‘Most reasoning remains invisible ‘ it stays inside people’s heads.  In order for students to improve their reasoning, it needs to be made visible and audible ‘ through oral or written explanations.’

Improving Reasoning: Analysing Alternative Approaches. Malcolm Swan 2011 revised 2016

Would you agree with this quotation from Swan’s article? Which pedological strategies do you currently use to encourage pupil reasoning?  Are all the children in your class happy to share their reasoning or are some more reticent? This is an opportunity for you to work alongside other teachers to research different pedagogical strategies and to determine which you believe, from your observations, impact most positively on different attainment groups.

This Work Group aims to deepen students’ understanding of maths by using strategies for oracy to develop students’ reasoning skills and to support them in making connections with mathematical structure.

Central to the Work Group is establishing a community of practice, aiming to answer the research question: ‘How can Oracy deepen students’ mathematical reasoning?’ This Work Group will consider pedagogical strategies, that participants will commit to experimenting with, and the impact that the specific pedagogy of Oracy can have on students’ mathematical thinking and securing understanding.

Impact of Work Group

We are so proud of the work we have been able to do this year, please see below some video shorts from our two Work Group leads discussing the impact of the programme.

Introduction to Oracy

What is exploratory talk?

Protocols for Oracy: Classroom Culture

Primary Oracy Poster

Please see below the Primary Oracy group poster summarising the activities and impact from 2022/23.

Resources