A collaborative approach to implementing coding in Gr.5-9 math classrooms involving pre- and in-service teachers, numeracy consultants, and university faculty: A partnership between Niagara Catholic District School Board and Brock University

Winter 2022

This work was funded through the Ontario Mathematics Knowledge Network and can also be found here.

This past winter, 25 Niagara Catholic District School Board in-service teachers and 36 Brock University pre-service teachers worked together to prepare and implement coding and mathematics activities in Gr. 5-9 classrooms. The outcomes were richer than anticipated!

This provides one way of supporting the enactment of the new coding expectations in the Ontario math curricula. Below, through different resources, we share details of how this collaborative approach worked, including key insights on what was learned (on implementation and from such a collaborative approach), in terms of potential benefits and difficulties. We also outline concrete recommendations to numeracy consultants who may want to try a similar approach in their context.

Collaboration Resources (for Teachers and Numeracy Consultants)

*not to be used for research purposes

• Professional Learning Webinar
• Three Short Videos of pre- and in-service teachers about:
  • Benefits of the Collaboration
  • What Happened During the Implementation
  • Final Comments from a Teacher for Teachers
• Facilitation Guide for Collaboration (English and French)
• Guidelines for meetings between pre- and in-service teachers (Intro and Preparation Meeting I; Activity Refinement Meeting II; Debriefing and Reflection Meeting III)
• Additional course material for pre-service teachers (readings, projects guidelines, etc.)

Four Experience Reports

* not to be used for research purposes

The Case of Abbey, Jessica, John and Stefanie

Sub-Procedures and Dilations with Scratch (Gr. 7-8)

• Brief experience report
• Brief implementation summary video (Pre-service teachers, Abbey and Jessica)
• In the words of the two in-service teachers, John and Stephanie:
  • How did you prepare your students before the activity?
  • What did you observe about your students’ learning during the activity? 
  • What happened in your classroom after the activity?
  • Can you comment on the value of the collaboration?

The Case of Andrea, Ashley, and Rachel

Solving Algebra Word Problems with Python (Gr. 8)

• Brief experience report
• Brief implementation summary video (Pre-service teachers, Ashley and Rachel)
• In the words of the in-service teacher, Andrea:
  • How did you prepare your students before the activity?
  • What did you observe about your students’ learning during the activity? 
  • What happened in your classroom after the activity?
  • Can you comment on the value of the collaboration?
  • Is there anything you would like to add?

The Case of Daniela, Ginia, and 2 Teachers

Surface Area Exploration with Scratch (Gr. 6-7)

• Brief experience report
• Brief implementation summary video (Pre-service teachers, Daniela and Ginia)

The Case of Allan, Noor, and 2 Teachers

Angles and Polygons with Scratch (Gr. 9)

• Brief experience report
• Brief implementation summary video (Pre-service teachers, Allan and Noor)