June 18, 2013
Manitoba Strengthens Quality of Math Education With Revisions to Kindergarten to Grade 8 Curriculum
– – –Revised Curriculum Will Provide Students With Skills Necessary to Succeed in Math: Allan
Education Minister Nancy Allan today announced the release of a newly revised kindergarten to Grade 8 math curriculum.
“By working with our education partners to strengthen the math curriculum and increase supports for students, teachers and parents, students will get the math education they need to succeed,” said Allan. “We use math every day and by providing a strong math education to our students, we will lay a strong foundation for their future and the future of Manitoba.”
The minister noted the province listened to parents, educators and math experts who raised concerns that children were not getting the basic skills they needed to do arithmetic and solve problems. The new, revised curriculum strikes the right balance between developing math skills, procedural thinking, conceptual understanding and problem solving to ensure students are getting a solid foundation in math, she said.
The newly revised curriculum will be implemented in schools provincewide starting in September. During the summer, the province will offer professional development opportunities for educators on the newly revised kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum and ways to make math more engaging for high school students.
The minister announced the province will be moving forward on a number of initiatives to ensure students receive a high-quality math education including:
- designing online curriculum supports for parents to help them support their child’s learning,
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updating high school math courses to ensure students have the necessary math skills for
post-secondary education and good jobs, - improving teacher training in mathematics in partnership with the faculties of education, and
- establishing a Mathematics Education Advisory Committee to provide a forum where educators can share ideas on how to improve the quality of math education and learning in Manitoba.
Other initiatives the government is currently undertaking to improve the quality of Manitoba’s education system include:
- increasing funding for the Early Numeracy Initiative to support school divisions with design and implementation of numeracy programming and teacher professional development to improve students’ math skills in kindergarten to Grade 8;
- reducing class sizes to 20 students or fewer in kindergarten to Grade 3;
- introducing a new, plain-language report card; and
- implementing a new assessment policy to ensure more rigorous standards in schools.
Revisions to the kindergarten to Grade 8 math curriculum were announced one year ago when the province hosted a math summit which brought together educators, and business and industry representatives to share ideas on how to strengthen math education in Manitoba.
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