Elementary | Mathematics

Guided Math Model

Helping students do better in Grade 9 mathematics begins in Grades 7 and 8, where 60-minute math classes are timetabled all at the same time in each grade. A diagnostic assessment is administered on the previous year’s curriculum, and students are grouped based on their needs.

Teaching strategies support the learners by closing gaps, increasing math confidence for both the students and the staff, increasing perseverance, increasing student voice and participation, and ultimately building engagement. At the end of each strand, regardless of which groups the students are in, the students all write the same final assessment. Teaching strategies change depending on the needs of the group.

When this model started in 2012, teachers met every 6–8 weeks to monitor student progress. Teachers tracked student progress with teaching strategies to determine the number of students who were meeting the provincial standard. The school also administered attitudinal surveys to the students, using the same questions from the Grades 6 and 9 EQAO questionnaires to measure growth throughout the year. Students who had previously indicated that they disliked math began to report that they were enjoying it angymd that their confidence was increasing.