Was it ever "Discovery Math" - Part Two

tThis is the second in a series of posts regarding the recent release of an addendum to the curriculum entitled, Focusing on the Fundamentals of Math - A Teacher's Guide from the Ontario Progressive Conservative (P.C.) government.

Party Leader, Premier Doug Ford, has stated that ...

"Kids used to learn math by doing things like memorizing a multiplication table, and it worked...instead, our kids are left with experimental discovery math. That hardly teaches math at all. Instead, everyone gets a participation ribbon and our kids are left to fend for themselves." 1

This addendum is "intended to support teachers' ongoing efforts in building students' knowledge and skills in mathematics." It has been billed by the P.C. government as a fundamental shift away from "discovery math" and a return to "fact based memorization." In Part 1 I proposed that there is much ado about nothing.

Here's what I think so far...

• There was no "discovery math" - at least not one promoted through the many Thames Valley Board In-Service sessions I have attended over the years.
• I have never taught "experimental discovery math" or given "participation ribbons" to my math students - I have never seen this in practice in the schools I support. If, the term "participation ribbons" is intended to imply that I encourage and celebrate my students for making an effort to learn - then that is true. However, I am not sure what the alternative would be?
• This document seems, on my first pass, to be a good, research-supported approach to math.
• In fact, some of the research behind this document comes from the same sources teachers have been using for years.
• This document isn't really a change at all - and teachers need not worry about a massive change to their program. If anything, it is a slight adjustment in focus - but...as I intend to demonstrate... not really.

Let's go through each page and look at the guide - section by section.

Page 1

There are two sections here.
The first is a preamble to make clear the intention of this guide. There is nothing to which any should take umbrage. The key messages are ...

• It is intended to support teachers.
• It focuses on the parts of the Ontario Math Curriculum that deal with fundamental math skills.
• It outlines steps to achieving knowledge & skills in these expectations.
• The goal is success in high school and beyond (employment & citizenship).

The second is a quote from a literature review by Bruce & Chang (2013) referencing a book from Baroody & Dowker (2003).

"Becoming highly skilled at arithmetic requires the development of number sense alongside procedural and factual knowledge as well as the mathematical principles that govern how the operations are related to one another." 

Two quick points I am, and have been, in complete agreement with this statement. (

• This literature review is found at the Edugains site - which is "a website that houses ministry developed resources to support policies and programs related to improved learning and teaching - Kindergarten to Grade 12 - in Ontario schools."

In other words - this is simply a restatement of information that was created by the former government (The Ontario Liberal Party) and available to educators for years.

So far...

• There is nothing here with which I can disagree.
• There is plenty here that I was already reviewing, doing & following.
• There is no evidence that this is replacing "experimental discover math"
• Everything that is being suggested here matches the existing math program -which my board was promoting & implementing.

Page 2 next...

Was it ever "Discovery Math"? - Part One

One of the benefits to my role as an Instructional Coach is the extra time I am afforded. This is not because my days are not filled - I spent today (the first day of the 2018 school year) receiving excellent Professional Development and I work hard to make sure that I am always "earning my keep".

I have extra time in the evenings because, unlike my colleagues in the classroom, I do not have a class of eager or anxious, excited or reluctant, confident or uncertain learners waiting to meet me tomorrow morning.

Consequently, I do not need to spend time this evening...

• reviewing student work from today - sometimes called "Exit Tickets" or "Diagnostic Assessment".
• preparing lessons for tomorrow that are based on those assessments. 
• considering differentiated instruction for all of the learners in my class - especially the anxious, reluctant and uncertain ones.
• responding to student questions & comments on virtual environments like Google Classroom or Edmodo.
• sharing classroom observations with parents or facilitating student-created portfolios through Seesaw or Class Dojo - and answering parent questions when asked.
• preparing forms for teams I coach or for fields trips I hope to take.
• preparing for community building experiences like Terry Fox, Orange Shirt or Dot Day.

I respect this opportunity. So I always try to make good use of this extra time I am afforded. 

Sometimes, 

• I use it to learn - maybe to add to my coding skills or to gain experience with a new app or educational technology.
• I use it to review curriculum, especially if a teacher from a grade with which I am unfamiliar asks me for some assistance - (yesterday, that was a Grade 1 teacher who asked about Media Literacy, and I began building this resource.)
• I use it to read the great Leadership, Literacy and Math books with which I have been provided.
• I use it to build lessons that I think will have utility in multiple classrooms.
• I surf Twitter to see what my Professional Learning Network #PLN is sharing in their posts and blogs.

Today, I used my time to begin to review the Teacher's Guide addendum released by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Government Focusing on the Fundamentals of Math released August 23rd. I also thought I would write about it here - in a follow-up post - found here. 

Spoiler Alert - I don't see what the fuss is about - on either front. 

The document (much like the practice of my colleagues that preceded it) seems grounded in good, well-researched thinking. 

It also (like the documents that preceded it*see below*) is intended as an approach to 

"prepare students for success in high school and ensure they have a set of essential skills for employment and responsible citizenship in the future." 

I can't argue with that statement - that has been my goal as a teacher since I began. Join me tomorrow (fingers-crossed) as I go through each page. I think you'll find that this approach is just fine - however, it is not replacing this elusive "discovery math" I keep hearing about - it is simply a slightly adjusted focus on practice in which I already believed.

**The Guides to Effective Instruction & The Ontario Curriculum - Mathematics & What to Look for by Alex Lawson & Elementary & Middle School Math by John A Van de Walle & others or all the great stuff from Marian Small (which we have been using for several years).