I have 2 target students for Maths and I am working in getting them to Stage 4 by the end of the year. These students only need to be at stage 3 by early next year but I believe that they can reach stage 4.
These students started the year on Stage 0/1 but they have really grasped and now really enjoy maths. The boy loves the problem solving approach and loves working with a buddy, the girl however often finds problems overwhelming and gets lost in all the words. They both are becoming familiar with talk moves and as a group, we (me included) are getting particularly good at using "wait time" and "agree or disagree." I have found that setting up the expectations and introducing the vocabulary to be the hardest part.
Last week I was observed for Maths and the facilitator said that she thought the problem would be too hard for my 5 year olds. However all of them could solve the problem and my target boy student took in further and was talking about groupings and skip counting.
I think that the students (and my self) are becoming more familiar with the problem solving approach and that is why I am now seeing positive shifts in their learning.
