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 * TORONTO DSB PROPOSAL TO THE LITERACY & NUMERACY SECRETARIAT: JUNIOR MATH STRATEGY (JMS) **
 * A Project Graphic **



The Interventions Initiative in Junior Mathematics is intended to address the challenges in closing the gap by: § Identifying and developing a suite of intentional practices in mathematics for students who are not experiencing success in mathematics and that could be scaled up in a variety of contexts. § Providing support for schools in which there are significant gaps in student mathematics achievement. The design of TDSB Junior Math Intervention Strategy (JMS) consists of 2 components: § Gap Closing Strategy (GCS) § Collaborative Inquiry in Learning Mathematics (CIL-M)


 * COMPONENT ONE: Gap Closing Strategy (GCS) **

In the Spring of 2010, the Ministry’s Gap Closing strategy produced remarkable results in a short period of time. Questions emerging from the research include replicability and sustainability. In this strategy, TDSB will augment the data from that of the Ministry’s strategy and the work from last year through a small study with clusters of schools in two Families of Schools – NW1 and NE3. Superintendent Annie Appleby and Superintendent Sandy Sypropoulos together with Teaching & Learning will provide collaborative leadership at the senior level. Elementary Schools – Grades 4-6 - 3 schools in a cluster (Possible combination: one OFIP, one SIM, one “other”) - Minimally one of the three schools is a feeder school that is connected to a secondary school, which is part of the Grade 9 TDSB Applied Math Strategy. This is a key element that enables a focus on alignment of instructional and assessment practices across grades and allow for long-term study (outside of the mandate of this grant) - Teachers: classroom and Special Education Resource teacher (SERT) and/or Methods Resource teacher (MART) - Ideally all three schools are located at distances which would allow for collaboration via networked professional learning Instructional Support - FOS Math and Provincial math coaches (This combination in itself is value-added in that it will also be capacity building of TDSB leaders of mathematics.) - Provincial coach’s support per FOS o First 6 weeks: 2 days per week per 3 schools o Remaining weeks: 1 day per week per 3 schools - 2 release days per teacher/ per Special Education Resource teacher (SERT)/ per Methods Resource Teacher (MART) - Program Coordinator Mathematics, Teaching & Learning - NW1 and NE3 Principals of participating schools - NW1 and NE3 Superintendents of Education - Materials: To be determined by the team of leaders: FOS & Provincial coaches, FOS superintendents, Teaching & Learning Research - pre and post attitudinal survey: teachers and students - pre and post achievement survey inclusive of four categories of achievement as well as focus on four aspects o student achievement o student efficacy o teacher capacity in using open tasks to meet the needs of a wide variety of students o teacher efficacy


 * COMPONENT TWO: Collaborative Inquiry in Learning Mathematics (CIL-M) **

The Junior Intervention Strategy framework incorporates the following five aspects of learning. Effective Professional Learning is most effective when it includes [1] § Teacher-directed and research-supported inquiry where educators and coaches work collaboratively to engage in areas of student need in particular students at level 2 and below § Classroom-embedded learning where the primary site of inquiry and professional learning is within the classroom context for **co-teaching** purposes § Cyclical, iterative pathway for networked learning of teachers and coaches § The use of asset-oriented models of learning where all participants consider themselves learners § Activity that focuses on students, student thinking, and student demonstrations of understanding & active construction of knowledge Within **TDSB Mobile Computing Strategy**, intervention for students is based on identifying in particular students who are at and below level 2 in mathematics as well as below their grade level. In this intervention, Grade 6 teachers and the special education resource teacher (SERT) or the Methods Resource teacher (MART) will engage in a collaborative inquiry focussed on the big ideas of student learning of mathematics and incorporating technology and its intervention possibilities for students with special needs. Intentional emphasis and focus will be made **to connect JMS with this strategy** to address learning mathematics in a digital environment, specifically in building teachers’ capacity and optimising teachers’ expertise in using technology in a thoughtful and powerful way in creating customised conditions for learning that support differentiated learning. The following is a brief outline of NW1 and NE3 cluster of schools arrangement that will support the adaptive work in CGS and CIL-M § **North Kipling Junior Middle School** feeds into North Albion CI which is part of TDSB Applied Math Strategy - Grade 9 § ** Albion Heights Junior Middle and Highfield Junior School ** FOS Math coach: Amina Rajan § ** Highland Heights ** which is a Model School Inner City (MSIC) and § ** Pauline Johnson ** (which was a SIM school last year and did so poorly that they are not a SIM school this year). § Both schools feed into **Buchan** Middle School which feeds into Leacock which is a Student Success Initiative (SSI) secondary school. FOS Math coach: Wanda DeCastro Intentional selection of these two Families of Schools took into consideration that both math coaches have a collaborative relationship which will be a value-added element to the JMS work. This feature is an **important design feature** of our JMS proposal in **building system instructional leadership** in mathematics across FOS with Superintendents, Principals, FOS coaches, Teaching & Learning staff in partnership with Provincial math coaches. The intentional selection of the above elementary schools by Superintendent Appleby & Spyropoulos is in part based on the needs of the school, “readiness” factors, and that the schools feed into a **Grade 9 TDSB Applied Strategy** school which will allow for cross-pollination and collaboration in the teaching strategies in Grade 6 to 9 co-planning and co-teaching opportunities. It will also be useful in **collaboration of data collection and for future tracking of cohorts.**
 * NETWORK STRUCTURE THAT SUPPORTS JMS ADAPTIVE WORK: **
 * NW1 Family of Schools:**
 * NE3 Family of Schools:**

