Workshop Library 6 Day Courses 1 Day Courses Managed by Black Douglas Professional Education Services Tel: +61 3 9726 8316 Fax: +61 3 9727 4644 doug@blackdouglas.com.au for Curriculum Corporation, Australia

Exploring Rectangle Fractions See previous page for MOTM Principles & Objectives.

• refreshing and extending teaching craft to interest more students more often in mathematics
• reviewing mathematics content from the view point that all students can learn to work like a mathematician (Working Mathematically)

Engineering 'aha' Moments K-8

Detail
If you have ever seen a student's eyes sparkle as they 'get it', then you know what an 'aha' moment is. This series of workshops is about engineering the classroom environment to increase the likelihood of those moments occurring. More 'aha' moments in maths for more students; and consequently more job satisfaction for their teacher.

If you like the prospect of those outcomes and are willing to explore a shift in teaching craft, then this series of workshops will help you achieve them. The course is rich with practical activities and hand-on resources that you are expected to take away and trial between each set of two day sessions.

Our main thrust will be in the number and computation areas and using simple calculators will be an integral part of the experience. We will draw from Calculating Changes, the Mathematics Task Centre Project and Maths300 for ideas, activities, resources and unit plans. Our work will be guided by the attitude that all students can learn to work like a mathematician in happy, healthy, cheerful, productive, inspiring classrooms.

Days 1 & 2 Background Number Bonds & Tables Place Value Fractions & Challenges Days 3 & 4 Refresh, Report & Multiply Investigating Tasks Tasks & Poly Plug Task Based Units Days 5 & 6 Refresh, Report, Reflect Engineering More Moments Building More Structures Leading The Way These sessions are integrated and interdependent. The local planning team will be supplied with PDF files from which to prepare a printing bundle to support the sessions.

School Commitment In-house support to allow at least two teachers to attend all six days. Commitment from the teachers to trial classroom material between sessions and report at the next meeting. Completion of a detailed evaluation survey about one month after the final program in the series. Service Fee $1100 per day plus travel, accommodation, meals and transfers as necessary. Support Resources Minimum investment per school (plus freight) is: 10 Poly Plug - $14.96 each 10 MathMaster calculators - $14.96 (approx) each 10 problem solving tasks - $14.96 each 1 x membership of Calculating Changes web site - $330 Items 1 - 3 could be supplied for each teacher, which results in useful class sets in each trial school and therefore every opportunity to enact ideas learned in the sessions.

Testimony

1. When this course was run in Western Australia for the Association of Independent Schools, AISWA was so impressed with the teachers curriculum shift that Derek Hurrell, Education Consultant-Numeracy, organised additional funding to publish a CD to honour their work. It offers remarkable insight into what was achieved. A copy can be made available to system or sector leaders interested in mounting this course.
2. When the course was run for the Riverland Region, South Australia, Brian Featherston, District Director wrote We believe that the work being done so far has been beyond our expectations. following only four of the six days.
3. Read reports from two teachers involved in the Riverland presentation - Nic Dale and Cherie Cooper.

Engineering 'aha' Moments 5-10

Detail
Algebra does make sense and is accessible to all students. This series of workshops is about engineering the classroom environment so that 'kids get it' - the 'aha' moments.

If you like the prospect of engaging students in algebra, and more broadly in mathematics, in mixed ability, inclusive classrooms and are willing to explore a shift in teaching craft to achieve this, then these workshops will support you. The course is rich with practical activities and hand-on resources that you are expected to take away and trial between each set of two day sessions.

Our main thrust will be in pattern and algebra and using materials will be an integral part of the experience. There will be opportunity throughout to make use of the features of spreadsheets and your graphic calculator. We will draw from the Mathematics Task Centre Project and Maths300 for ideas, activities, resources and unit plans. Our work will be guided by the attitude that all students can learn to work like a mathematician in happy, healthy, cheerful, productive, inspiring classrooms.

Days 1 & 2 Background Algebra Makes Sense - Patterns & Generalisation - Substitution & Solution - Pairs & Pictures - Positive & Negative - Practice & Practice Days 3 & 4 Refresh & Report Investigating Tasks Task Based Unit Plans - Replacement Unit model - Menu Model - Other Models Algebra Where You Don't Expect It Days 5 & 6 Refresh, Report, Reflect Engineering More Moments Building More Structures Leading The Way These sessions are integrated and interdependent. The local planning team will be supplied with PDF files from which to prepare a printing bundle to support the sessions.

