Critical Transitions: Impact 2016 to 2019

IMPACT SUMMARY
DIRECT IMPACT: ~700 teachers/educators ~537 students ~40 parents
POTENTIAL INDIRECT IMPACT: ~14,000 students

Early Math Pre K and K – 1

    1. Professional Development Conferences; ~2 conferences; ~550 teachers/early childhood educators
    2. Kindergarten Forum for Action; 26 locations represented across Ontario by participants, 44 participants
    3. Two major initiatives; available here
    4. Reports, Resources & Case studies; 2 articles, 3 resources, case studies are in development

Early Math resources were created for educators by participating CoP members, including:
1. 55 Activities to Promote Spatial Orientation and Visualization (Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board)
2. Components of an Effective Kindergarten Math Program (Greater Essex County District School Board)
3. Early Math Trajectories At-A-Glance (Greater Essex County District School Board)

Early Childhood Educators’ and Teachers’ Early Mathematics Education Knowledge, Beliefs, and Pedagogy by Sandy Youmans, Andrew Coombs & Lynda Colgan (Queen’s University). Published in The Canadian Journal of Education, read the article here!

Early Math Education Workshop August 2019, 85 attendees

 Professional Development Workshop Series on Maximizing Early Math Learning hosted at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. This one-day event was sponsored by the MKN, the Queen’s Faculty of Education, and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO).

Workshop evaluation surveys were collected at the end of the workshop indicated that the event was a phenomenal success. For example, 97% of participants agreed that the event was useful for them and 98% of participants agreed that the event met its objectives. In fact, some participants commented that the event provided the best professional development (PD) they had ever received. Ninety-eight percent of participants were interested in attending future MKN PD events.

Grade 8 to 12

    1. Crossing the Divide Workshop; available at mkncrossingthedivide.ca
    2. Interviews about Grade 8 to 9 transition; ~40 students, ~40 teachers, ~parents
    3. Math Lessons with Indigenous Knowledge content, Grade 9; 60 classroom visits, 30 students, 5 teachers
    4. Classroom case studies workshops and observations; 2 sessions, 4 teachers, 22 students
    5. 2 reports

Critical Transitions in Student Mathematical Development, Elementary to Secondary School: Literature Review and Research Study Findings, available at here.

Revisioning the Three R’s from the Ground Up: Relationships, Resilience, and Resources
Read the Technical Report and Executive Summary to learn about the work happening in Locally Developed Grade 9 classrooms through our Critical Transitions CoP.

Birch Bark Basket Making, 30 students and 5 teachers

This lesson is focused on traditional Anishinabek birch bark baskets, and the math that goes into making them. By the end of the lesson, students completed making a birch bark basket and were able to calculate the volume and surface area of their basket.

Grade 12 to post-secondary

  1. Implement enrichment math modules; module will be field tested in three classes per city, 300 students, 9 teachers in Kingston, Ottawa and Ontario
  2. Grade 11 Teachers’ Workshop in Ottawa; 28 teachers, 4 graduate students
  3. In Fall-Winter 2019-20, teaching and learning activity will be monitored in 4 classrooms in Ottawa,  with 100 students and 4 teachers. This is a joint SSHRC-funded program run by Peter Taylor (Mathematics, Queen’s University) and Christine Suurtamm (Math Education, University Ottawa).
  4. 2 new articles

Modules: Rabbit Math 2019; 34 attendees, 28 teachers and 4 students

Developing new curriculum activities working with teachers and students. Currently activities from the Grade 11 project are running in a number of Ontario high schools in Ottawa and Toronto. More information is available through the website.

New articles by Dr. Peter Taylor (Professor at Queen’s University, member of Critical Transitions CoP):

Teach the Mathematics of Mathematicians (April 2018), in Education Sciences. Read the paper here.

 

Mathematics is about wonder, creativity and fun, so let’s teach it that way in The Conversation (July 2019). Read the paper here.