Lead Maths Teacher Day

Yesterday morning I was fortunate enough to visit St Mary's School in Ellerslie, for a cluster meeting of Lead Maths Teachers. We shared some thinking about what is crucial in the role of a Lead Teacher. I loved the negotiation game - silent consideration within a small group, taking turns to record ideas that could stand alone, or others could expand upon. When we were allowed to converse once more, it generated lots of discussion, based upon different angles that we were coming from - it's so interesting when professionals come together, that we can have a shared goal and yet have different strategies of how to achieve it. Some ideas were agreed upon immediately, whereas others were hotly contested - it's always exciting to be a part of a discussion like this, it can really make us question ourselves!

I found myself coming back to the theme of a Waikowhai staff meeting we experienced a few weeks ago, whereby we were challenged to consider our 'Why' of teaching. By taking this approach I considered 'why' we are the Lead Teachers of Maths in our schools, before considering the 'whats' of how we undertake the role.

Using Kahoot, supported by professional readings by Boaler and Dweck, we continued to debate provocative statements such as:

• Boys are better at Maths than girls.
• Not everyone can be good at Maths.
• You must know basic facts to be able to solve problems.
• Teachers should openly acknowledge individuals when they make mistakes.

Not for the first time, I found myself in the position of realising how my opinions have altered over the course of my career. I feel the guilt of having placed students into a 'box' in my early days of teaching, I wonder what impact that had on them? My hope is that they were able to overcome the mental wall I placed in front of them and went onto have success in Maths. My fear is that they may not have. Thank goodness I have remained open to learning myself and that my opinions changed relatively early on. 

So now for my next steps - how to take the skills into school to support the Waikowhai Staff with our PLC meetings (geared at Maths development in our school) and how to move forward with my maths groups, enthusing and encouraging them to the point that they come to view maths as something that they enjoy and are successful at.

Also, on a completely different goal for myself, to continue this blog - I promise to reflect upon my maths groups and post about them next time.

Any thoughts/ideas/opinions on all the above is welcomed - who knows, maybe a rousing debate may arise!