Following considerable backlash from the media, parent advocates and the Wildrose Party against Alberta’s math curriculum, the government will be making clarifications to the Alberta Kindergarten-Grade 9 math programs.
“There was a misconception that the basics were taken out, and they never were,” said Tamara Magnan, spokesperson for Alberta Education.
Magnan said as of September 2014 the clarifications mean that “more basic language” would be put back into the curriculum.
This includes refocusing on the multiplication table, recall and memorization. It also adds algorithms back into the curriculum as an optional outcome.
For Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies, a Leduc mother of three, it’s not quite enough.
Tran-Davies has over 17,000 signatures on her online petition from parents who want the government to re-focus the math curriculum on traditional math concepts, rather than the current ‘discovery math’ employed.
“They have made some actual revisions, and that’s what we wanted, but (Education) Minister (Jeff) Johnson didn’t go far enough,” she explained. “Even though we’re grateful they’re no longer disparaging the algorithms — they’re leaving it as an option (instead of including it as a standard learning outcome).”
Tran-Davies said she hopes that by the time the province moves into 2016 for the final curriculum re-write based on the concepts of ‘Inspiring Education’, there will be considerable fine-tuning and consulting with mathematicians.
For Cochranite Angela Irons, mother of one and director for non-profit advocacy group Parents for Choice in Education (PCE), the hope is that this isn’t just lip service from the government in response to outspoken parent groups across the province.
Learn more at parentchoice.ca.
“We don’t want traditional algorithms as an option…shortcuts (to math equations, problem solving) can be learned after basic concepts are learned,” said Irons, adding that the ‘building blocks’ are essential for math students to move on to higher learning.
To learn more about the clarifications, visit education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/math.aspx.
