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These 8 recommendations are based on research findings which will make a significant difference to pupils' learning.
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This guidance report focuses on the teaching of mathematics to pupils in Key Stages 2 and 3. It is not intended to provide a comprehensive guide to mathematics teaching. We have made recommendations where there are research findings that schools can use to make a significant difference to pupils’ learning, and have focused on the questions that appear to be most salient to practitioners. There are aspects of mathematics teaching not covered by this guidance. In these situations, teachers must draw on their knowledge of mathematics, professional experience and judgement, and assessment of their pupils’ knowledge and understanding. The focus is on improving the quality of teaching. Excellent maths teaching requires good content knowledge, but this is not sufficient. Excellent teachers also know the ways in which pupils learn mathematics and the difficulties they are likely to encounter, and how mathematics can be most effectively taught. This guidance is aimed primarily at subject leaders, headteachers, and other staff with responsibility for leading improvements in mathematics teaching in primary and secondary schools. Classroom teachers and teaching assistants will also find this guidance useful as a resource to aid their day-to-day teaching. |
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Timely practice can be used to measure progress as well as attainment. Measuring progress to find out how effectively teaching using the existing scheme of learning increases attainment, is easy to do with timely practice.
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Assessment should be used not only to track pupils’ learning but also to provide teachers with information about what pupils do and do not know. This should inform the planning of future lessons and the focus of targeted support. Effective feedback will be an important element of teachers’ response to assessment. Feedback should be specific and clear, encourage and support further effort, and be given sparingly. Teachers not only have to address misconceptions but also understand why pupils may persist with errors. Knowledge of common misconceptions can be invaluable in planning lessons to address errors before they arise. |
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This is one area where we don’t entirely concur with EEF, we believe that learners should only be asked to solve problems, when they have mastered all the pre requisite skills. Despite having devoted an entire topic theme, word problems, to problem solving, we don’t think that all learners should be expected to solve problems, yet. Of course sometimes learners should practice problem solving, whilst learning the topics - as part of the natural progression through the topic - some layers, when appropriate, in a topic require problem solving.
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If pupils lack a well-rehearsed and readily available method to solve a problem they need to draw on problem-solving strategies to make sense of the unfamiliar situation.
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We often use representatives to make links between topics e.g.
We improve recall of maths facts by breaking these down into small bites e.g. beginXfacts
Understand procedures e.g. multiply fractions,
Every maths lesson learners must choose, a good enough procedure, to answer their timely practice questions. Feedback from the teacher on selecting a better method, helps learners make progress
We use proportional triangles, proportionality lines and boxes to make proportionality more concrete.
We teach fraction and decimal lines which extend beyond one, very early on in topics e.g. fractionINTRO
Recognise mathematical structure: e.g. we use prime factor trees extensively to help learners, learn times table facts, simplify fractions, find all the factors …
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We strongly believe that there is evidence to increase positive attitudes, motivation, and that is to ensure high success, timely practice enables most learners to be able to answer independently and accurately over 80 percent of their questions, which we’ve found does improve motivation.
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Sometimes we want to provide variety - cool down - makes an opportunity to continue embedding learning and providing different types of tasks.
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… often timely practice is enough to help low attaining learners begin to flourish in the maths classroom and catch up with their more highly attaining peers.
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The best way to transition from year 6 to year 7 for maths, in our opinion, is to schedule a cool down after year 6 SATs where learners continue their timely practice for perhaps 10 minutes per lesson - to embed their current learning - but take a well deserved rest form new learning. Project work, art and maths, cross curricula work can be done for the majority of these lessons. Then when learners arrive in year 7, their teacher has their timely practice records already in their class records. No need for testing, just a little bit of feedback and review on work that has been forgotten and straight into learning on existing learning foundations.
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There is a large dip in mathematical attainment and attitudes towards maths as children move from primary to secondary school.
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