Learner Centered Community of Praxis

Prepared for ED6104 by:

Colleen Crystal Lalsie Kathy Hennessey

Jacob Lingley Teela Dadal D’abreau

Understanding Learners within Grade 4

New Brunswick MathematicsColleen Lalsie

Understanding Learners

• Active Participants

• Meaningful Learning

• Treated Equally

• Learners are Humans

Types of Ideologies• Scholar Academic Ideology

• Academic Discipline

• Learners are lacking something

• The child’s mind

• Evaluation

Types of Ideologies• Social Efficiency Ideology

• Curriculum development seen from an industrial point of view.

• The ‘potential adult’

• Behaviours are shaped

• Evaluation

Types of Ideologies• Learner Centered Ideology

• Active Participants

• Stimulating Environment

• Developmental Stages

• Evaluation

Types of Ideologies• Social Recontsruction Ideology

• ‘Social Beings’

• Meaning Makers

• Active Agents

• Evaluation

New Brunswick Grade 4 Mathematics Curriculum

• Active and Constructive Process

• Prior Knowledge and Experiences

• Meaningful Learning

• Conducive Learning Environment

• Assessment and Feedback

Analysis of the Curriculum from the Point of View of the Learner

Kathy Hennessey

Background and RationalGoal of the Curriculum

Fosters the development of mathematically literate students who can extend and apply their learning and who are effective participants in society.

The word student is mentioned 810 times in the curriculum document.

The IntentClearly communicate high expectations for students in mathematics education.

Background and RationalStudents must learn mathematics with understanding, actively building new knowledge from experience and prior knowledge (NCTM Principles and Standards, 2000)

Experience Prior Knowledge

Description of the Mathematical Learner

Students are Responsible• To strive toward success

• To become autonomous and responsible learners

• To have ongoing, reflective processes

• To revisit the setting and assessing of personal goals

Beliefs about Student Mathematical Learning

• mathematics learning is an active and constructive process.

• learning is most likely to occur when placed in meaningful contexts and in an environment that supports exploration, risk taking, and critical thinking and that nurtures positive attitudes and sustained effort

• learning is most effective when standards of expectation are made clear with on-going assessment and feedback.

Diverse Culture• Students attend schools in a variety of settings including urban, rural and

isolated communities. Teachers need to understand the diversity of cultures and experiences of all students.

• A variety of teaching and assessment strategies is required to build upon the diverse knowledge, cultures, communication styles, skills, attitudes, experiences and learning styles of students. The strategies used must go beyond the incidental inclusion of topics and objects unique to a culture or region, and strive to achieve higher levels of multicultural education (Banks and Banks, 1993).

Adapting to All Needs of Learners

• The reality of individual student differences must not be ignored when making instructional decisions.

• Teachers must understand and design instruction to accommodate differences in student learning styles and must also reflect in assessment strategies.

Respect All StudentsExplore Problem

Solving

It’s acceptable to solve problems in different ways

Learning Environment

Comfortable to take

intellectual risks, Asking questions and

posing conjecture

Respect all students

Connections Across Curriculums• Show students how mathematics is used in daily life,

• Help strengthen the students’ understanding of mathematical concepts

• Provides students with opportunities to practice mathematical skills.

Underlying Ideologies Grade 4 Math NB

Learner Centered Ideology

37 Ideological Statements Curriculum developer creates teacher’s guides that suggest activities that interest children and provides materials appropriate for student use.

Curriculum CritiqueTeela Dadal D’abreau & Jacob Lingley

Format of CritiqueSummary of Curriculum• Stakeholders / Developers • Curriculum Goals • About the Curriculum

• Pros and Cons • Critical Concluding Assessment

Critique

New Brunswick Grade 4 Mathematics Curriculum Stakeholders

National and International

Research

Seven Ministries of Education

Business Representatives

Teachers, Administrators,Post-Secondary

Educators

Parents &Other Stakeholders

Goals of the CurriculumTo produce mathematically literate students by:

• Providing opportunities for success

• Making connections across the curriculum

• Adapting instructions and assessments to the needs of all

• Teaching with the use of diverse cultural perspectives

About the Curriculum Emphasis on Teaching Strategies that include:

Communication Making Connections

Reasoning Skills Mental Math and Estimation Skills

Problem Solving Skills Use of Technology

Visualization

Scope and sequence of outcomes on the same strands and expand in content at each higher level.

Individualized LearningKnowing your learner’s learning styles is important…

STUDENTS LEARN IN A VARIETY OF WAYS

• By doing, seeing and hearing • Working alone and in groups • Memorizing and visualizing • Some prefer pictures to texts • Others prefer concrete before

abstract

Use of Manipulatives

Lessons & Skills Development• Activities engage students at

their level of development.

• Place emphasis on making connections with previous knowledge (L/S).

• Rich, practical and engage students (L/S).

Lessons & Skills Development• Lay the foundation for

successive lessons

• Support different learning styles, student abilities and / or readiness (L/S)

• Provide examples of everyday contexts in which they can be used.

What Teaching and Learning Look Like

• Engages students

• Teaches students skills such as problem solving ,analyzing etc.

• Teaches students to reflect on what they are learning

• Gives students control over how they learn (by giving them opportunities to choose assessment strategies)

• Encourages collaboration

AssessmentsA variety of strategies that include whole class, group

and individual assessments.

The Ideological Tug-of-War of Grade 4 Mathematics Education

Knowledge StandardsInstruction Learning

Learner Centered Social Efficiency

X

disgruntled student

vs.

PROS CONS

The Ideological Tug-of-War of Mathematics Education

vs.

Knowledge vs. Standards

PROS CONS• Internationally aligned

standards.

• Students mathematical knowledge assumed to be representative of other developed nations.

• Students are challenged to explore from abstract to concrete areas of mathematics.

• Internationally aligned standards, without aligned support.

• Assurance that the knowledge of other nations is pertinent to Canadians.

• Concrete standards used to describe an abstract subject.

Knowledge vs. Standards

Knowledge vs. Standards

Knowledge vs. Standards

Instruction vs. Learning

PROS CONS• Curriculum encourages

teachers to embrace learner centered ideologies.

• Teachers encouraged to become autonomous advocates for their own instructional objectives.

• Success of curriculum depends on teacher dedication.

• Many activities within the curriculum refer to a scholar academic ideology.

• Meaningful learning opportunities are jeopardized for content mastery.

• Curriculum is pragmatic and deliberate in language, not so in practice.

PROS CONS• Student use of models and

pictorial representation encouraged.

• Links to community involvement and cross curricular activities.

• Educator autonomy fosters rich mathematical literacy.

• Use of standardized algorithms preferred.

• Stakeholders perceive math as a school subject rather than a unit of work.

• Curriculum objectives specific and prescriptive.

Learner Centered

SocialEfficiencyvs.

In Conclusion

Best practices combined with curriculum support, from confident numeracy specialists, will foster the development of, fluent, mathematically literate students who are prepared for

the challenges and rigour of adult life.