Developments in Mathematics Education. Submitted by Department of Education. In 1993, New Brunswick joined Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and

Transcription

1 Developments in Mathematics Education Submitted by Department of Education Background In 1993, New Brunswick joined Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador in the development of a common mathematics curriculum for Atlantic Canada. Work began with the preparation of a foundation document that laid out a framework for subsequent curriculum development and stressed a commitment to the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards (1989) of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). New Brunswick had lead responsibility for the initial draft, which was validated by teachers across the Atlantic region and published in In September 1999, New Brunswick began implementation at K-8 of the collaboratively developed curriculum. Implementation at high school has subsequently taken place one year at a time, concluding with the grade 12 implementation in September New student and teacher resources either preceded the curriculum implementation (K-6) or accompanied it (7-12). During these years professional development for teachers has taken several forms. For example, numerous information meetings and summer institutes have provided background on changes and provided opportunities for teachers to begin working with new materials and instructional techniques. Involvement in

2 curriculum and resource pilots has helped teachers develop expertise and provide input influencing both curriculum and resources. Throughout this time the DoE has funded teacher associates at the UNB Mathematics Education Centre. Since 1999, mathematics mentor teachers have been placed in all districts to provide an active group of professional development leaders to assist teachers. Ultimately, the goal of the Department of Education is to help teachers be more proficient, and students to achieve greater success, in the mathematics classroom. Working in concert with the New Brunswick Teachers Association (NBTA) in recent months has helped to inform, validate, and focus on-going efforts. Following is an outline of recent and current mathematics activities, and future plans, of the Department of Education, presented in relation to the categories of the NBTA mathematics survey report. Curriculum Activities During the past two to three years, several initiatives have taken place, or are in progress, with the objective of making the delivery of the curriculum more effective. The development of curriculum maps (yearly plans) to assist teachers implement instruction that will help students meet all outcomes at a given grade level has been prominent among these initiatives. In conjunction with these maps, support is being given to teachers with respect to planning instruction so

3 as to address groups of specific curriculum outcomes at a time, as opposed to individually. To make the curriculum guides more useful to teachers, work is on-going with respect to the preparation of solutions to the Worthwhile Tasks found in the guides. This work is largely complete at the high school level, well-advanced at middle level, and soon to begin for elementary grades. Another initiative that will have an impact on the effective delivery of the curriculum is the development of grade level performance standards for students, as mandated by the Department of Education s Quality Learning Agenda (QLA). Performance standards in mathematics will further clarify what is an appropriate level of performance for students with respect to outcomes, and what is strong performance. As well, the standards will comment on what background students are expected to be bringing with them to the study of certain outcomes and, on the other hand, what performance is not expected until subsequent grades. The development of performance standards has begun at grades 3 and 8, with grade 5 to follow shortly. Over the next couple of years standards will be produced for all grade levels. The types of information to be included in the standards documents, and its format, have been refined through the use of teacher focus groups. As well, draft versions of the performance standards will go through a validation process with teachers before being finalized. It should

4 also be noted that the development of these standards is being informed not only by New Brunswick s current curriculum, but also with consideration given to the curricula in other Canadian jurisdictions and with attention to current research with respect to developmentally appropriate expectations. A further initiative that will reduce time pressures on some teachers is the change in timing (beginning this school year) of the provincial assessments in mathematics at grades three and five. Moving these assessments to the first of June will provide roughly ten days of additional instructional time to teachers in advance of the assessments. The QLA also mandates making curricula, and curriculum outcomes, more readily available to educators and parents. As is currently the case, all mathematics curriculum documents are to be available on the Department of Education website. As well, a curriculum outcome framework document (including all subject areas) is to be made available this spring for K-8. Also, a curriculum outcome summary for parents will be prepared. Resource Activities Since 2002, the Department of Education (DoE) has been monitoring and, to a small extent, participating in the development of new core mathematics resources by Canadian publishers for potential use at the elementary school level. In particular, discussions and examination of sample materials have taken

