriptors as a launching point. Connect with Maths ~ supporting the teaching of maths ONLINE Join a Connect with Maths community today http://www.aamt.edu.au/Communities AAMT website: http://www.aamt.edu.au

1. Waging War on Worksheets
April 2016

2. - consultant? maybe co-constructor…
Intro
I am aware of the irony of blackboard backdrop - using it
to remind me to avoid chalk and talk
- my background
Welcome

3. What is it about maths?
Are we fearful or do we just not want to do it?
Tell me about the best lesson you’ve ever taught in
Maths.
Lives are at stake!
I’d like you to submit it in limerick form.

4. Are worksheets the worst?
What’s the alternative?
How might i assess the usefulness of a
given resource?
How can i utilise “good” resources in my short
and long-term planning?

5. Aims
1. Putting an attitude of worksheet reliance in the bin.
2. Harness the experience and expertise in this community to
seek alternatives.
3. Discuss and consider how criteria can help us identity rich
maths content.

6. Assumptions
Growth mindset - 40-20-40
(hopefully more than 40% of us.)
Attitude of continuous improvement.

7. When does maths make you squirm?
commutative, associative and distributive properties…
rotate this
shape 180
degrees
etc
cartesian coordinates

8. Teacher blockers and resultant coping strategies
avoid teaching certain units -
push it back to Term 4 or
outsource it?
kill trees - create
booklets. That will keep
them busy.
the shopping list approach to
content descriptors - tick them
off
I have been guilty of all
charges in the past.
What about the
student blockers?

9. Dan Meyer’s Sitcom Theory
(bear with me on this one)
1. Present a problem/complication as the focus for the episode.
As a generalisation, students may lack problem solving stamina or grit.
2. Things look dire but it gets solved in just the nick of time (22 mins).
3. Everything goes back to normal. Nothing much ever changes.
Fosters an “impatience with irresolution.”
WHAT do SITCOMS do?
PROBLEMS this Presents for Maths Teachers
The takeout: Worksheet reliance in our classrooms can have a similar long
term effect on our students.
(There are many other student blockers - i haven't touched on student fear etc)

10. My beef with worksheets
fuels an
obsession
with
exactness
boxes learning into
a finite space and
time
cosy and comfortable, no
unforeseen hurdles
destination has been
predetermined and is
signposted.
so much thinking has been outsourced.
passive

11. Dan Meyer - Maths Class Needs a Makeover

12. Worksheet Critique
Look at one or two of the examples provided.
Turn and talk with a partner, consider the following questions:
1. What assumptions does it make?
2. How could you reimagine this task to
give students more ownership of the key understandings portrayed?

15. What’s the alternative? How can we make learning stick?
The Octavia desk bed
it was hard
it was time consuming
i struggled
it was only just ok
bizarrely, my sense of
achievement was immense!

16. What i learnt
seeking help, helped. I
didn't have to face it alone
The task was laden
with maths
mistakes helped me get
it right - making
revisions
I felt the pain but i
didn’t give up.
it was an
authentic real life
problem
My sense of
achievement was
enormous.

17. Isn't an instruction manual a form of worksheet?
Yes! So what’s the
difference?
I used it as a tool. I had to read
and understand the instructions
and then apply my learning to
the practical task.
The takeout: There
is a place for
worksheets
decoding it helped me
perform the task

18. Turn and talk: How do you get your
students motivated when beginning a
new area of study?
What do we know about what
works in term of hooking our
students in?

19. Joseph Renzulli has found three main ways to get people
interested in an idea, topic or pursuit.
1. providing external stimulation (experience/provocation)
- e.g. artefact, video clip, learning walk, a piece of music,
touchstone book,
2. fostering curiosity (internal provocations)
- asking factual, debatable and conceptual questions.
Making startling statements. Discussing student
questions, prior knowledge, hypotheses etc
3. necessity (authentic problem solving)
similar stories?
- Hoop Time
- the students completely took over

20. What were some of the positive aspects of the worksheets we looked at earlier?
What do you look for in a resource?
WORKSHEETS ARE NOT BLACK AND WHITE
How can you tell when a resource will be
effective in making the learning stick?
I love the
tournament
prioritiser!

21. Have a go at using it to evaluate the
worksheet resources.
developed in
consultation with
MAV and various
colleagues and
mentors
The CAPGR (needs
a better name)
still in
design
process
feedback would be
most welcome e.g.
criteria used
also looking for feedback on
whether to use numbering,
tick cross etc

26. How might the
resource be used
in unit planning?
What is an
acceptable
amount of
criteria to fulfil?
How might the
resource be used
for term planning?
How can i allocate
time, resources and
energy in my
classroom?

27. consume rarely
consume ofte
Useful, but
don’t binge
open-ended investigations
times table drills
random problem solving
skills
practice
independent work
collaborative
patient
problem
solving
learning targets
single
outcome
lower-order thinking
higher-
order
thinking
competition
silent work
multiple outcomes
multi-disciplinary
single
discipline
computation (in context)
repetitive
same
task for
all
blended learning
passive
active
diagnostic testing
formative assessment
peer feedback
low ceiling
open-ended
questions
closed questions
worksheets
deductive
thinking
inductive thinking
summative assessment
pre-testing
questioninghypothesising
approximatingtaking
authentic
action
revising ideas
justifying
real-life
factual, debatable and
conceptual questions
concept
based
topic based
low entry,
high ceiling
warm-up
games
bridging
understandings
multi-modal
learning
same types of activities
fun
provocations
looking for patterns
KEY
WAYS OF WORKING
THINKING
ASSESSMENT/FEEDBACK
PLANNING FOR LEARNING
ACTIVITY TYPES
Struggle
decoding
REASONING
emphasis on speed
students as co-planners
exploring big ideas
setting goals
student
choice
rule
based
open path
single path
project-based learning
tidy
messy
low expectations
high expectations
The Healthy Maths
Class Pyramid
praising intelligence
praising effort
self assessment

28. “Each time one prematurely teaches a child
something he could have discovered himself, that
child is kept from inventing it and consequently
from understanding it completely.” (Jean Piaget)
PMI: Feedback, questions, ideas
Thanks :)