Grange Primary School
Grange Primary School in Monifieth was opened in 1975 and now has around 350 pupils. It is in a suburban area on the outskirts of Dundee.
Elizabeth McGurk, deputy headteacher, discusses the whole-school programme
The problem solving programme at Grange Primary School was prompted by an HMI inspection four years ago, which recommended that more attention should be paid to strategies for solving more difficult problems.
A whole-school initiative came up with a progressive programme starting with ‘Working together’ and ‘Making a pattern’ in the infants, and finishing with ‘Guess and check’, ‘Conjecture’ and ‘Working backwards’ in P7. The programme was designed to help with cooperation and communication skills. Researching resources was a major task, the aim being to produce a resource box for each stage.
Assessment is mainly based on informal discussions between teachers and pupils. Each pupil has his or her own record folder where examples of work are kept as evidence of progress.
Elizabeth McGurk finds that pupils are very positive about problem solving and that this attitude transfers to maths in general. She also observes that cooperation among pupils has really improved.
| Elizabeth McGurk discusses the whole-school programme | |
|---|---|
| Description | Elizabeth McGurk discusses the whole-school initiative that resulted in a progressive problem solving programme with resource boxes for each stage |
| Duration | 2 minutes 32 seconds |
| Windows version |  Windows Media video: Elizabeth McGurk discusses the whole-school programme |
| Mac version |  QuickTime movie: Elizabeth McGurk discusses the whole-school programme |
| Transcript | Elizabeth McGurk discusses the whole-school programme |
Stages at Grange Primary School
- P2, Grange Primary School
P2 pupils work on ‘Finding a pattern’.
- P5/P6, Grange Primary School
P5/P6 pupils plan a class party.