Certificate in Advanced Educational Practice – Cognitive Acceleration: Teaching and Learning Option Two: Peer Presentati

1. Certificate in Advanced Educational Practice – Cognitive Acceleration: Teaching and LearningOption Two:Peer Presentation Sarah Seleznyov, 05176573, sarah@seleznyov.co.uk Course Leader: Gill Potter

2. What makes a good CA teacher? Debating the role of subject knowledge and teacher skill

3. What do you think? ‘deficiencies in subject knowledge by a good teacher can be compensated for by a genuine open approach and his/her focus on construction of higher order concepts through interactions in the classroom’ From lesson objectives to lesson agenda: flexibility in whole-class lesson structure, M Adhami (2003)

4. What is subject knowledge? • Subject matter knowledge (SMK) • Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) • Curricular knowledge (CK) Shulman (1986)

5. Take four teachers: • Team teaching over one to two terms • Modelling, leading to team teaching, followed by a final observation of teaching

6. Teacher C Young, dynamic teacher with good subject knowledge and good potential, but in a low achieving disorganised school. What did she get out of the team teaching experience? Strong delivery of CA lessons, bridging to other curriculum areas. Motivation to continue?

7. Teacher K Maths specialist whose focus for teaching is the use of formal operations and algorithms. Generally poor teacher, low motivation, in a low achieving disorganised school. What did she get out of the team teaching experience? Responded well during supported sessions and could deliver, but unlikely to continue to do so.

8. Teacher J Very strong creative teacher, in high achieving well-organised school, but where there is an emphasis on ‘teaching to the test’ and a lack of creativity. What did he get out of the team teaching experience? Responded with great enthusiasm during supported sessions, saw potential of lessons for unpicking pupils’ conceptual understanding. Will continue to teach with support.

9. Teacher T Strong teacher in terms of creativity and social and emotional work but low subject knowledge, which could mean some teaching inadequate. Low achieving disorganised school. What did she get out of the team teaching experience? Responded enthusiastically and began to use principles of CA approach (eg social construction, questioning techniques) across the curriculum. Could she deliver a Y5 or Y6 CAME lesson?

10. What makes a ‘good’ maths teacher?

11. Ma (1999), Knowing and Teaching Mathematics: Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the US Four interrelated elements determine ‘good’ mathematics teachers: • Connectedness between simple and more fundamental ideas; • Consideration of multiple perspectives and approaches to mathematical ideas; • Knowledge about the basic ideas underlying the maths curriculum; • Knowledge of the entire primary maths curriculum and its longitudinal coherence.

12. Graph to evaluate teachers against Ma’s four elements: = C = K = T = J High skills Low skills multiple perspectives longitudinal coherence connectedness basic ideas

13. Graph yourself or a teacher you have worked with against Ma’s four elements: High skills Low skills multiple perspectives longitudinal coherence connectedness basic ideas

14. Key questions: • Which of the three factors: SMK, PCK or CK is more important for teaching a CA lesson? • Which of Ma’s four elements of good maths teachers enable good CA teaching and learning: connectedness, multiple perspectives, basic ideas or longitudinal coherence? • What about delivering CA lessons with more advanced mathematical content? Can a focus on ‘construction of higher order concepts through interactions in the classroom’ enable this for teachers with low subject knowledge? • What is the impact of school culture – being ‘open’ or ‘closed’ to new initiatives; facilitating or disabling the development of curriculum knowledge?

15. My conclusions: • Where pre-planned CA lessons are delivered, PCK seems to outweigh SMK and CK in terms of importance (Shulman, 1986); • If any key skill from Ma’s model (1999) is crucial to delivery of CA lessons, it is consideration of multiple perspectives –;see Teacher T; • A ‘genuine open approach’ (Adhami, 2003) and the extent to which one is a ‘good’ teacher is to some degree determined by the school culture; • The only way to embed the CA approach for any teacher is through ‘cycles of collaborative practice and reflection over a period of time’ (Adhami, 2003).

16. References: • Adhami M (2003), From lesson objectives to lesson agenda: flexibility in whole class lesson structure (from Thompson I, (2003) Enhancing Primary Mathematics Teaching Knowing and and Learning, Maidenhead: OUP) • DfEE (1998), Teaching: High Status, High Standards: Circular 4/98, London: HMSO • Alexander R, Rose J, Woodhead C (1992), Curriculum Organisation and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools: A Discussion Paper, London: HMSO • Ma L (1999), Teaching Mathematics: Teachers’ Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States, Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates • Rowland T, Barber P, Heal C, Martyn S (2000) Prospective Primary Teachers’ Mathematics Subject Knowledge: Substance and Consequencein Rowland T and Morgan C(Eds), Research in Mathematics Education Vol2, London: British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics • Shulman LS (1986), ‘Those who understand knowledge growth in teaching’, Educational Researcher 15(2), p.4-14