School Commitment In-house support to allow at least two teachers to attend all six days. Commitment from the teachers to trial classroom material between sessions and report at the next meeting. Completion of a detailed evaluation survey about one month after the final program in the series. Service Fee $1100 per day plus travel, accommodation, meals and transfers as necessary. Support Resources Minimum investment per school (plus freight) is: 15 Poly Plug - $14.96 each 20 problem solving tasks - $14.96 each 1 x membership of Maths300 web site - $495 Items 1& 2 could be supplied for each teacher, which results in useful class sets in each trial school and therefore every opportunity to enact ideas learned in the sessions.

• Courses can stand alone, or be mixed and matched to create a professional development program which supports curriculum shift over time.
• At the macro level, Maths on the Move works well in co-operation with systems - cluster/ district/ sector/ state. Several models have been used. We welcome discussion of this possibility.
• At the micro level, sessions can be adapted to suit the specific professional development needs of individual schools.
• Courses are resource dependent. Participation includes provision of appropriate materials to support immediate trialing on return to school. Experience shows that this leads to the courses having even greater impact. Resource cost is around $15 per person.
• The local planning team will be supplied with PDF files from which to prepare a printing bundle to support chosen sessions.
• Service fee is $1100 per day plus travel, accommodation, meals and transfers as necessary.
• Evaluation comments from previous participants are available.

Titles

Descriptions

The curriculum offered to young students can make a difference to their success with Algebra in later years. This workshop extends the work of the Engineering 'aha' Moments in Number session (see below) to develop building blocks of algebra in hands-on problem solving situations. Within the framework of learning to work like a mathematician the workshop includes playing with numbers, working backwards, creating and solving equations, and the concepts of variable and generalisation. Children find the activities to be fun and challenging. As their confidence with numbers grows and they can see that it 'works like this for any number' the groundwork is being constructed for generalisations of algebra.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

If mathematics is to be other than a spectator sport, then students need to be actively engaged in learning - participating in challenges; debating propositions, making and testing hypotheses, constructing concepts, learning and practising skills. Great rhetoric; but if students who are encouraged to work this way are largely assessed in the traditional pencil and paper manner, they will soon learn what we truly value. Inclusive teaching practices need to be supported by a variety of effective and manageable assessment practices. This workshop day begins by exploring a range of interesting and challenging learning experiences. Alternative assessment practices are explored in the context of these shared experiences. Methods of recording the data gathered are also examined. Time is provided to plan a unit which includes experimenting with alternative assessment practices.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

This course is the starting point for the six day course above. Explore rich, revisitable activities which depend on using calculators in conjunction with materials. Explore threading them through the curriculum to help students collect and organise their own data about number and construct their own learning. Through video, visit classrooms to see these inclusive practices in action. Learn about web based support through Calculating Changes. Discover that you can influence the learning environment so that students develop a number sense which is enhanced beyond what is thought usual for their age.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

Fractions seem to be one of the major points at which students 'fall over' in their mathematics learning. If you have the feeling that what has been done in the past ... and usually done again the next year ... and the next ... simply hasn't worked for many students in this topic, this workshop will help you discover alternatives. Explore different ideas, activities and structures which have helped other teachers make learning fractions a successful experience. Fractions, decimals and percentages will all be involved in this practical, hands-on, problem solving approach that is supported by integrated software.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

For more than a decade we have been collecting stories of success from teachers of Indigenous students. The common theme in this anthology is Working Mathematically in a context of best teaching practice. The purpose of this workshop is to retell those stories to uplift, resource and encourage participants. These exciting learning experiences have much to offer every teacher. The session involves practical, hands-on investigations supported by photographs or other classroom-based evidence of student work. You will discover the link between the Task Centre Project logo and Aboriginal people; explore the Task Centre Kit for Aboriginal Students; learn about research evidence showing extensive improvement for Indigenous students; and fill your notebook with ideas to try with your own students.
A notebook computer may be useful.

