Proposal



DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

**Context**
Include: Key characteristics of the school, Nature of student population/community. This action learning project invovles teachers from across two schools, St Rita's Primary School and Mary MacKillop Primary School.

__Mary MacKillop Primary School__

Mary MacKillop Catholic Parish Primary School is located at 10 Hardy Road and is situated in the beautiful bayside suburb of Birkdale, 27km from Brisbane CBD. Our school prides itself on the spirit that can be found in our students, teachers, sporting teams, achievements, friendships and approach to learning. Our school offers the latest in teaching and learning, technology, extra curricula activities, and the benefits of being a high quality inclusive co-educational Catholic school. We offer our students (Prep to Year 7) a rounded education that supports personal growth based on Christian values. We encourage students to develop a knowledge of other cultures, languages and environmental and social issues.

At Mary MacKillop Catholic Parish Primary School we are fortunate to have Blessed Mary MacKillop as our patron and role model. We see Mary MacKillop as a real, hardworking Australian woman who reached out to many less fortunate Australians, and as such, we are inspired by her life, her dedication to God and her triumph over adversity to educate children throughout Australia. We incorporate aspects of her life and dedication in the religious character of our school community, and this is reinforced within our school motto - “Reach out, Embrace, Achieve”.

We believe in teaching and encouraging children to live Jesus’ message in their daily lives. This is achieved through faith education, which instills values such as forgiveness, acceptance and helping each other. We believe in a child-centered spirituality, which acknowledges individuality and promotes the belief that each child is special and has the ability to make a difference to our community. We promote behaviours and ideas that make children feel at peace with their lives and their environment. We also encourage children to be actively involved in caring for their environment and to celebrate the unique Australian spirituality that Mary MacKillop pioneered.
 * Social Climate of the School **

We see Mary MacKillop Catholic Parish Primary School as an integral part of the ministry of the Birkdale parish and the Catholic community, and we value the relationships between all community members. In the way in which both Jesus and Mary MacKillop embraced and helped all people, we endeavour to be welcoming and promote a strong sense of belonging and involvement to all community members.


 * Current enrolments** stand at: 651 students (419 families)
 * 1 x ATSI student **
 * 3 x ESL students **

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 * What open ended question/s do you want to answer by doing action research? **
 * How do we best plan mathematics investigations with the student at the centre?


 * Who is involved and how? **

Teachers across 2 schools include :
 * 1 x yr 6 teacher - Mary MacKillop
 * 1 x yr 7 teacher - Mary MacKillop
 * 2 x yr 6 teachers - St Rita's
 * 1 x Prep teacher - St Rita's


 * How is your project consistent with the theoretical basis of the Archdiocesan Literacy and Numeracy position? **


 * Teachers want to improve learning and teaching in line with student and school data
 * Teachers want to support practices that actively engage students in their learning eg through ICLT's/multiliteracies
 * Teachers want to improve pedagogical practices in numeracy.


 * Target group(s) / year levels? **
 * Teachers own mathematics classes (Prep, yr 6, yr 7)


 * Why have you chosen this focus? Is it about teachers’ critical reflection on classroom practice? **
 * Teachers are frustrated with how maths is currently planned
 * Teachers have expressed a desire to plan with the student at the starting point, not the maths program or text.
 * Student engagement and intrinsic motivation in current maths lessons is low
 * Teachers want to renew and reflect on their current practices in planning for mathematics
 * Teachers want to motivate students to think critically and develop logic mathematical thinking
 * Teachers want to explore different ways of implementing ICLT's / multiliteracies to improve student engagement in numeracy


 * What data do you have to justify your focus – qualitative, quantitative, research? **
 * Observation and discussion
 * Teachers survey of current practice
 * Planning documents

**Methodology – how will you make it work?**
· //Follow an action learning sequence to describe what you will do (ie: plan, act, observe, reflect and then plan, act, observe, reflect etc). //

· //Include: a clear staged plan for monitoring and evaluating improvement/progress; // //strategies to be implemented, data and evidence that will be collected to document, analyse and report on improvement. It may include implications for future sustainability. //

__STEP 1 : PLAN__
 * Collect baseline data : how teachers currently plan in maths
 * Collect baseline data : how teachers use data about students to inform their planning
 * Collect baseline data : Observe student engagement and motivation in a teaching partner's current maths lesson
 * Investigate various ways to plan maths investigations
 * Gather and critique data from teachers who have planned maths investigations either currently or previously
 * Create the professional learning team. Meet to confirm roles, meeting dates, possible experts to learn from,
 * Identify a planning process as a starting point
 * Teachers compose own short term goal and timeline for implementation (e.g. I will trial one maths investigation plan and write in my journal every second day.)

__STEP 2 : ACT__
 * Create a process for trial with individual teachers
 * Begin planning using selected process
 * Journal reflections of pros and cons against goal
 * Evaluate and document the planning process and indentify what is working well and what needs to change

__STEP 3 : OBSERVE__
 * Observe the student engagement and motivation in a teaching partner's maths investigation lesson and vice versa
 * As a group, rate and collate data about the changes you have made ie. what is working well and what still needs to change in the planning & teaching?
 * Survey students

__STEP 4 : REFLECT__
 * Identify the positive changes we have made
 * Identify what hindered effective teaching and learening. Why did it not work?
 * Plan how to sustain the positive aspects in individual teaching
 * Compose an action plan to use what has been learned to a whole school.

**Project goals and targets** > // Include: Key milestones / outcomes intended ////. //
 * Teachers use various methods to collect student data
 * Teachers collect relevant student data as a basis to their planning
 * Teachers follow an appropriate planning cycle
 * Teachers use maths investigations effectively in their teaching and learning
 * Teachers identify which teaching practices contribute to effective teaching and learning and which do not

__Semester 2 2010 - cycle__

 * Teachers survey of maths planning
 * Teacher survey of student data collection in maths
 * Observe student engagement in maths. Student survey of motivation in maths.
 * Gather ways to plan maths investigations e.g. imaths, BCE Education Officers, other schools, teachers who have used them before
 * Meet as a professional learning team. Set future dates, roles etc
 * Write own individual goals for the semester
 * Teachers plan a maths investigation using a selected process
 * Journal reflections of pros and cons of selected process
 * Evaluate and document the planning process and indentify what is working well and what needs to change
 * Observe the student engagement and motivation in a teaching partner's maths investigation lesson
 * As a group, rate and collate data about the changes you have made ie. what is working well and what still needs to change in the planning & teaching?

__Semester 1 2011__
 * Begin semester 2 2010 cycle again with alterations to original planning process
 * Plan how to sustain the positive aspects in individual teaching
 * Compose an action plan to use what has been learned to a whole school.

**Itemised budget for the project**
//Also consider the requirement that you present your project at a seminar day eg: preparation time and teacher release for this event. //
 * Teacher release for professional development : 5 teachers x 1 day = $2200
 * Purchase of resources : $600
 * Lit and Num Week planning and presentation : ;2 teachers x 2 days = $1760