Blending elementary mathematics education research with development for equity

1. Blending elementary mathematics education research with development forequity August 2017Prof Mellony Graven

2. SA famous for Nelson Mandela Infamous for apartheid & bottom of TIMSS

3. Nation of extreme inequality • socio-economic and educational - that persists decades after 94 • Mathematics inequality extreme – SACMEQ&TIMSS • Apartheid past – explicitly undermined learner agency and access to mathematics • Access still challenge – less than 7% Eng L1 BUT around ¼ FP learners are learning in English – Gr 4 jumps to 79%

4. Extreme math underperformance: • By Grade 9 only 3% pass (get 50% or above) 97% lost to math

5. Widespread unit tally use into IP Weitz & Venkat 2013 – 67%ANA vs 18.2% strategy/levels G4 CAPS item: 234 x 68

6. Research Context: we are failing our teachers • National response – push curriculum coverage; information dissemination and monitoring • Absence of dialogue – ignores inequality of contexts • Zandi – ‘my learners at Gr2 but forced to teach Gr 4’ – curriculum coverage – ‘advisor’ says instruction ‘from top’ • Teachers looking for quality support to help learners • Ed research - deficit discourses & no ‘give back’ • participation in research is self punishing  school resistance & suspicion • math ed crisis demands urgent redress – researchers must act for change

7. Context demands navigating new researcher teacher relationships • Are we as researchers been complicit in perpetuating our education crisis? • How can we tell teacher and learner stories differently so we act for change? • Setati(2005) –reciprocal teacher-researcher relationships – mandates Chairs to partner with teachers to find possibilities in crisis • Stop reporting problems we already know and find ways forward

8. 2010/11 6 Mathed Chairs • Research-Development Chairs – work is problem-instigated & solutions-driven • partnerships with schools and communities in mutually beneficial ways • Dual focus: respond to challenges and investigate effectiveness of responses

9. Key argument: • Separating R&D is problematic – urgency to respond and ethics of non exploitative relationships with schools, teachers and learners – there must be reciprocity • Both R&D benefit from dialectical relationship – work is grounded in teacher/learner experiences – can’t access authentic data accessed through trusting relationships

10. A hub of mathematical activity, passion and innovation • Engaging, serving and strengthening four key interconnected communities of practice

12. WENGER’S (1998: 5) – 4 components of a social theory of learning

13. history of mutual engagement around joint enterprise is ideal context for leading-edge learning, requires strong bond of communal competence & deep respect for the particularity of experience. When these in place, CoP privileged locus for the creation of knowledge (Wenger, 1998) • PD partnerships - all co-learners- bringing different experiences and expertise to share in the community –teacher experiences the basis of joint enterprise (SANCP 2011)

14. NICLE teacher community

15. Develop teacher agency & new forms of relationships • CoPs - access to quality resources – most NB opportunity teacher engagement where experiences are basis of joint enterprise & interaction with research informed resources; Partners vs recipient • CoPs bring distinct communities together – teachers from different schools, researchers, international/national experts and departmental teacher advisors - privileged space for dialogue because new forms of relationships established across members

16. ENF (Grade R) teacher community

17. Supplementary programs • After school clubs • Revisit foundations from earlier grades • Freedom to think, make mistakes and be messy • Develop learner talk, active participation, push for progression – efficiency of methods • Range of games and take home resources for developing fluency (dice, cards, books)

18. Clubs

19. Family & community events

20. Dialogue with national policy • Research across 2 SANCs speaks to policy and DoE • Imbizo’s and task teams • Position papers based on teacher ANA experiences and research data • Push for diagnostic assessments • Partnering with district, provincial and national re diagnostic testlets focused on strategies and reasoning chains

21. Research and monitoring

22. Research spaces Maritz(Ph.D.) Graven(Chair)

24. Opportunities for richer learning for members of each of the communities • All research feeds back into intervention programs • Partnership relationships provide opportunities for more authentic data and ‘more intimate’ data gathering methods

25. Argument here interconnected buzz of CoPs enables: • access to research participants (in SA access can’t be taken for granted) • richer research through trusting relations across communities strengthens validity • research journeys build rich & grounded professional networks/relationships across - parents, learners, teachers, departmental advisors, national, researchers, international/national experts (boundary crossing)

26. Three exemplar stories1. Roger • Roger Meterlekamp – teacher and member of PD CoP • After a year joins SANCP as a researcher researching his on class practice on the teaching of time • Presents findings to PD CoP; AMESA & SAARMSTE conferences • Becomes HoD & joins district advisor committee • Begins his PhD and starts a learning study with NICLE & others – this is empirical field of his research • Becomes deputy principal • Presents preliminary research findings national AMESA/ regional SAARMSTE conference

27. Roger Teacher comments: Workshop on teaching time Discussion provoked more thought about the complexity of time Very useful I now have a clearer understanding of how to teach time in my class Excellent worthwhile resources, very excited to implement. Roger explained it in simple terms. The video he used was encouraging.

28. 2. Zanele • Local teacher (not part of PD) • Masters research – sets up club as empirical field for intervention on multiplicative reasoning • Promoted to provincial FP mathematics curriculum advisor – joins PD sessions and uses resources in broader teacher support; also runs PD sessions on her M Ed findings & at teacher conferences • Begins PhD and sets up PD math club CoP program in her local districts • Joins working groups on assessment & national ministerial task team • Continues participation in SANC PD CoP and draws on resources and teachers to support cluster based workshops • Sharing club PD program with subject advisors across the province

29. Zanele

30. 3. Debbie • 2011 PhD researcher • Pilot clubs, research and run 2 clubs, co-ordinate expansion of clubs into SANCP schools • Complete PhD and disseminate findings (journals, local, international conferences (including plenary) • Develop club resources website • consolidation club research findings (across project) into a club PD program • Expansion of club TD program into after care centres, other NGO programs and districts • Supervises district researchers on PD programs

31. Debbie

32. Spread of clubs Eastern Cape South Africa

33. Communities – connecting local and global

34. 2011 2017

35. Concluding remarks and questions • Blending R & D is powerful and rewarding as each strengthens the other. • Establishing non-exploitative trusting partnerships with teachers/communities is – keeps research grounded in local realities and experiences • Partnerships inspire teacher researchers who come with grounded experiences • Interconnected buzz - creates a powerful communications network, focuses on strengthening math learning – 7 yrs ago picture did not exist – instead silos