New math curriculum brings timing concerns, says ETFO WR President
Posted Jun 24, 2020 07:00:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The concept of time, while it plays a part in Ontario's updated math curriculum, may not be on the side of elementary teachers in the province.
Greg Weiler, the President of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario in Waterloo Region, says it's a significant update, but takes issue with the proposed timeline.
“I think our concern is with the Minister releasing the curriculum, and expecting the implementation for September, when we're not in normal times,” he told The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We don't even know for sure what we're planning for in September.”
He says those plans may not come until two weeks beforehand, which makes planning much more difficult.
As well, the quantity of information is a big factor.
“One of the challenges of the math curriculum has always been the amount of content that needs to be covered,” Weiler added.
“Teachers often preferred to have more time, so that they can get in to these topics in greater depth with students.”
He said the new curriculum has increased the amount of information to teach, which could lead to increased pressure to cover the content and impede the ability for students and teachers alike from getting in depth and making sure the content is understood properly.
As for the content itself, Weiler noted the addition of “what we might have called learning skills, as a formal part of the math curriculum,” along with coding and financial literacy.
“What most teachers will be able to communicate is these things were not absent in previous curriculums,” he continued.
“They might not have been all in the math curriculum, or taught as part of the math curriculum, specifically coding. But conceptually, these aren't things that were not being taught to students before.”
CLICK HERE to learn more about the new curriculum.