Numeracy and literacy develop hand-in-hand in a curriculum that focuses on learning to work like a mathematician. The workshop provides evidence for this proposition and explores the development of student confidence, concepts and skills through small group and whole class investigations, some of which use integrated software. This practical, problem solving approach is well suited to mixed ability classrooms. Reflecting a Multiple Intelligences approach, the day is designed to challenge current conceptions, stimulate thought and support the growth of inclusive teaching practices.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

There is simply no reason why mathematics should still be taught the way it always has been.
• All students at all levels can learn to work like a mathematician - and enjoy their learning more!
• All teachers at all levels can learn to model how a mathematician works - and enjoy their teaching more!
• There are so many engaging ways to present mathematical problems using concrete materials, physical involvement, software, mathematical conversation and other powerful pedagogical techniques.
• There are so many interesting problems to choose from which are rich with mathematical content.
There can be more success for more students! And more satisfaction for teachers!

In this workshop we will explore some problems - sometimes as a 'whole class', sometimes with a partner. The purposes will be to:
- Learn a new activity to use 'tomorrow'.
- Engage in problems just like a mathematician would.
- Identify features likely to engage students in learning.
- Become more familiar with resources that support the concept of 'learning to work like a mathematician'.
- Consider the benefits (for students and teachers) of building curriculum with this concept at the core; especially a curriculum which bridges the Transition Years.
A notebook computer may be useful.

Times tables are close to every teacher's heart - and too often very far from many students' minds! A mathematician needs a full and effective toolbox to solve problems and times tables are one of the most important of those skills. In this full day workshop visit and revisit times tables as we build a 'brain picture' of multiplication and multiplicative thinking through:

• exploration of a conceptual model
• times tables practice with a problem solving twist
• using times tables as a skill to solve problems

Take the drudgery out of times tables and long multiplication, work backwards to explore division, add meaning through hands-on activities, software and purposeful challenge. Achieve skill objectives while engaging higher order thinking. Extend easily into algebraic generalisations and formulas.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

Explore a range of rich, revisitable activities designed to continuously develop Place Value through the curriculum, rather than 'doing it' in a block for two or three weeks. This approach more closely reflects the evolution of the concept of Place Value through mathematical history. It is more akin to the way mathematicians have learned to understand the concept. Hands-on activities and software will be used in ways which may be new to many teachers. Once the concept of place value is refreshed and developed, we will look at problem solving situations which require the application of place value to find solutions.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

Clearly this workshop promotes language and literacy in a mathematical context. Of course! Mathematicians publish and must learn to do so successfully through a process including diarising their daily work; presenting and justifying ideas to colleagues; and preparing reports to publicly record, explain and prove. During the session you will create a mathematics journal; experience other teachers' methods of scaffolding students to write mathematics; consider ways of publishing other than written reports; and explore how schools have used tasks to develop a three-way conversation (student, teacher, parent) based in maths around the kitchen table.
A notebook computer may be useful.

Four workshop days altogether which draw from the Maths With Attitude kits of the same name. Choose your own content area from:

• ...Chance & Measurement
• ...Number & Computation
• ...Pattern & Algebra
• ...Space & Logic

to fill the gaps in the sentences below.

Mathematicians solve problems ... and the process they use to do so is completely identifiable. As we struggle to create curriculum suitable for the students of today, and the future they might face, teachers are learning to embed content within the Working Mathematically process. In the context of ________ activities, we will identify and apply this process. We will go on to experience teacher-created structured units in ________ which include hands-on problem solving, whole class investigations and integrated software. The workshop will also include research evidence confirming that an integrated approach to Working Mathematically does bring significant improvement in student numeracy and literacy. Participants will have significant time to plan a unit of their own with the help of the workshop resources.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

Sometimes we think that we must have heaps of equipment and fancy computers to help students learn to work like a mathematician. As valuable as these resources are, the most important component is a teacher who 'lives by' the Working Mathematically process in the preparation, presentation and evaluation of their lessons. This session is a smorgasbord of activities built around pencil and paper and a few simple items like a packs of cards, dice and counters. The teaching model known as a Poster Problem Clinic features in one segment of the day. Best teaching practice is explored and refreshed and participants collect several ideas they can 'use tomorrow'.
Please try to bring a notebook computer.

From time to time we add to our list of titles. Please subscribe to our email list to receive update information about the site. We offer an email news service from each of the three key projects from which Maths on the Move is resourced. If you would like to receive updates from the Task Centre Project, Maths300 and Calculating Changes send an email to doug@blackdouglas.com.au:

• In the subject line write Subscribe Maths.
• In the body of message state which projects you want to subscribe to, or simply write Subscribe All.
• Add your name and preferred email address.

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