From Overwhelmed to Riding the Wave

 On the Eve of MPI Day 6, I'm reflecting on the journey between sessions and feeling quite good about where my math programme is at despite the chaotic last few weeks. I'm now eight weeks post-op. This is my fourth week back (part-time)in the classroom. I have to say the first three really flogged me! Despite both only being two-day work weeks for me, as I returned on a Tuesday and the following week was the long weekend. Being dropped off and picked up means I have more quiet time at the end of each school day, to not only set up for the school day, but also line everything up and plan ahead for the days I'm not working. Four weeks in and I'm not heading to bed as soon as I get home! I'm calling that progress! Hopefully I'\m not speaking too soon, but I really do feel like everything is starting to come together and I'm beginning to ride on the crest of the wave, building the momentum that is the force that carries it (underlying systems and planning)

I've been back at the helm, somewhat, for three weeks now, albeit only three days per week. It helps that I can kick the week off with two days in a row, setting up Wednesday for explicit teaching that follows into Wednesday for my colleague. Changing the programme to include Rich Tasks on a Thursday and an Investigation Task on a Friday has been another great change, which is lessening the pressure to be at the helm for the entire lesson, every day. It's also an opportunity for my colleague to plan that Friday session, giving up a bit of my own planning control.

I thoroughly enjoy the MPI Teacher Workbook planning format, although I'm already thinking about a layout change for next term, to have a box for each day in the vertical column for an explicit teaching sequence. Now that we are changing out math classes from streamed year level to our home base class (mixed year level), it's going to require the page split into two horizontal groups, rather than the fluid whole class groupings I'd been using. Thursday (Rich Tasks) and Friday (Investigation) will likely still be whole class. The only glitch in the system appears to be others' not understanding the planning formats. This is fundamentally due to the rest of the team not having as much experience teaching from a learning site and harnessing the capabilities. 

Due to testing, etc., the last couple of weeks, and trying to get the routines back in order, I haven't managed to get hold of a child's learning being recorded... however, I have at least one student chomping at the bit to do it. My home class are more confident and competent at using digital tools, so I am anticipating this being easily added into their routine next term.

Despite not being present on the day we covered Choral Counting, I have been introducing this as part of our Math Warm-Up. It's been fabulous at linking in with the teaching division, particularly as the majority of learners aren't confident in recall of multiplication (let alone division)facts. I love that the learners who see the patterns are often the ones who aren't always those who see themselves as mathematicians.

I have to say, I'm really going to miss some of the kids who come in from the other classes. They are often my "Mathematician of the Day".