5 place with four publishers (Harcourt Canada, Nelson Thomson Learning, Pearson Education Canada, and GTK Press). There has also been limited participation of teachers in focus groups or field tests with respect to developmental materials provided by the first three of these publishers. In November 2003, the elementary mathematics curriculum development advisory committee (CDAC) met, examined available materials, and recommended further evaluation of resources for pilot potential. A resource review committee (comprising seven teachers and two district supervisors) was struck and met for two days in early January to hear presentations from Nelson and Pearson regarding their new resources (Nelson Mathematics and Math Makes Sense, respectively), and to evaluate them with respect to a predetermined set of criteria. (Note: The availability of appropriate resources for French Immersion classrooms was a prime consideration in this process. The review committee included three French Immersion teachers; as well, a DoE French Second Language consultant attended the publisher presentations. Ultimately, only the Nelson and Pearson resources made it to this review stage because other publishers were not willing to commit to providing materials for French Immersion students. Also, it is noteworthy that Nelson s partner, Les Editions Duval, and Pearson s partner, Les Editions de la Cheneliere, are both developing

6 adaptations of the resources for French Immersion students, not strict translations.) Due to publication schedules, resources were examined at grades one, three and four only. Based on the recommendation of the committee and the availability of materials (in both French and English), pilots have been put in place at grades three and four, to begin following March Break and to conclude in June The elementary mathematics CDAC will meet in June with a view to making a decision between the Nelson and Pearson resources. It should be noted that both Nelson and Pearson have committed to producing Atlantic Canadian editions of their resources, should they be chosen for the New Brunswick market. Consequently, the resource implemented will have essentially a 100% fit with New Brunswick s curriculum. As well, the resource evaluation criteria address numerous other matters that are of particular concern to teachers. Specific examples include: Instructional materials address a wide range of student abilities and/or readiness. Instructional strategies support a variety of learning styles. The development of procedural knowledge follows that of conceptual knowledge. Vocabulary and reading level are appropriate for the student users.

7 Vocabulary and reading level are appropriate for French Immersion students. Suggested materials/equipment are readily available. Realistic and achievable timelines (for instruction) are provided. Lastly, the potential resources both will provide significant assistance to teachers with combined classes. Following the elementary mathematics CDAC s decision in June 2004, the successful publisher will continue with the development of Atlantic Canadian editions. Given the need to complete this process and provide implementation preparation for teachers, implementation of new core mathematics resources for grades three and four is targeted for September Depending upon development rate by the publisher, piloting needs, and budget considerations, new core resources at other grades will be implemented in the following year or two. With this implementation, the Department of Education will provide each teacher with copies of appropriate teacher components and, at grade levels that have them, each student with a student book to use. (District instructional resource budgets should provide sufficient funds for replenishment of materials.) It should also be noted that, in addition to the on-going process of identifying and listing supplementary mathematics resources, under the QLA the DoE is beginning the development of an on-line database of teaching resources. As well, both Nelson

8 and Pearson are developing websites to support teachers in the use of their new core mathematics resources. The Department of Education is also following the development work of publishers with respect to new mathematics resources at middle level. Currently this work is at a very early stage. Professional Development Activities The Quality Learning Agenda (p. 27) states, Within two years, professional development strategies to improve mathematics teaching will be in place. In this regard the Department of Education is continuing and/or enhancing successful professional development programs, while investigating and developing new ones. Since 1999, the mathematics mentor teacher program in New Brunswick has provided local professional development support to teachers and the QLA work plan calls for this program to continue. At the annual mentor teacher orientation workshop in September 2003, mentor teachers were asked to focus their efforts on on-going, classroom-level professional development work with classroom teachers, intended to strengthen instructional pedagogy. It should be noted, as well, that the DoE has funded teacher associate positions at the UNB Mathematics Education Centre for over a dozen years to provide professional development leadership to New Brunswick educators.

