My inquiry this year is into changing the way I teach maths to accelerate students' achievement and grow my own knowledge, skill, and love for maths.
My school's decision to engage in The Learner First PLD this year was perfect timing and just the inspiration I was looking for.
Over the last few years, my team has discussed our uncertainty about how to successfully cover the wide mathematics curriculum and how is it best taught. With so much to cover, it has always felt that coverage seemed almost impossible.
Added to this was a lack of confidence in my own mathematical knowledge which stretches back to my own school experiences.
TLF showed us how to use the NZ Maths unit planner to create coverage across the year and then add rapid routines and rich learning tasks to it to flesh it out. The introduction of Rapid Routines made me see how fun maths could be and put me in the shoes of the learner.
What a transformation!
I'm loving maths and love teaching it! Even more important is that my students are also now loving maths!
I'm not sure what it is that has brought about this shift...
Is it that maths is now super fun?
Is it that I can now stop stressing about covering the breadth of the curriculum?
Is it because I'm growing my own understanding along with my students?
I actually think it's all three.
I'm seeing a massive acceleration, especially in student's number knowledge. I'm seeing excited faces and total engagement. What a win!
