Math Archives - News@91��ɫ

91��ɫ education experts talk creeping privatization of public education, 123s and ABCs

egamulin — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 19:00:07 +0000

Prof. Sue Winton, expert on education and privatization.

TORONTO, Aug. 29, 2024 – With students returning to the classroom next week, experts from 91��ɫ’s are available to talk about how public education is increasingly relying on private dollars and how to help kids tackle math anxiety.

The privatization of public education shows itself in a number of areas, says , 91��ɫ Research Chair in Policy Analysis for Democracy and the author of Unequal Benefits: Privatization and Public Education in Canada. Privatization undermines the public school system and perpetuates inequalities, says Winton.

Winton is available for comment on:

How policy plays a role in supporting or undermining public education
How school fees, fundraising, school choice, and specialized programs can all contribute to the increasing encroachment of privatization
How increasing privatization can affect kids, families, communities, and democracy

Prof. Tina Rapke, expert on helping kids tackle math anxiety.

says the idea that there are some kids that are just good at math and others that are not, is simply not true. Parents and teachers can implement a number of strategies that can help give kids the confidence they need to succeed when it comes to dealing with numbers.

Rapke, who works directly with students and teachers in classroom settings, is available for comment on topics including:

Why and how to focus on students’ ideas to enhance math education

Strategies for classroom teaching and math learning at home

How kids develop mathematical ideas

Prof. and dean of the Faculty of Education Robert Savage, an expert on reading development and dyslexia

While young students definitely benefit from phonics-based learning for early reading and spelling acquisition, implementing such policies needs to be done thoroughly and in an evidence-consistent way, says Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education . Savage, who has published 100 research articles in international peer-reviewed journals exploring children’s early reading and spelling, emphasizes that changes need to be age- and needs-appropriate and be introduced in ways that consider both foundational skills and how phonics is situated in wider literacy practices.

Savage is available for comment on:

Curriculum changes to early learning and reading intervention strategies

Cognitive processes in reading and spelling

Strategies for different age-groups when learning how to read and spell

How dyslexia and other learning difficulties affect reading and spelling

About 91��ɫ

91��ɫ is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for success. 91��ɫ’s fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario’s Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91��ɫ’s campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91��ɫ Media Relations and External Communications, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

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COVID-19 booster immunity lasts much longer than primary series alone, 91��ɫ-led study shows

egamulin — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 15:00:01 +0000

Modelling suggests advanced age does not have a strong effect on immune response once comorbidities are controlled for

April 18, 2024, TORONTO – Thinking about getting a spring-time booster shot? coming out of 91��ɫ’s Centre for Disease Modelling in the Faculty of Science shows that immunity after a COVID-19 booster lasts much longer than the primary series alone. These findings are among other, sometimes “unintuitive,” revelations of how factors like age, sex and comorbidities do and don’t affect immune response.

The study’s authors – 91��ɫ Post Doctoral researchers Chapin Korosec and David Dick, Applied Mathematics Professor Iain Moyles and Professor James Watmough with the University of New Brunswick – used health data submitted to the Covid Immunity Task-Force project for more than 150 individuals who received either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to look at how immunity holds up over time.

Booster shots were found to have a much longer antibody half-life versus a primary vaccine series alone, a new study coming out of the Faculty of Science found.

“Our approach as mathematicians is to create mathematical models of the immune system, and then calibrate those models to health care data in order to advance our understanding of the human immune system. It was really interesting to see the SARS-CoV-2 booster dose have such a huge increase in protective longevity capacity as compared to the primary series of two doses,” says Korosec, the study’s lead author.

Published today in the journal Scientific Reports, the study used Canadian vaccine data collected from individuals living in long-term care, as well as frontline health-care workers working in long-term care and hospitals.

Looking at the group as a whole, the median length for the antibody half-life immune response was 63 days for the primary series, and increased to 115 days for those who went on to receive their boosters, a statistically significant finding, says Korosec.

It is well-established that age can affect how adept the body is at priming an immune response after vaccines, so much so that advanced age is considered a comorbidity itself, says Korosec.

“Chronological age is your time since birth. But you also have an immunological age, which is correlated to your chronological age, and is related to how your body loses its ability to prime against invading pathogens and produce antibodies as time marches on,” explains Korosec. “What's convoluted is that as we age chronologically, the probability that we accrue diseases that can affect the immune system in unintuitive ways also increases.”

Looking into this aspect, the researchers found that older adults did have a less long-lasting immune response, but once they controlled for other comorbidities such as hypertension, lung disease and cancer, age no longer had as significant of an influence on the immune response.

Other interesting findings include a small, but statistically significant immune response for males versus females, and people with asthma having a longer lasting immune response – more durable, in fact, than those with hybrid immunity from vaccines and contracting COVID-19.

“We found that some outcomes were surprising and worth further study, but of course we're not advocating any particular comorbidity is beneficial,” says Dick. “We don't have any information from this study on how asthma would affect the severity of the COVID-19 illness, for example.”

