Will changes to Ontario’s math curriculum improve students’ math performance?
York University math curriculum expert available for comment
TORONTO, March 15, 2019 – The Ontario government announced changes to the province’s math curriculum today that will see elementary school teachers return to a focus on fundamental “back-to-basics” math as part of a four-year strategy.
Tina Rapke, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education and an expert in teaching and learning mathematics, is available for comment on the impact these changes will have on students. She can also explain the challenges of the current math curriculum, why it is difficult to translate conceptual and theoretical ideas in the current curriculum, and how practical math classroom activities based on proven research can improve students’ success in math.
Rapke – a parent and mathematician who teaches mathematics education courses to current and prospective teachers – has conducted extensive research on strategies to enhance the learning and teaching of mathematics. Rapke wrote a chapter in the book Teaching and Learning Secondary School Mathematics titled Re-Framing Testing to Better Fit Within Problem-solving Classrooms: Ways to Create and Review Tests, which identified teaching strategies to help students perform better on tests, published last year. She also wrote and co-wrote several journal articles including Autobiographical Accounts of Students' Experiences Learning Mathematics: A Review and A process of students and their instructor developing a final closed-book mathematics exam.
Currently, Rapke works with teachers, principals and researchers in school classrooms to develop practical and structured classroom activities that help students learn. She can comment on:
- Mathematic education at all levels from K-12 and university
- The current and proposed math curriculum
- Challenges of memorization and rote learning techniques
- Elementary school math scores and testing
- Teachers and mandatory math tests
- Education and professional learning for mathematics teachers
- Bridging the divide between research and what happens in math classrooms
- Connecting home and school learning of mathematics
- Math anxiety
York University champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.
York U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.
Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, York University Media Relations, 647-654-9452, vthomps@yorku.ca
