Dr. Sherry Mantyka, a mathematics professor at Memorial University, expresses concerns about the WNCP curriculum in this article which appears on CBC this morning:

Why N.L.’s math curriculum is failing students.

Here is a quote from the article:

“Mantyka: I want parents to know that it doesn’t mean that their children are unable to do math. The lack of structure in the curriculum really interferes with the students’ ability to become procedurally competent enough, so when they’re challenged with higher level math, their working memory overloads, and they’re completely confused and can’t cope. But it’s not because the children are stupid or unable [to do it]. It’s just that the structure of the learning experience has been too casual.”

The WNCP curriculum, which is used in Newfoundland, is the same curriculum that has been adopted by the prairie provinces and British Columbia.  Thank you to Dr. Mantyka for speaking out!