Outside of the strict findings, the researchers also say the study points to the importance of interdisciplinary research and are excited about the possibilities for collaboration, with plans to open 91��ɫ’s School of Medicine in 2028.

“While we’re all from math and stats departments, the data comes from clinicians who went through medical school and are now professors studying immunology, and I think this study shows how people with different skill sets can come together and do really interesting science,” says Korosec.

Adds Moyles: “We have a really top applied math program at 91��ɫ, and now the university has announced a medical school. Imagine these clinicians were at 91��ɫ and we had access to the data on the ground floor. This would cut the research timeline by years and has huge potential for future interdisciplinary research at the university.”

About 91��ɫ

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91��ɫ Media Relations and External Communications, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

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91��ɫ U education experts available to talk about back-to-school math tips, privatization in public education and kids and mental health

egamulin — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 15:54:40 +0000

Tina Rapke

TORONTO, August 31, 2023 – With back-to-school around the corner, experts from 91��ɫ’s are not only sharing tips to make the transition a successful one, but can also comment on broader trends in education.

While math anxiety is common for many students of all ages, there is no such thing as “math people and not math people”, says . Parents and teachers can implement a few simple strategies that can go a long way towards giving kids the confidence they need to succeed. Rapke, who works directly with students and teachers in classroom settings, says listening to kids explain how they would tackle a question, rather than telling them how they have to do it, is one strategy.

Sue Winton

Rapke is available to comment on topics including:

Strategies for classroom teaching and math learning at home
How kids develop mathematical ideas
Why and how to focus on students’ ideas to enhance math education

Winton is available for comment on topics including:

Kate Tilleczek

School fees, fundraising, school choice, specialized programs, and other ways that public education is being privatized
What these changes mean for kids, families, communities, and democracy
The role of policy in supporting or undermining public education

If children’s mental-health needs are not addressed, they won’t be able to tackle academic challenges, and there are a number of indicators that youth mental health is getting worse, says Professor Kate Tilleczek, Canada Research Chair Youth, Education & Global Good. Tilleczek is the founder and director of the where she examines how youth navigate challenges both global and local in nature.

Tilleczek is available for comment on topics including:

Digital technology’s influences on youth well-being at school, work, and their social lives
Youth well-being and the climate crises – how are youth responding
New forms of education for sustainable living

About 91��ɫ

Media Contacts: Emina Gamulin, 91��ɫ Media Relations and External Communications, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

The post 91��ɫ U education experts available to talk about back-to-school math tips, privatization in public education and kids and mental health appeared first on News@91��ɫ.

Back to School Prep: 10 tips for parents to make reading and math fun

roshanp — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:17:59 +0000

91��ɫ experts available to explain how to prevent learning losses

TORONTO, August 10, 2020 – With four weeks to go before children return to Ontario elementary schools on Tuesday, September 8, parents are encouraged to keep learning alive in their households to help make for a smoother transition back to the classroom.

That’s the advice of two 91��ɫ educators who say some parents are concerned that their kids will have an achievement gap when they return to school in the fall because of the “summer slide” – a phenomenon where some kids lose about two months of reading and math skills over the summer. This is particularly pronounced in lower-income and at-risk student populations.

One U.S-based also suggests the global COVID-19 pandemic which closed Ontario schools since March, plus the summer break, could leave students suffering from both the summer slide, and the “COVID slide” – a double whammy of knowledge loss. 91��ɫ’s experts say the key to combating this issue is to infuse learning in the everyday lives of kids to help foster their literacy and math development.

is a professor of language and literacy in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Education. She says building resiliency is paramount if kids are going to bounce back from any COVID or summer slide in academics.

“Parents working to lay a strong foundation for learning at home need to be reminded that all learning happens best when children feel a sense of belonging and well-being, and are engaged in the world around them,” she says. “We need to encourage kids to question, to experiment, to reflect and review, and to evaluate multiple sources of information as they construct knowledge.”

An educator for 37 years, Krasny began her career as an elementary school teacher in Winnipeg and served as Manitoba's Provincial Language Arts Specialist. Currently, she teaches courses for prospective and current teachers including Early and Family Literacy, Adolescent and Children's Literature, Teaching English in the Intermediate Division, and Teaching English in the Intermediate-Senior Divisions.

