Grade nine students at Morden Collegiate Institute (MCI) are spending more time in math class than ever before.
Julie Kalinowski is a grade nine math teacher at MCI and says a full year of math, instead of just one semester, will better prepare kids for math in through the rest of high school.
“The grade nine math curriculum is really pretty rigorous, and this way students are able to spend more time working with it in order to feel more confident as they leave grade nine and head toward grade ten.”
The school has participated in the Manitoba Rural Learning Consortium (mRLC) for several years and one of its aims is to improve the numeracy skills of students in Manitoba.
Kalinowski said they spoke with parents and guardians, school staff and community members before making this change.
“A lot went into making this decision. So, it's a team of people that have put this change into effect.”
She hopes students, parents and guardians feel encouraged by this change.
“We're taking more time now with grade nine students so that their foundation of understanding in math is going to be stronger and broader.”
“We hope that that leads to more confident problem solving, genuine curiosity that they may have about math and also improved confidence. Confidence is so important for high school students.”
Kalinowski says there will be a series of quizzes given throughout the school year and a final assessment to gather data.
“We're really hoping to see positive impacts in the future for our kids.”
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