(CHAT News file photo)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

New curriculum

Reaction to province’s panel report on curriculum review

Feb 1, 2020 | 9:46 AM

Red Deer, AB – Education stakeholders are weighing in following this week’s release of a new report from the province’s curriculum review panel.

Released on Wednesday, the report is part of a review ordered by Education Minister Adriana LaGrange to replace work done by the previous NDP government. It made multiple recommendations on how to transform the province’s curriculum, including standardized literacy and numeracy tests in Grades 1 through 5 to catch and correct any learning difficulties. The panel also urges a focus on basic learning on a foundation of numeracy and literacy, and that students need to be exposed to potential job and career opportunities outside the classroom, and input from employers should be part of curriculum development.

Panel chair Angus McBeath says they recognized that students need an education which ensures they thrive in a world of rapid economic, social and global change.

“We are counting on our young people to help create a province where all Albertans flourish. While there are elements of the draft K-12 curriculum that serve us well, there is room for improvement,” says McBeath. “The curriculum advisory panel offered up recommendations to help ensure students have the foundational knowledge, skills and competencies they will need beyond high school to live their best lives.”

Kelly Aleman, president for Local #60 (Red Deer Public) of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, says he has serious reservations about the idea to make Grade 1-5 students do numeracy and literacy-based standardized testing.

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“Teachers have all kinds of kids within their classrooms, so they adjust their approaches. When you standardize and try to create an assessment that doesn’t fit all kids, it tends to narrow the curriculum, and it isn’t a snapshot of what’s really happening,” he says.

“We feel teachers are doing a very good job assessing their students without outside forces telling them what they should be doing in their classrooms.”

Jaelene Tweedle, a mother of three school-aged kids and chair of the Red Deer public city-wide school council, feels flabbergasted by the province’s approach.

“It’s an insult to teachers – people who are educated and who specialized in certain areas – to be questioning whether they’re competent enough to provide input on something like this,” says Tweedle, speaking from a parent’s perspective. “Yet they don’t question whether teachers have the knowledge and should be the ones to ‘out’ children to parents. To me, they’re giving teachers credit and power where it suits their own narrative.”

Dave Khatib, associate superintendent for inclusive learning at Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, is pleased to see a suggested emphasis on career exploration, knowledge, skills and competencies, as well as the NDP’s work on the K-4 curriculum largely unaltered.

He believes if standardized testing is done before or during learning in order to guide teachers, rather than assess their competency in delivering the curriculum, it could be of value.

“The report also talks about things like Discovery Math (calling it ‘pedagogical’) which is a teaching method, not so much an outcome,” says Khatib. “Clarification is needed on what that means in terms of if we’re talking about restricting teaching methodology.”

The panel report also suggests a more balanced approach is required in teaching climate change and about Alberta’s oilsands. LaGrange says she’s received reports from parents about “extremist views” being taught on those subjects, but Aleman says teachers have been highly professional in this arena.

“They already teach critical thought and do an excellent job of posing both sides of situations, whether it’s climate change or otherwise,” says Aleman. “I’ve never known a teacher to promote one side over the other; that’s not our job. For the government to say they’re going to ensure balance is an insult.”

Aleman added, “Any teacher would agree we need to give students basic facts, but for a student to be a well-educated citizen, they need to go beyond straight facts and be able to interpret them, put them into practice and have good critical-thinking skills. If we were to go with a ‘just stick to the facts’ approach – that would be stupid.”

The public is invited to take part in an online survey about the panel’s report from now until Feb. 24.