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Included in NACE’s core principles is the belief that teachers are central to providing challenging and enriching education, and their professional development is paramount. This blog series explores effective approaches to teacher CPD at all career stages, with a focus on developing and sustaining high-quality provision for more able learners and cognitively challenging learning for all.

 

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NACE research themes for 2022

Posted By Rob Lightfoot, 15 February 2022
Updated: 14 February 2022

NACE CEO Rob Lightfoot outlines our research themes for this year, including opportunities for member schools to get involved.

As the first half of the spring term draws to a close, we know many schools are still struggling with staff absence  but things are starting to improve for many, and we are all looking forward to planning ahead over the coming months. Here at NACE, we are particularly excited to be developing our two key research themes for the year: assessment and language.

Rethinking assessment

The focus of our next member meetup, at New College, Oxford on 23 March, will be “rethinking assessment”. Spaces are limited, so register now if you would like to join us.

Ahead of this event, NACE Research and Development Director Dr Ann McCarthy’s latest article explores the question: “How does a focus on metacognition impact on assessment practices in the classroom?” Many people still view assessment as an activity which is separate from the art of teaching – simply a list of checks and balances required by the education system to set targets, track learning, report to stakeholders and finally to issue qualifications. However, those who are using assessment routinely, and at all points within the act of teaching and learning, understand the true power of assessment. 

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Language in learning for high achievement

Our second research theme for this year is around the use of language in learning for high achievement. We are seeking to examine best practice in advanced comprehension, literacy and oracy, allied to high achievement, within our NACE member schools. We want to develop an understanding of the current backdrop to the development of comprehension, literacy and oracy skills in schools, including the effects of the pandemic on teachers and learners.

As part of this theme, we are keen to explore the key role of language across all subject areas – and this month we are focusing on the importance of language in mathematics. Having spent nearly 30 years teaching the secondary mathematics curriculum, I know the importance of language in this subject is too often overlooked. If we want to take our students on a pathway to being mathematical and thinking like mathematicians, we should build in language acquisition and precision reading at every stage of their learning.

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Get involved: share your school’s experience

The contributions of NACE member schools have been central to the first phase of our Making Space for Able Learners research initiative and will remain so as we develop the second phase of this project. 

If you are interested in learning more about or contributing to any aspect of our research work this year, please contact communications@nace.co.uk.

 

Tags:  assessment  cognitive challenge  CPD  language  maths  metacognition  professional development  research 

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5 top tips for effective maths CPD

Posted By Mel Butt, 10 June 2019
Updated: 09 September 2020

Reflecting on lessons learned during her participation in the NACE/NRICH Ambassadors initiative, Tanners Brook Primary School’s Mel Butt shares her top tips for effective maths CPD…

Five years ago, maths was targeted as a key area to develop at Tanners Brook Primary School. In our most recent Ofsted inspection, it was recognised as one of our strengths. A key element in securing progress in this area has been our approach to professional development in maths.

Before joining the 
NACE/NRICH Ambassadors initiative, I was confident and passionate about maths and motivated to develop competent problem-solving mathematicians. I was attracted by the opportunity to work alongside other professionals to explore ways to enhance the maths diet of able children at my school.

At Tanners Brook, we have developed a coaching culture where teachers embrace new ideas and seek ways to improve their own teaching. Throughout this process, I have used my classroom as a platform for ideas and, as time has moved on, I have been able to share these ideas with colleagues.

As part of the Portswood Teaching School Alliance, we also have direct contact with over 70 schools and regularly provide CPD. This meant I already had access to a wider network who could in turn benefit from my participation in the NRICH Ambassadors scheme.

Following on from my experience of receiving and leading CPD based on NRICH’s low-threshold, high-ceiling maths resources, here are my top five tips for effective professional development in maths:

1. Understand the need for change

One approach to support more able learners in maths is using short application activities completed individually at the end of a lesson, after the children are taught a skill. In order to challenge myself (and them), I needed to challenge this mindset. 

While still teaching children the maths skills they need, I wanted to provide them with more opportunities to think as mathematicians. I experimented with moving from teaching them to do maths to allowing them to work as mathematicians.

Through use of 
NRICH’s free resources, learners are immersed in larger, more open-ended problems where they have the opportunity to work collaboratively, reason more and ultimately be stretched over all of the learning time – not just at the end of the lesson.

2. Develop confidence collaboratively

Having explored the NRICH materials myself, I was able to share the pros and cons of this approach with colleagues. I knew that many teachers find it daunting to teach a lesson in which children may use a variety of strategies, may not know how to start their learning, or may even head off in completely the “wrong” direction. Using NRICH gives staff more confidence as it provides guidance on starting points, questioning and a range of different approaches and solutions – helping to support and inspire both teachers and learners.

I found that a simple problem aimed at KS1 – 
Eggs in Baskets – could be easily accessed by all staff and was a great starting point. I shared this problem in a staff meeting where colleagues were able to experiment in a workshop-style setting.

