Congratulations to Ashley Kozak, Mathematics Curriculum Lead at the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB), who was invited as a keynote speaker at the Canadian Early Mathematics Education Conference (CEMEC).
Kozak’s speech centered around the program lessons she had been developing for first grade students in the UGDSB, which are essentially a sequence of lessons that are based on foundational skills for first grade students.
"The lessons work for both the whole class and small groups,” said Kozak, and are “currently being used to support students who did not meet the cut score on the early math screener we use in our Board.”
Through the development of her program, and with the implementation through Math Support Teachers (MST) at the UG, Kozak’s work caught the attention of those organizing speakers for the CEMEC.
Kozak said she was first surprised that she had been invited to speak at the CEMEC but felt “so honoured that there was something in my work that could be valuable to other educators and researchers in Ontario.”
Through Kozak’s program – and for the purpose of the UG’s 3-Year Math Plan – MSTs have been able to be in schools for the last two years to support students with early or foundational numeracy skills, and to boost skills and support their math learning in the classroom.
Kozak and other educators have been able to see the positive results of this program, within the timeframe it’s been implemented.
“We have seen overall growth in Grade 1 students who received support by MSTs through the Early Math Skills Program,” said Kozak, “Grade 1 students generally also improved with their verbal counting and understanding number relationships.”