This project worked with a small group of learners from quintile 3, whose attainment in numeracy and maths was below average for their year group. They formed a ‘boost group’, working with the Principal Teacher twice a week on Number Talks strategies and growth mindset messages. The aim was to raise attainment of the pupils, whilst improving their attitudes towards learning. A baseline and follow-up Number Talks assessment and Pupil Attitudes survey was carried out to provide quantitative measures of progress. This was augmented with learner discussions with their class teachers. Assessment data at the end of session was also compared to similar learners who did not receive the boost group intervention.
To achieve our project’s aim, the following steps took place:
The December results show the following:
The timelines planned for this project were mostly accurate and the majority of activities took place with the timeframes set out:
The main changes made to the project plan were in communicating progress of learners with class teachers. Due to time constraints, only one monthly review meeting took place in October, where staged intervention targets were discussed. Following this, updates were given to the class teachers through email. This left minimal opportunity for professional dialogue and made it challenging to understand if progress observed during boost group sessions translated in their classwork. To address this, a pack of resources used in the boost group sessions was created for each child to use in class. Professional dialogue did take place in October, February and May alongside Pupil Support discussions.
At the beginning of this project, we identified a group of learners within P5 and P6, in quintile 3, whose attainment within numeracy and mathematics was below expected levels for their year group. June assessment scores were used to identify these pupils. The average score for every year group is 100, with pupils scoring 90 - 110 classed as within average range. A group of 3 learners who scored below 90, who weren’t already receiving interventions, were identified. Class teachers also felt that these children would benefit from attending boost group sessions.
Along with the baseline Number Talks assessment, the pupils carried out a Pupil Attitudes Survey to obtain a picture of their attitude towards school and learning. A scoring scale system was added to the survey, with answers that showed a strong growth mindset given five points and those displaying a lack of growth mindset given one point.
This boost group worked with the Principal Teacher twice a week on Number Talks strategies based upon misconceptions they showed in their assessment. During these sessions, the following growth mindset messages (taken from the ‘Positive Norms Description’ paper, 2017) were explored using videos and posters taken from the Youcubed website:
These messages were also shared with staff during an August In-service, to ensure they were upheld in classes throughout the school. Pupils engaged with these sessions well and all learners looked forward to the boost group sessions.
All three learners carried out a follow up Number Talks assessment and Pupil Attitudes Survey in December. Results at this mid-point were positive, with both assessments showing an increase in scores for all children taking part:
Dec 2018 Dec 2019
Pupil A 86.96 98.5%
Pupil B 89.96 96.2%
Pupil C 97.3% 98.1%
The impact of the project is small as it only reflects changes for three learners. However, both the qualitative and quantitative data are positive. During discussion with the pupils, an increase in confidence and mindset towards maths was shown, as highlighted in the statements below. The learners also demonstrated an increased interest in attending the boost sessions from September to December. This is potentially due to the focus on positive mindset messages but also the praise received as part of a small group.
‘I like Maths now and feel really confident to share my answers’
‘I love coming to do Maths…. I am much better at getting the right answers now but I know it’s ok if I don’t get an answer right because that is when my brain is learning’
‘I used to think I was so bad at maths and I didn’t like it. I like when I get to show how I have worked out an answer to the other people in the group which I hated doing before.’
Attendance rates have also been impacted in a positive way, with attendance improving for all three pupils. The majority of pupils say they are much happier coming to school now because they are more confident and their learning and their attendance rates reflect this. This is due to the positive mindset messages being taken on board.
The following targets for improvement were set at the beginning of the project:
All pupils increased their Number Talks assessment scores:
This is an average increase of 59 percentage points for the group. All pupils exceeded expectations and achieved beyond the 60% that was expected at the December mid-point review.
All pupils also increased their Pupil Attitudes Survey score:
This is an average increase of 16 percentage points, and the majority of children achieved the expected figure of 60% at the December Mid-point review.
Numeracy and Mathematics assessment scores will also be analysed at the session end. It is expected that the three pupils working within the boost group will have increased their scores so that they fall within the normal range between 90 and 110.
This was a small test of change, so the impact and measures surrounding this project only involve a few pupils. However, it is clear from the encouraging data that the project had a positive impact on the pupils in terms of their attainment and mindset towards their learning. This is due to the consistent use of growth mindset messages along with support to alleviate mathematical misconceptions. Learners truly believed that they could achieve within numeracy and mathematics.
The following was used to support assessment of learners in maths and numeracy:
Mental agility assessment (2nd level consolidating)
The project also used a range of resources and activities to support the learners:
Class teachers have given positive feedback about the impact of the project on the attainment and attitudes towards numeracy and mathematics, for the learners in their class. The small group sessions have benefited learner’s understanding of the concepts covered and they have demonstrated this in a whole class setting. Class teachers have also observed that learners have shown greater focus, interest and perseverance in maths and numeracy. A survey was undertaken between January and May to formally capture the class teacher’s voice.
The future aim is for a Number Talks intervention guide to be written by the Principal Teacher, to raise attainment in numeracy and mathematics for those with lower-than-average assessment scores. Informed by this project, this would be a step-by-step guide that could be used by any member of staff, after training. It would include growth mindset messages and resources to help improve attitude and attainment. Two further boost groups are planned to upscale this session’s project.
In future, evidence from a control group would be collected at each stage of the project. This would be formed of pupils in the same classes, with assessment scores at the lower end of the average 90-110 range. Their Number Talks assessment results could be compared with the boost group to help better isolate the impact of the project from other factors.