RESEARCH REPORTS - BREAKOUT ROOM 1 - Constructing Educational Possibilities for All Students in Grade 9 Mathematics
Research studies reveal that tracking exacerbates inequities by allocating high-status knowledge to some students while denying it to others. This research project investigates the various ways that secondary mathematics teachers cater to the wider range of abilities within the newly implemented detracked classrooms. The purpose of this project was to examine the current practices and teaching techniques that in-service secondary school mathematics teachers are using in their mixed-ability classrooms. Sixteen schools participated in this study. For this paper, we discuss the comments made during two-semi structured interviews made by fourteen participants. Our findings suggest that grade 9 mathematics teachers have placed meeting individual student needs at the forefront and focused on assessing students’ mathematical skills on an ongoing basis as well as incorporated open questions, introductory tasks that allowed for multiple entry points, or low-middle-high entry level tasks. The classroom learning environment was also vital to the implementation of a detracked mathematics course encompassing diverse group work approaches and the use of vertical non-permanent surfaces.