Front Matter

We were asked to look the the front matter in the curriculum guide and write about what we found interesting or surprising. The first thing that caught my attention was when I was reading through the Belief's about Students and Mathematics Learning. The guide stresses that mathematics learned should build on students prior knowledge and experience. This means that the mathematical content must be relevant to the child in order for them to construct meaning and understanding. This somewhat came to a surprise to me because when I experienced math in primary and elementary it didn't seem relevant or meaningful other than when it came to completing a test. I remember frequently questioning the purpose of most of the math I encountered in school.

Secondly, while reading through the Instructional Focus section, I noticed this statement; 

• 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. 

I found this statement surprising because this illustrates a completely different environment when it comes to mathematics compared to what I experienced while in school. For example, when I was learning multiplication it was entirely based on drill and practice and on memorization. I've been able to see this change during my observation days. Instead of memorizing times tables, students are learning many different kinds of methods to figure out multiplication solutions. Class time is based more on the process of obtaining solutions rather than coming up with answers as fast as possible. 

As I continued reading I came across the Instruction Time Per Unit section. I found this section interesting because it provided a visual of a time line and a recommendation for how much time to spend on each unit. I really like this resource and I think it would be extremely helpful for new, less experienced teachers while planning their school year.   

Overall, I think the front matter of the curriculum guide is an excellent resource for teachers. I think it's especially beneficial for future teachers to be familiar with and to understand in order to begin thinking about the kind of classroom environment that is the most suitable for all needs.