9 In the meantime, several new professional development initiatives have begun. At the elementary level, a pilot has been conducted during the winter of of a comprehensive professional development program being produced by Nelson Thomson Learning. This pilot, that has involved six days of inservice for administrators and staffs at three New Brunswick elementary schools, is to determine the viability of a program designed to help teachers and administrators understand the developmental nature of mathematics learning, how mathematical ideas connect together, and how instruction contributes to the growth of mathematical understanding in students. As well, the Nelson program could provide teachers with such useful materials as aids to differentiated instruction and diagnostic tools to evaluate students developmental progress with respect to mathematical concepts and skills. Evaluation of the pilot experience and the Nelson professional development program will take place during the spring of The Nelson program is but one professional development initiative currently being examined and/or put into practice with teachers. Others include Providing inservice sessions and strategies to assist teachers improve student reading and comprehension across the curriculum and, in particular, with respect to mathematical text Providing initial support for the implementation of a book study professional development program with respect to Van de Walle s Elementary and Middle School Mathematics resource

10 Providing targeted inservice on new topics (e.g., 3-space and statistics) in high school mathematics Extending support for the joint NBTA/DoE school-based learning teams program to include five additional grants specific to mathematics instruction Organizing an August 2004 summer institute on Adapting Mathematical Activities for a Variety of Learners Examining the soon-to-be-available First Steps program for mathematics. Other initiatives are more structural. These include Staggering curriculum development days to facilitate access to professional resource personnel Creating a master list of recommended inservice facilitators Developing (as mandated in the QLA) on-line professional development opportunities Investigating effective ways to offer inservice opportunities to teachers new to the subject area. It should also be noted that pre-service preparation of teachers of mathematics is addressed under the Quality Learning Agenda. In particular, the Department of Education will collaborate with universities to attract prospective teachers with a strength in mathematics, and to enhance initial training opportunities. Intervention Activities Intervening with students who are experiencing learning difficulties in mathematics is a day-to-day concern for teachers. As indicated at several earlier points, the Department of Education is attending to this concern both when

11 considering new resources and when choosing professional development priorities. To briefly recap, when evaluating new core resources criteria such as address[ing] a wide range of student abilities and/or readiness and support[ing] a variety of learning styles characterize important aspects of the decisionmaking process. With respect to professional development, one of the perceived strengths of the pilot Nelson professional development program is its focus on helping teachers use knowledge of the developmental continuum of mathematical skills and concepts to differentiate instruction. The August 2004 summer institute on Adapting Mathematical Activities for a Variety of Learners is another example of professional development designed to provide training for teachers with respect to differentiating instruction. Finally, the provision of strategies to help teachers improve student reading and comprehension of mathematical text should ultimately assist students meet day-to-day classroom challenges. Interventions may also need to take place on a larger scale. In 2003 the DoE gathered information on a successful intervention strategy in use in District 16, and shared details of it with mathematics mentor teachers from around the province. This intervention is an intense, four-week mathematics program for students that has enabled a large majority of the target population to improve mathematics performance from a marginal to an acceptable level, and to

12 maintain this performance level over time. As well, the Department of Education is conducting research into diagnostic tools and intervention programs, with a view to sharing information with districts by the fall of As suggested above, intervention programs depend on good diagnostic information. Beginning in 2004, the Department of Education will provide individual student results for the provincial mathematics assessments at grades three and five, with a view to its formative use. This is an example of the expressed intent under the Quality Learning Agenda for New Brunswick to create and/or participate in provincial, national and international assessments with a view to reporting assessment data clearly, making the data available so as to productively inform instruction, and to make data-driven decisions. Final Thoughts The improvement of student achievement in mathematics has been, and continues to be, a major goal of the Department of Education in New Brunswick. As indicated at the outset, the mathematics survey of the New Brunswick Teachers Association has helped to inform, validate, and focus these on-going efforts. Continued cooperation between the DoE and the NBTA should prove beneficial to all.