Once we’d had a go at Eggs in Baskets ourselves, we explored how this low-threshold, high-ceiling activity could be easily differentiated and accessed by all children – from the lowest-attaining child in Early Years to the most able child in Year 6. Through this discussion, we came up with various ideas to develop the activity, including using apparatus to represent the objects, drawing representations, trial and improvement, and algebra. Teachers therefore felt confident in their own delivery, and equally confident that all learners would be able to access the activity at an appropriate level.

3. Step out of your comfort zone

In December 2018, our phase took part in a live NRICH webinar – logging in to tackle a problem posed by the NRICH team, alongside other classes around the country. We were all quite nervous about this as we really had no idea what we and the children and ourselves would face. However, we committed ourselves fully and both staff and children alike had an amazing time working as mathematicians. From this, we realised that to get the most out of our CPD, we needed to step out of our comfort zones and accept that it’s okay to not always be in control. We look forward to doing more of this in future.

As a result of the work we have done with NRICH, there has been a real buzz in maths lessons. In a recent Year 6 lesson – 
Olympic Turns – both the class and the teacher were incredibly excited by the learning. This led to increased exposure to mathematical language, collaboration, and the children even wanted to take their learning forward by using protractors to measure. Deeper learning was evident.

4. Share ideas and inspiration

Over the process, I have realised how beneficial it is to be able to share the activities and discuss this way of teaching with colleagues. This takes many forms, from informal chats in our classrooms to the more formal setting of staff meetings. Being part of Portswood Primary Academy Trust and a Teaching Schools Alliance has given me the opportunity to share ideas across schools and with maths leaders within our local authority.

Hearing about activities that other practitioners have tried with their classes will inspire you to try and develop these activities yourself. Knowing that another class of children have fully engaged with an activity often makes it more exciting to try it within your own classroom. In turn, sharing your excitement about an activity can have the same impact on other teachers and their teaching.

In order to support staff further, I have shared the curriculum mapping resources from the NRICH website with staff in my school, NQTs, maths leaders, headteachers and other practitioners leading on provision for more able learners through our NACE R&D Hub. These resources have enabled staff to search for mathematics objectives that link to NRICH activities relating to a particular area of maths.

5. Enjoy it!

When I started my journey as an NRICH Ambassador, I was already enthusiastic about NRICH resources. I have loved spreading my passion for problem-solving and sharing good practice within my school, cluster and beyond. If you are having fun, then your colleagues and the young people in your classrooms will also enjoy the experience of being mathematicians. Embrace it! It is essential that we inspire our children to have a love of maths by showing them how much we enjoy being mathematicians ourselves.

Mel Butt is a Year 6 class teacher with responsibility for More Able, Gifted and Talented at Tanners Brook Primary School, Southampton. She participated in the 2018-19 NACE/NRICH Ambassadors initiative. 

Tags:  CPD  curriculum  maths  problem-solving 

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Member opportunity: become an NRICH maths ambassador – free CPD

Posted By Ems Lord, 26 February 2018
Updated: 08 April 2019

NRICH director Ems Lord outlines a new opportunity for NACE members to develop their approach to supporting more able mathematicians, with access to free CPD, resources and networking. Read on to find out how your school could participate…

NACE partner NRICH is seeking NACE member schools to collaborate in exploring approaches to develop confident and competent maths problem solvers.

This opportunity is open to both primary and secondary school maths practitioners:

  • Become an NRICH maths ambassador with three days of free bespoke professional development from the NRICH team;
  • Explore ways to use and share resources from the NRICH website within your own school and with other schools who are at differing stages along the journey of developing confident and competent problem solvers.

Ambassadors need to be able to commit to:

  • Participate in three days of training which will take place in London (see below);
  • Share the learning in your school and with the wider teaching community in your area;
  • Share outcomes and ideas with NRICH and the NACE member community.

The first training session will take place on 2 May, 10am - 3pm, at London Mathematical Society, De Morgan House, WC1B 4HS.

The remaining two training sessions will be held in the 2018-19 academic year; dates will be agreed with participants at the first session.

Register your interest:

To apply to be one of 15 schools involved in this project, send an email to membership@nace.co.uk with the subject line “NRICH ambassadors project”. Include an outline of your school’s current approach to supporting more able learners in mathematics, and why you feel you would make a good NRICH maths ambassador (max. 400 words). The deadline for applications is 21 March 2018. Successful schools will be notified by the end of March. Schools will be liable for their own travel and other expenses.

Ems Lord has been Director of NRICH since 2015, following a previous role leading one of the country's largest Mathematics Specialist Teacher Programmes. Ems has taught mathematics across the key stages, from early years to A-level Further Mathematics, and has worked in a variety of settings, including a hospital school. She’s supported schools as a leading mathematics teacher, local authority consultant and Chartered Mathematics Teacher, and has taught mathematics education on both BEd and PGCE teacher programmes. She is currently working on her PhD thesis, which explores approaches to improve support for those learning calculation skills, and is President-Elect of the Mathematical Association for 2019-2020.

Tags:  CPD  maths 

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