Curriculum Front Matter

We have been discussing the NCTM principles (I have mentioned some of them in my previous post) and the Newfoundland and Labrador curriculum guide front matter for the past few classes. This blog post is a reflection on some of my thoughts while reading the guide.

Can you see the influence of the NCTM principles and standards?

Absolutely! This was taken directly from the curriculum guide:

• "Students are curious, active learners with individual interests, abilities  and needs. They come to classrooms with varying knowledge, life experiences and backgrounds. A key component in successfully developing numeracy is making connections to these backgrounds and experiences."
• "The learning environment should value and respect the diversity  of students’ experiences and ways of thinking, so that students are comfortable taking intellectual risks, asking questions and posing conjectures"
• In Instructional Focus: "By decreasing emphasis on rote calculation, drill and practice, and the size of numbers used in paper and pencil calculations, more time is available for concept development."

Some things that interested me, surprised me, or caught my attention:

• I was pleasantly surprised to read about "suggestions for teaching and learning and suggested assessment strategies". I think that before reading the details in the front matter, I was under the impression that the things listed in curriculum guide were the way that material should be taught.
• In Resources: "Teachers may use any resource or combination of resources to meet the required specific outcomes listed in column one of the curriculum guide."
• I was also surprised that the curriculum guide offered many helpful resources and that the textbook wasn't the one sole resource for teaching. 
• The quote listed above definitely caught my attention. It states right in the Beliefs About Learning that teachers should be making connections to students' experiences in order to successfully teach numeracy.
• In kindergarten especially, it mentions the importance of a positive and active learning environment.
• The many uses of technology caught my attention, especially how it mentions both calculators and computers. Many teachers debate the use of calculators in the classroom, but it's nice to see a list of ways it can benefit students.
• The overall layout of the curriculum guide was very organized and gave suggestions for when to teach each topic, but didn't state that it had to be taught specifically in that order

As a preservice teacher, it's nice to know that there are many different ways to teach the same thing so you can alter lessons to fit your class instead of trying to change your students to fit the curriculum.