The Edmonton Sun – Claire Theobald
“A math professor from the University of Winnipeg has released a scathing criticism of discovery learning or inquiry-based teaching that she blames for dropping math scores in schools across Canada. “They’re teaching in exactly the worst way to teach children,” said Anna Stokke, associate professor with the department of Math and Statistics at the University of Winnipeg and author of What to Do about Canada’s Declining Math Scores. Stokke blames a move towards more inquiry- based, discovery learning teaching methods – where lessons aim to better engage students by teaching them how to arrive at answers using a variety of interactive methods- for declining math scores across Canada. In her commentary, she says all but two provinces showed significant declines in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores – a test administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) comparing 15-year-old students internationally – with Alberta showing the second largest drop by 32 points.”(more)