Province Investing Millions To Help Students Succeed At Math

EDUCATION--Province Investing Millions To Help Students Succeed At Math

Students studying math in Nova Scotia's public schools will see new texts and course options and spend more class time on math this year. An investment of more than $2 million will also provide additional resources and support for teachers and parents of math students.

"Math is an essential life skill and our Math Strategy is helping children develop an early foundation," Education Minister Jamie Muir said today, Sept. 27. "We recognize that learning math can be a real challenge and we're working hard to give students, teachers and parents the support they need. This year we're providing more professional development for grades Primary to 9 teachers, new textbooks for students in Grade 3 and new math courses, in schools and by correspondence, for high school students."

The Math Strategy was introduced in 2002 as part of the province's Learning for Life plan, to provide leadership and support to boards to help ensure the math curriculum is delivered effectively in all math classrooms. This September marks year three of the multi-year strategy. The investment of more than $2 million is targeted for implementation of math initiatives in 2004-05. School boards also received more than $600,000 in support of board-based math leadership.

This investment will see the continuation of some long-term math commitments, including $500,500 for professional development for math mentors, school-based math leaders and math teachers, and the implementation of new initiatives, such as minimum requirements for class time spent on math in grades 7 and 8.

As part of the math leadership initiative, every school board and individual school has a math leader who provides leadership and dedicated support for other math teachers in their schools. Jill MacDonald, who is math leader at Kingston Elementary in the Annapolis Valley, helps other teachers plan math instruction and assessment for the year.

"It's great to support my peers in delivering quality math lessons, and to see improvements in my own teaching," said Ms. MacDonald. "It's encouraging to see so many teachers, and students, enthusiastic about math and students are benefiting. I've heard feedback from parents that children are more knowledgeable about math, better prepared and most importantly, that they like it and are not afraid to talk about it."

While government has a role to play in student success, teachers like Ms. MacDonald, as well as boards, schools, parents and students, also have key roles in student progress.

"Making sure our students succeed at math is a responsibility we all share," said Mr. Muir. It's important that government continue do its part, that boards and teachers continue to deliver the curriculum effectively, that parents encourage math learning at home and that students work hard at math, at home and at school."

Other math initiatives in the Learning for Life plan for grades Primary to 9 that will be implemented this year include:

• More class time spent on math -- minimum requirements include 60 minutes instructional time every day in grades 7 and 8;
• Five minutes of mental math and estimation every day for students in grades 1-9, to further develop math skills without using a pen, paper or calculator;
• More textbooks. New textbooks for Grade 3 students will support the Atlantic Canada math curriculum;
• More resources for teachers -- 10 grade-specific, practical teaching resources developed for grades Primary to 9 math;
• More resources for parents. These resources offer information, ideas and activities to support math learning at home. Grades Primary and 1 students will receive homework baggies with math activities for parents and children to do together.

Math initiatives in the Learning for Life plan for grades 10, 11 and 12 that will be implemented this year include:

• More professional development opportunities to support implementation of the math curriculum. The department offered a summer math institute and workshops for teachers of grades 10, 11 and 12 from every school;
• For the third year, in-service sessions centred on Mathematics 12 and Advanced Mathematics 12 exams. The Department of Education is also analyzing the January and June Mathematics 12 and Advanced Mathematics 12 exam results to determine where problem areas exist and will work with the boards to develop strategies to address them;
• More course options for students. The department is piloting Mathematics Essentials 10 and implementing Calculus 12, an advanced course developed in partnership with Nova Scotia universities;
• Introduction of two math correspondence courses, Mathematics 8 and Mathematics Foundations 10;
• More resources for teachers. The department is developing an on-line question bank for grades 10, 11 and 12 math courses to give teachers access to a wide range of questions, including question types that are similar to those found on provincial exams. This will help students become more familiar with the types of questions they will encounter on provincial exams.

Working through the Math Strategy, which outlines math priorities into the 2007-08 school year, the department will continue to put the basics first, and focus on helping students develop the foundation and background they need to succeed in math.