o Collaborative Project based on teacher inquiry which is based on identified student needs o Tightly linked to research o Encourage the participation of SERT teachers so that they become co-teachers in the schools and support students with special education needs **in** the classroom as opposed to pulling them out o Teaching and Learning of high yield strategies in math through co-teaching in the classroom and networked PLC: § Teaching through Problem Solving with a 3 part lesson § Differentiated Learning: Book Study Dr. Marian Small’s Good Questions with opportunities to use these parallel and open questions strategies, bring back student work samples and reflect as a group on the student thinking § Use of Manipulatives, Alternative problem solving and Computational Strategies § Focus on students’ ability to communicate their thinking / reasoning in mathematics § Involve students in co-construction of learning goals / success criteria in effective communication and allow opportunities for the students to get feedback from peers, teachers, and themselves and build in the time for them to apply the feedback that they have received. o Job Embedded Professional Learning: co-planning, co-teaching, debrief § The student thinking and student work will be a primary area of focus. § Teachers will be involved in formal co-teaching observations in the classroom. § Debrief in order to collaboratively make decisions (assessment for learning) about next steps o Eventually these sites of learning will become places (Math Institutes) where other schools in the Family of Schools can be invited to participate in formal co-teaching observations as described above, through the structure of a tight network of grade teams across the FOS o Tie in support for the Mobile Computing Strategy and incorporating other technology in the classroom to engage and meet the needs of the 21st century learner
 * Rigor & Relevance of Networked Professional Learning in Mathematics through GCS and CIL-M:**


 * KEY QUESTIONS CONSIDERED **

// How does the intervention allow for precision regarding student needs? // // a. //// What is the diagnostic tool(s) identifying student needs within this intervention? //  · PRIME · Attitudinal survey results - use of EQAO survey by TDSB Research team // b. What are the indicators of student learning for teachers/principals/administrators? //  · Increased ability by students to verbalize and communicate in writing their reasoning, apply their thinking and increased content knowledge as measured by bi-weekly anecdotal data (tool t.b.d.). · Increased engagement as measured by pre and post attitudinal survey results and teacher judgement · Walk-through data as per District Review. · Increased time-on-task during all components of 3-part lesson. · Increased level of independence during practice. //Is the intervention appropriate for the junior level? Does the intervention support all levels of achievement or is it most effective for students with specific levels of achievement? Is it designed for a particular group of students, gender, etc.?// TDSB Junior Intervention Strategy · Supports students with specific gaps in knowledge with particular attention to number sense and rational numbers, and who are one or two grade levels behind in these concept areas in any of the other four strands in mathematics · Supports whole class learning with differentiation strategies built in. // Do teachers and students have structures in place that allow them to engage in listening, talking and writing about math? //  · Parts of the work of the coach will be to further develop this aspect of the teaching of mathematics. // How much teacher decision-making is made available through the intervention? //  · This strategy is based on collaborative inquiry between teachers and coaches. · Teacher decision making is based on multi-layered data inclusive of classroom observations through to formal summative assessments. // How is board leadership involved in this intervention? // Through FOS Math Coaches, Program Coordinator Mathematics from Teaching & Learning alongside the triangulated leadership of FOS Superintendents, JMS Principals, Coordinating Superintendent of Teaching & Learning and TDSB research staff // Do the short-term goals of the intervention align with the district school board’s long-term goals? // Yes. // What is the implementation model – in-classroom interventions/out-of-classroom interventions/both? //  · Both - A key construct is the teacher-learning & support model hence augmenting teacher efficacy and capacity while simultaneously augmenting student learning.

[1] Bruce, C., Ross, J., Flynn, T. & Toumas, G. (November 2010). Report on the External Review of the Collaborative Inquiry for Learning in Mathematics (CIL-M) Project: Year 2. Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, Toronto, Canada.