Coding and de-streaming

New changes in Curriculum grade-9 My project is about coding for the data management course, which is being offered in grade 12. 

  The coding component reminds me of what we discussed about the de-streaming of mathematics. In this blog, I would focus on the de-steaming of mathematics in grade 9. Since September 2021, the Ontario school boards started to de-streaming mathematics grade 9.

                                   What does it really mean?

• De-streaming means that students will no longer be separated into Academic and Applied Streams. A de-streamed mathematics class will prepare students for university, college, apprenticeship, and workplace pathways. Ontario is the only province in the country that separates students into academic and non-academic streams as early as Grade 9. Finding research has shown this steaming has not been beneficial, especially for racialized and lower-income students.

• One of the main issues of streaming was the segregation of students to applied and academic streams, those who choose applied mathematics will face a barrier to pursuing secondary education, especially University. Fundamentally, applied mathematics focuses on hands-on activities, whereas academics was on abstract reasoning. I have been tutoring the applied and academic courses, and to be honest, I didn’t find this difference so transparent. What I found, was a difference in the level of difficulty between applied and academic, though. Streaming might be perceived as an official differentiation to address certain specific needs, however, it has created another issue. In fact, the streaming created a deep gap in the mathematics knowledge of kids. Ontario's universities select students with higher grades in academic mathematics for certain programs, this is why the applied students have no chance or less chance of getting a university degree.

• Academic/applied is a labeling system, and I cannot accept any form of labeling. Because gradually the students accept what is supposed to behave in each class label. When students are asked which is harder applied or academic? I get this response: “Academic courses flow at a faster rate than applied. Since these

• students can process concepts more quickly, they can progress to the next lesson more readily”. This indirectly signifies our students in academics are smarter than others!!. I do understand, our students are different, and some of them more easily understand mathematics; however, segregation was not an efficient solution. As an educator, we may think about techniques of differentiation. Something that I am not very positive about, importing big changes in the curriculum of grade 9, simultaneously with de-streaming change. Several components such as coding, data modeling, etc. have been added to grade 9.

I think de-streaming itself was a large enough change, other changes should have been added more smoothly. I have read the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) calls for de-streaming for upper grades, 10, 11, and 12, and that was good news. To summarize, I am very positive about this change, I understand this change brings new challenges for teachers and also students. In fact, if something fails, we must make all our efforts to put it back to the correct functionality as early/as and as smoothly as possible.