Krasny can share literacy summer slide and COVID slide tips for parents, including:

Make it fun. Fingerplays, skipping songs, counting rhymes, chants, camp songs and books with rhyme, rhythm and/or repetition, such as author Bill Martin Jr.’s Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Bill Martin Jr.’s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, are engaging ways to foster phonemic awareness and word recognition. They also offer predictable sentence patterns that engage kids in writing and illustrating their own songs and stories.
Understand the early predictors of reading and literacy success. That includes alphabet knowledge, phonemic awareness, word recognition/sight word vocabulary, and word knowledge. While no single approach operates independently from others in building the ability to read and comprehend, phonemic awareness, or the ability to identify and differentiate between sounds in words, is the leading predictor of reading achievement.
Bring books to life through dramatic play. For example, author Jan Brett’s offers activities and craft ideas including book making and character masks for dramatic play. Her book, The Mitten and the Hat, brings to life a Ukrainian folktale in which one by one, woodland animals make their home in a found mitten. The book teaches sequencing and important comprehension skills when kids use masks or stick puppets for story retelling.
Play popular games to help with word recognition and knowledge. Kids can benefit from word games like Scrabble, Hangman, word searches and online favourites, Wordscapes and Friends with Words.
Invent new games. are generally regarded as the 315 most commonly used words in children’s books. Parents can play memory games with their kids by matching these sight words, or help with letter recognition by matching lower-case with upper-case letters.

is an associate professor in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Education who teaches mathematics education courses. She says her main concern with the summer slide and COVID slide phenomenon is that kids may lose the fundamental math skills – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

“Research tells us that kids learn these skills gradually over time. It’s like brushing your teeth,” explains Rapke. “Children should do a little bit of fundamental math skills spaced out over time. With classrooms closed for just over five months, some kids haven’t had the opportunity to practice math as often as they should.”

Rapke teaches five math courses at 91��ɫ and has conducted extensive research on strategies to enhance the learning and teaching of mathematics. This summer, she worked with math coaches at the Toronto District School Board to develop and host a series of to help kids from Grades 1 to 10 practice mental math at home, and give parents the tools to help them.

Rapke can share math summer slide and COVID slide tips for parents, including:

Practice mental math. Take a math problem (such as 17 subtract 9), display it physically (using anything from Lego pieces to candies) and work with children to develop a strategy to solve the problem. Doing even two or three times a week, for 10 minutes or less, should make a difference.
Talk about math with kids. Discussing a math problem is key to finding the solution. In classrooms, kids often solve math problems with their peers and compare how they calculated the answer. At home, parent should model active listening and ask questions about what their children have said.
Play board games and card games. Playing games like Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders are a great way to engage kids in learning, and almost any game can be adapted to focus on math. For example, the card game Go Fish, can be played with a twist so instead of asking for the number 10 card, players can ask for two cards that add up to five plus five.
Use a recipe to bake. Finding math in everyday activities is key. When baking, parents can have their kids read the recipe and count out the ingredients to gain a better understanding of fractions (such as ½ cup of sugar and 1¾ of flour).
Adjust the attitude about math. Parents can set a positive attitude by not saying things like “I don’t like math” or “I’m not a math person.” Parents should make it clear to their children that making mistakes is OK. Celebrate the process of solving a math problem and not just the final answer.

91��ɫ champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.

91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 647-654-9452, vthomps@yorku.ca

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Should parents be worried about the “summer slide”?

roshanp — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:06:23 +0000

91��ɫ experts available to discuss summer learning loss

TORONTO, June 24, 2019 – Student learning should not fall by the wayside just because school is out for summer break.

That’s the advice of two 91��ɫ educators who agree the summer slide phenomenon is real. Research has shown that students can lose about two months of reading and mathematics skills over the summer, resulting in an achievement gap when they return to school in the fall. This is particularly pronounced in lower-income and at-risk student populations.

91��ɫ’s experts say the best way for parents to combat this summer knowledge loss is to keep students learning. The experts are available for interviews on their research and work in the areas of reading, math and online learning. They can also provide summer slide tips for parents, to help their children from losing academic ground.

is a professor in the Faculty of Education. She has conducted extensive research on literacy education, early childhood education, literacy learning, education assessment and online learning tools to improve literacy. Murphy wrote and co-wrote several journal articles including and authored a chapter in the book , both published last year. Currently, Murphy is writing a book for teachers with strategies and tactics for teaching, as well as evidence-based practices in language and literacy.

She can share literacy summer slide tips for parents, including:

Provide books to children at home, especially in pre-primary and primary grades
Choose books that interest children, ensuring there is a good flow to the words
Encourage children to re-read their favourite books
Leverage digital technologies through electronic books and apps

is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education. She teaches mathematics education courses to current and prospective teachers and has conducted extensive research on strategies to enhance the learning and teaching of mathematics. Rapke has also worked with elementary schools in Ontario to develop videos to help parents do math and talk about mathematics with their children. Currently, Rapke leads a program in a GTA-based school to address parental concerns about math education and develop practical strategies to help students learn basic arithmetic, through a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) grant that supports connections between home and school learning.

She can share math summer slide tips for parents, including:

Practice math as a family in fun, easy and meaningful ways
Consider math games to support children’s math studies
Leverage kids' everyday questions about time, money and play dates to practice basic skills and solve math problems

91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact: Vanessa Thompson, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 647-654-9452, vthomps@yorku.ca

The post Should parents be worried about the “summer slide”? appeared first on News@91��ɫ.