Research School Network: ‘Till the soil so the roots take hold’. Implementing changes to solve our problem-solving problem

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‘Till the soil so the roots take hold’.

Implementing changes to solve our problem-solving problem

by Aspirer Research School
on the

Implementation doesn’t occur in a neat and linear fashion: strategies and phases overlap and are revisited over time. As such, implementation is best treated as a process of ongoing learning that adapts to the changing needs of the school.’
(p21) The School’s Guide to Implementation, EEF

Around this time of year, across the country, schools are reviewing and writing development plans, identifying what changes to make in the new academic year. In the past, my maths development plan alone might have five, six, perhaps seven well intentioned statements and initiatives, which when reviewed in December, had lain dormant for a full term. Perhaps work might have started on one point, but I was never where I imagined I would be, and in June, many of the actions will have only received a brief look. It is difficult, with so many targets to think about how to manage the change and identify small steps which would lead to maintained changes in approach, improving outcomes for children.

Why is it that, even with the best of intentions, new initiatives ultimately fail to gain traction before they are forgotten, and something else takes its place?

Enabling improvement is crucial, and the EEF’s School’s Guide to Implementation, Recommendation 3, emphasises the importance of practical preparation for the approach to be successful.

initial training is unlikely to be sufficient to yield changes in practice. Often, it is only when follow-on support is provided, as teachers are delivering a new approach, that they can apply their conceptual understanding to practical classroom behaviours’

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EEF(p41) The School’s Guide to Implementation, EEF

What might this look like in practise?

We identified Problem Solving as an area we wanted to develop. We used the EEF Guidance Report Improving Mathematics in Key Stages Two and Three’ and explored Recommendation 3. Through pupil voice, staff voice and book looks, we identified that our focus should be further tightened to developing the teaching of strategies for solving problems. In the guidance report, strategies range from identifying simpler, related problems to encouraging pupils to use visual representations to provide insights into a problem’s structure.

We chose to use Gareth Metcalfe’s I See Problem Solving’ to develop this and planned to introduce the resource in stages.

We invested in up front training for key staff, including Phase Leaders, developing a shared understanding of the rationale behind this new approach. This training was followed up with further support back in school.

A cycle of staff meetings and gap tasks was planned to develop confidence and understanding among the whole staff. Each half term, a staff meeting takes place where we look at one small aspect of the new approach. Each staff meeting is paired with a teaching gap task related to the small step from the meeting.

Before the next meeting, staff are asked to reflect on successes and areas for development, and these are discussed as part of the ongoing cycle.

At the start of the process, staff were provided with a complete lesson plan and resources for their first teaching gap task, building their confidence. Each half term, they take on more of the planning themselves, coached by key staff who attended the initial up-front training.

We have been working this way for a year now. We have by no means solved our problem-solving problem! We still have more to learn, but as a school, we have a shared understanding of the approach, and we are moving forward and the changes in approach are becoming embedded.

Our roots are, indeed, beginning to take hold.

EEF. A School’s guide to implementation.
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/implementation
(April 2024).

EEF. Improving Mathematics in Key Stages Two and Three. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/maths-ks‑2 – 3
(Accessed 2 May 2024).

Metcalfe, G. I See Problem Solving – Year 2: Maths Tasks for Building Problem Solvers. Available at: https://www.iseemaths.com/problem-solving-y2/
(Accessed 2 May 2024).

Metcalfe, G. I See Problem Solving – LKS2: Maths Tasks for Teaching Problem Solving. Available at: https://www.iseemaths.com/problem-solving-lks2/
(Accessed 2 May 2024).

Metcalfe, G. I See Problem Solving – UKS2: Maths Tasks for Teaching Problem Solving. Available at: https://www.iseemaths.com/problem-solving-uks2/
(Accessed 2 May 2024).

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