EEF - Improving Mathematics in Key Stages Two and Three
Friday, 03 November 2017
Today, the Education Endowment Foundation has released its much anticipated report, "Improving Mathematics in Key Stages Two and Three"
La Salle Education welcomes the report and all of its recommendations, which we believe describes long established good practice in mathematics teaching. The report fully supports our mastery approach and backs up the model we use in the Complete Mathematics platform and CPD programmes.
Recommendation 1: Use Assessment to Build on Pupils' Existing Knowlege and Understanding
Complete Mathematics: contains extensive assessment and monitoring features, which are uniquely tied to what has been taught and future planning, giving teachers immediate insight into gaps in learning and quick and easy ways to adapt planning to account for such gaps. Our granular assessments also allow teachers to give targeted and contextualised feedback. Complete Mathematics also contains guidance on common misconceptions that can arise, meaning teachers are able to plan lessons that address such misconceptions
Recommendation 2: Use Manipulatives and Representations
Complete Mathematics: All Members have regular access to CPD on concrete, pictorial and abstract approaches to teaching mathematics, which includes extensive training on the use of manipualtives across the age and ability range. The Complete Mathematics platform also contains a suite of digital manipulatives for teachers and pupils to use when exploring mathematical concepts. Guidance is provided on the importance of seeing manipulatives as a scaffold, which is gradually removed to leaves all pupils with the ability to use quick and efficient abstract and symbolic methods.
Recommendation 3: Teach Pupils Strategies for Solving Problems
Complete Mathematics: contains extensive guidance on problem solving for all concepts in maths. Members also have regular access to our CPD events, including the popular Mastery in Mathematics day, which include deep exploration of strategies and dispositions for solving problems, reasoning and analysing. Our work on variation theory also includes guidance on understanding and being able to select from a variety of approaches. The Complete Mathematics platform includes thousands or problem solving tasks.
Recommendation 4: Enable Pupils to Develop a Rich Network of Mathematical Knowledge
Complete Mathematics: contains the whole of mathematics, with every single idea and concept from early years through to the end of A Level. The map through mathematics is presented to all pupils in their platform, giving them the ability to explore all maths and the detailed connections that exist. Our team spent many years creating the detailed map of mathematical ideas and the interconnectedness between them. All members have access to this map and can therefore plan schemes based on careful progression and connectedness. The platform contains extensive guidance for both teachers and pupils on every concept, including the underpinning knowledge and skills required.
Recommendation 5: Develop Pupils' Independence and Motivation
Complete Mathematics: members have access to regular CPD throughout the school year, including much about promoting thinking skills and developing metacognition. The platform contains an independent, adaptive learning system for pupils, which allows them to take ownership of their learning - pupils can pursue areas of mathematics independently, based on assessment and quiz data. We see large numbers of pupils taking quizzes on the Complete Mathematics platform and then choosing to do further study and solve further problems until they have better understood the ideas.
Recommendation 6: Use Tasks and Resources to Challenge and Support Pupils' Mathematics
Complete Mathematics: members have access to the UKs most extensive mathematics teaching and learning platform and the UKs largest network of maths teachers. The platform contains hundreds of thousands of questions, problems, activities and tasks. We believe, as the EEF does, that these resources are just tools, which must be use appropriately in order to be effective. This is why every single resource is also supported by pedagogical advice. The community of teachers also share their thoughts on the resources and how to use them for impact. All resources are tied to quizzes, which can quickly identify pupils' strengths and weaknesses and help teachers plan to overcome misconceptions. Complete Mathematics members have access to regular CPD exploring conceptual and procedural knowledge and how to use stories to build understanding.
Recommendation 7: Use Structured Interventions to Provide Additional Support
Complete Mathematics: platform contains extensive assessments with linked analytics, allowing teachers to target support and plan for early intervention. This means interventions can be explicit - teachers have the information they need to know at the granular level what mathematics is holding the pupil back and are then provided with comprehensive support in terms of pedagogical advice and resourcing to be able to address the specific issues. Furthermore, the platform allows for 'self-intervention' through its pupil interface, where pupils can explore mathematical ideas further based on the platform analytics of their understanding
Recommendation 8: Support Pupils to Make a Successful Transition Between Primary and Secondary School
Complete Mathematics: platform contains the pupil "Learning Diary", which records every interaction a pupil has with the system - all the work they do, all the questions the answer, all assessments and quizzes and associated analytics. This profile of the pupil grows with them. As the move from class to class, year to year, and primary to secondary, all of their data and information travels with them. This means that teachers meeting new Year 7 pupils can begin with a deep understanding of their mathematical backgrounds. Furthermore, the Complete Mathematics platform contains comprehensive diagnostic capabilities, meaning teachers can quickly identify strengths and weaknesses of new cohorts. Because Complete Mathematics is entirely integrated, these diagnostics can then be easily used to inform planning and the building of schemes for individuals, classes or entire year groups. The diagnostic information can also be used to identify the most appropriate pupil groupings.
The EEF report is a very welcome addition to the mathematics education canon. We wholeheartedly endorse the report and its recommendations and are proud to have already been doing all of the suggested approaches contained in the report.