– The government of Alberta is rewriting the entire “kindergarten to 12″ school curriculum, including controversial changes in matters of mathematics. The new program should be implemented in 2016, although the effectiveness and benefits of “discovery math” remain far from obvious. Alberta schools were at the top of the world educational rankings at the beginning of the century and conventional instruction was behind this success. So, is it really a good idea to abandon some teaching methods that gave great results?

– With the “Discovery Education” system, also called “Inquiry-Based Learning” or “21st Century Learning”, teachers do less direct instruction, a method expected to broaden the students’ knowledge base. The pupils participate more in group and project work and the teachers act more as guides. The principle is to “stifle creativity in the classroom” and “individualize learning.”

Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies protests the province’s discovery math learning system in April 2014 (Image: Larry Wong – Edmonton Journal)

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