What to look for in a new Maths Program

Full disclosure: I am the lead author with one of the new maths programs. That said, this is just some pointers for reviewing the programs generally

For anyone who has had their PMC days with Oide, you will likely have heard that it is not so much about what you teach, but how you teach it, as emphasised above. And, while I wholeheartedly agree,  there are also some changes to the strand units and these are important to be aware of. 

For example, there is a new strand unit in Shape and Space called Transformation.  For Stage 1 (ie JI and SI) there are now learning outcomes for area, place value and fractions. So when comparing programs, check that these new topics are visible, especially in the infant books.

There is no obligation on teachers or schools to incorporate the progression continua (ie they are not the curriculum, the learning outcomes are the curriculum), but that being said, the learning outcomes might sometimes appear to be quite broad and a bit vague, so the milestones in the progression continua can be a good place to start if you want to look for some more detailed guidance and a suggested learning trajectory.

This would seem to suggest that milestone d is intended to coincide with the end of senior infants, with milestone e coinciding with first class. Looking deeper into other strand units in the progression continua also appears to confirm this and to indicate that milestone f coincides with second class for the most part. 

Which leads me to this: if you read further into milestone d as a sample learning trajectory for the end senior infants, you will see statements such as:

• Money: Recognises the relative value of coins, up to the value of at least 50c, using the cent [c] symbol.(was up to 20c in 1999 PMC)

• Numeration and Counting: Develops an understanding of the conservation of number (11-20); Discusses, draws and writes representations of numbers up to at least 20; Estimates the number of objects in a set 0–20 and checks by counting; Selects and uses materials to make sets for a given number up to and beyond 20.

• Place Value and Base Ten: Composes and decomposes the structure of numbers 11–20 in terms of tens and ones; Orders and compares numbers 1–20 with each other.

• Operations: Uses knowledge of addition to develop understanding of subtraction (For example: 2+4=6 so 6-4=2).

• Fractions: Represents and records understanding of halves using manipulatives, pictorially or by using symbols; Investigates halves of different geometric shapes; Establishes and identifies half of sets up to at least 10.

• Spatial awareness and location: Gives and follows simple directions including directions for turning [full and half turns].

This appears to suggest that, by the end of senior infants, the children (if it is appropriate) will have been introduced to numbers up to 20, subtraction, halves of shapes and sets up to 10, half turns, coins to 50c etc. 

And while initially, that might appear to be a significant step up from the 1999 PMC, I think it is a welcome development. Today's incoming infants, as opposed to the classes of 1999, have had the benefit of two full years of play-based learning in preschool, meaning that they are generally more ready to learn and consider concepts. 

And, if the children are going to be enabled to work with numbers up to 20 by the end of senior infants, it would be logical that they do numbers up to 10 by the end of junior infants. This too would be in keeping with mathematics curricula in many other jurisdictions, i.e. that the children are introduced to the composition and decomposition of amounts up to 10 in their first year of formal schooling, and not just up to 5, as had been our practice prior to this. 

So, I would also be scrutinizing the Junior and Senior Infant parts of the program carefully to see if they reflect this.

How many pages are in the pupil's books?

Another feature I would look at is page counts, and in this case, less is more. The curriculum advocates for "playful and engaging learning experiences", so look for a program that provides the teachers with lots of resources or ideas for exactly that i.e.  enabling "playful and engaging learning experiences". The emphasis should be more on the activities and less about page filling.  

Do we need to change Maths program at all?

Of course not! There is no expectation from the DoE that schools should change their maths books this year, and indeed, they would probably even prefer to see a situation where a school isn't using a maths text book at all!

But I'm sure the expectation is to see an overall change in the learning and teaching of maths generally, for example an increased visibility of engaging and playful learning experiences (otherwise why have a new curriculum?).

And if you are a school who currently uses a math program, and plan to continue to use a maths program, then why not change this year?

Should you wait until the books for all the classes are published to properly compare them? Well, given that all the publishers have only up to 2nd class ready for next school year, (remember the curriculum was only published towards the end of last school year) and it is likely that the following year will see the publication of 3rd and 4th and then 5th and 6th the following year again, you could be a while waiting. 

Furthermore, now that we have the free school books scheme, if you do plan to change, why not change JI-2nd this year, if even just to try out a program, to see if it does or doesn't enable the learning and teaching of maths in your school to become more playful and more engaging than it was previously. In doing so, this will likely help inform the decision-making process for 3rd classes up, when the rest of the classes are published. 

And if you change, and don't like the  program, sure change again! Infants to 2nd classes typically write into the books anyway so new ones are needed each year.