TV Ontario's The Agenda With Steve Paikin covered the issues surrounding declining PISA math scores and the math curriculum on Thursday, January 16.
Video of the program (again, featuring your blog host) can be found here.
MathRight : Improving Math Education in Ontario
Start Here
Welcome to the website of MathRight, an informal coalition of concerned parents, educators and members of the public. Our goal is to improve mathematics education in Ontario's schools.
The Issue
Throughout Canada, concern has been growing for some time about the quality of mathematics education in schools. Studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that students are not achieving their full potential in mathematics. Recent changes in the curriculum have de-emphasized algorithms, factual learning and structured approaches in favour of a "discovery" approach.
We feel that a balanced approach in which children are given a reliable toolset of facts, algorithms and processes together with an understanding of why and how they work is best. Emphasizing one at the expense of the other can only diminish the quality of math education, and does not serve all students well.
MathRight is a non-partisan, non-political coalition of people from many walks of life and from all parts of Ontario. Please join us:
- Follow some of the links below to learn more about the issues
- Share your experiences and those of your children
- Join us and help us build a movement so that we can influence policy makers and work with teachers and school boards to give our children the best possible math education.
Contact the administrator, clive.packer (at) gmail.com if you wish more information or to join us.
Background
MathRight has been largely inspired by and owes a debt of gratitude to the work of WISEMath.org. Please visit their site which contains a wealth of material.
The College Math Project studies the math skills of college entrants and the potential societal and economic impacts of declining achievement in math.
Macleans magazine published an excellent article on the state of math education here. Parentcentral.ca covered the issue here.
The Ontario Math Curriculum can be downloaded here in .pdf format.
Join Us
If you'd like to join the effort to improve math education in Ontario, and you're in sympathy with the concerns and objectives described here, please leave us a comment with your contact details.
You can comment on any recent post.
We'll keep you informed of events and happenings. If you have something to contribute and want to become involved, please let us know. The greater our numbers, the more we can influence things.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
CBC Radio Spot
Yours truly appeared on the CBC Ottawa drive time show All In A Day last Friday to discuss math curriculum. Audio can be found at http://www.cbc.ca/allinaday/2014/01/10/at-odds-on-math/
Discovery math chaos in Kanata
This story from an Ottawa area high school is one example, albeit an extreme one, of the consequences of unrestrained discovery math teaching:
Math class doesn't add up - Ottawa Sun
Math class doesn't add up - Ottawa Sun
Friday, January 10, 2014
Updates and Relaunch: January 2014
Teresa Murray has started a petition to reform the math curriculum in Ontario, and there has been considerable media interest in the issue over the last six months, so we are relaunching this blog in hopes that we can contribute and build momentum for change.
Please, if you have not already done so, go and sign the petition.
Minister of Education Liz Sandals has announced $4M in new funding for teacher training in math; at the same time she has ruled out any curriculum changes. While funding and training are welcome, we believe the fundamentals of the "discovery" approach are at fault, and without reform of the curriculum we do not expect this funding to achieve the best results.
Recent media coverage:
Globe and Mail:
Math wrath: Parents and teachers demanding a return to basic skills
Ontario gives teachers $4-million to brush up on province’s shoddy math curriculum
Toronto Star:
One step forward in Ontario math education doesn’t add up to much: Editorial
Please, if you have not already done so, go and sign the petition.
Minister of Education Liz Sandals has announced $4M in new funding for teacher training in math; at the same time she has ruled out any curriculum changes. While funding and training are welcome, we believe the fundamentals of the "discovery" approach are at fault, and without reform of the curriculum we do not expect this funding to achieve the best results.
Recent media coverage:
Globe and Mail:
Math wrath: Parents and teachers demanding a return to basic skills
Teachers concerned about declining math scores
Ontario unveils $4-million math upgrade plan
National Post:
Ontario unveils $4-million math upgrade plan
National Post:
Ontario gives teachers $4-million to brush up on province’s shoddy math curriculum
Toronto Star:
One step forward in Ontario math education doesn’t add up to much: Editorial
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
As go the west and Ontario, so goes N.S.
This article today from the Chronicle Herald highlights that the random, abstract "discovery" method has taken hold in Nova Scotia as well. It's a great insight into the mind of the experts pushing the new approaches, however. How to make math education worse in N.S.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
New Math Not Adding Up
This from the Toronto Sun this Saturday: New math not adding up | Columnists | Opinion | Toronto Sun
Friday, September 14, 2012
Math Scores Lag in Latest Tests in Ontario
The Globe and Mail has this article: EQAO results show dip in Grade 6 math skills.
Math remains a trouble spot for Ontario students according to standardized test results released Wednesday morning.While students continue post promising gains in their reading and writing skills, math scores are slipping, based on data collected by the province’s Education Quality and Accountability Office.
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