Manitoba students consistently receive failing grade in math, science: professor

Students in Manitoba have consistently received a failing grade on some key academic subjects and it’s beyond time to fix that, says a University of Winnipeg professor.

The Programme for International Student Assessment in 2018 ranked students scored Manitoba teenagers dead last in math and science and second last in reading compared to students in all other Canadian provinces.

This is something Anna Stokke, Math Professor and Chair of Mathematics and Statistics at the U of W, has been concerned about.

“It’s not just about being last in Canada, it’s actually about the major decline over time that’s very alarming. Between 2003 and 2018 we saw a 46-point decline in math scores and that’s equivalent to about one year of schooling, so it’s very serious,” she said.

Stokke cites the main reasons Manitoba students are performing poorly in math to be due to the curriculum and teaching style.

“There were some major changes to the curriculum to 2006 where a lot of really important outcomes like adding fractions and that sort of thing were moved to very late grades. Whereas in high performing jurisdictions they’re covered quite early in Grades 4 and 5, here they are covered in Grades 7 and 8,” she said.

“The focus has been on, say, inquiry-based learning as opposed to teacher-directed learning. We see a lot of multiple strategies and things like that when children are learning and this makes it actually difficult to learn the concepts. It’s been show that direct instruction is more effective than these teaching methods.”

“We need to have teachers in the classroom that feel comfortable teaching math and that like math because enthusiasm about math is contagious.”

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On Monday, the province announced major education reforms that will likely include an overhaul of math and science curriculums and training for teachers.

2:22 K-12 Education Review

Two of the reforms include developing “teaching and leadership standards for professional practice and conduct that will guide teacher education, practice, evaluation and ongoing professional growth.

The second will be a “review of regulatory frameworks for strengthening the teaching profession and promoting high standards of teaching and leadership, including professional development, teacher education programs, certifications, fitness to practice, and discipline of certified teachers, including scoping for a Manitoba College of Educators or equivalent regulatory body.”

Stokke says more standardized tests are needed in Manitoba so educators can regularly get a snapshot evaluation of their students, adding that when students reach the university level they often struggle since they didn’t understand earlier concepts.

“Our students often struggle because they haven’t mastered algebra, which is from Grade 10 or 11. We know this, we know they need to improve this to do well in our class so we try to help them improve those skills so they can perform better in calculus in university.”

Sylvan Learning Centre owner Les Redelinghuys says their tutoring services have been busy and many students are behind.

“We actually see it in all subjects, math, reading and writing – across the whole board. The kids are behind and struggling. It’s just a concept that maybe they don’t understand a year or two ago that is holding them back. So once we sort that out, they move forward quite rapidly,” he said.

“The vast majority of students are two sometimes three grades behind. Because with COVID, they’ve forgotten everything they learned before.”

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