Revealed math grade three volume one is the curriculum used in the third year of primary school Mathematics. It uses the book “Grade 3 Math (2nd ed)” by McGraw Hill, which covers various mathematical concepts like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions. The strategies used are guided exploration and activity-based exploration. The teacher chooses the teaching activities in a guided exploration strategy and calculates examples as students watch and note down. In activity-based exploration, students learn concepts in small groups and write conclusions. The topics are Units four and five according to the semester’s timeline of 12 weeks. Students discover multiplication patterns in Unit four to verify the accuracy of math solutions. In Unit five, students learn multiplication strategies. For instance, the product doubles if its factor doubles. Summative assessment is done after the 12 weeks of study, while diagnostic assessment happens at the start of the 12 weeks. Resources like exams help monitor whether students comprehend the big ideas. The big ideas are the essential virtual concepts that the learners can discover with the teachers’ help (Harlen, 2022). Students with disabilities hardly get a uniform learning platform with ordinary students. However, the book handles their situation by providing autonomy regarding the teacher’s instruction method. It allows teachers to use instructional methods that cater to their individual needs. For instance, it allows students to draw images helpful in solving math and avails visual aids like the multiplication table (Appendix A). In summary, the textbook is a critical tool to the student and the revealed math grade three curriculum.
It got founded by Hilda Taba (1902 – 1967). The model uses several processes like listing, synthesizing, grouping, re-grouping, and labelling (Appendix B) (Gulzar, 2021). The Taba model’s steps show the primary obligations of a teacher. The first step, diagnosing the learner’s needs, requires the teacher to identify what skills the students lack. Step two entails formulating objectives (learning outcomes). Step three involves selecting content by identifying relevant topics, like multiplication. Step four involves organizing the content from easy to complex. Step five entails selecting the instructional methods, like off-book examples. Step six involves organizing the learning activities in a sequence depending on the nature of the learner and content. The last step entails assessing the percentage of the learning outcomes achieved. Thus the various steps of the Taba model facilitate the formulation and achievement of the learning objectives.
An advantage of the curriculum is that it promotes accuracy through many explanations and examples, where the answers get confirmed using other methods. It covers several topics and concepts under one core idea, like multiplication. It is skill-oriented. The curriculum’s cons are that learning various procedures for doing the same task may confuse some students. Another disadvantage is that it does not fully match UAE’s culture. For example, it should use AED, not U.S. dollars. It should also include illustrations with Arabic nouns. A suitable recommendation is to teach students only one technique and include concepts of UAE culture, like currency and names.
The curriculum supports three types of assessment: diagnostic, formative, and summative. The summative assessment is done on the major subjects at the end of the semester. amThe diagnostic assessment applies to all subjects and gets taken at the beginning of every term for every unit in reveal math. Diagnostic assessment evaluates the prior knowledge of the students before beginning a unit. An ex knowledge of addition learned earlier. Formative assessments get modified according to the instructor’s aims and students’ needs—for example, testing one crucial concept learnt. Thus diagnostic assessments assess prior knowledge while summative assessments assess the knowledge gained throughout the term.
Summative assessment helps the MOE know what areas of the curriculum need improvement by analyzing the grades. It addresses common misconceptions in multiplication, helping students maintain accurate information only. A recommendation to better the assessment system would be to integrate learner-centred and content-centred assessments.
Students with disabilities often suffer a disadvantage in the teaching-learning process. The Taba model calls for the initial formulation of objectives before the learning experiences get determined. However, the model does not give conditions for how students with disabilities will achieve the objectives alongside students without disabilities. For instance, students with autism have symptoms of engaging in an activity repetitively. It means they may grasp one multiplication concept because they resist changes in routine. Students with learning disabilities cannot think or write efficiently and require more time to teach than students without disabilities. In summary, students with disabilities challenge teachers because they must cover the syllabus at a slow pace for them to comprehend.
One solution to the problem is using generally applicable learning objectives and content. The proposed solution can prove fruitful when added to the existing annual remedial programs for low-performing students (Simpson, 2017). The teacher should use activity-based exploration because students with disabilities may learn better and faster from their fellow students. The teacher should have a vast knowledge of their students to determine what learning outcomes will succeed and which will not. Another solution is to use Arabic cultural concepts familiar to them. The students eventually choose what method is simple for them depending on their capacity and speed in understanding. The repetition of the main points as a summary is another step that should help special needs students understand at the same pace.
The two units are Unit four and Unit Five. Unit four entails multiplication, and Unit five is division. Unit four aims at teaching: addition for multiplication, properties of multiplication by two, and the unique factors (Appendix C). Unit five’s goal is learning division (Appendix D). Learners also learn how to find a divisor and a dividend. The examples get organized from the simple to the more complex, meaning planning got efficiently done before preparing the teaching aids. Grouping ad pacing gets applied to ensure the unit topics align to the timeline of the term, which is 12 weeks. Students get recourses from online resources like videos and games to supplement the coursework. The teacher designs the learning activities in forms like foldables and spiral reviews (Appendix E). The extension activates are activities related to courses like the digital station games. Therefore, units four and five follow the steps outlined by the Taba model, thus accurately ensuring the teaching-learning process.
Indeed, the curriculum engages the students in using their reasoning and thinking to solve real-world problems. For instance, the questions answered by the students directly relate to the real world. Example 10 features Andre with two bags of rocks, which can get pictured by the students because it is practical (Hill, 20202, p. 53). The students can handle real-world tasks because the concepts’ relation to the real world is actual. The curriculum gives students practical knowledge of the topic taught through object-oriented learning. It allows students to draw pictures to solve questions if it suits them because children understand better using photographic memory. It allows students to form their opinions regarding a topic and acquire literal thinking. As students solve mathematical problems independently, they develop ideas regarding the subject and begin thinking independently outside the classroom.
Indeed, the textbook is consistent with the Tyler and Taba models. As required by Tyler’s and Taba’s models, the book effectively organizes the topics (learning experiences) in a known–to–unknown manner. Students begin with simple multiplication cases and advance to more complex concepts. Taba’s and Tyler’s models call for assessment at the end of learning activities, which the textbook fulfils. The book outlines the objectives by stating the task to get accomplished as the subtopic. The strategies outlined in the book are guided and activity-based exploration. Guided exploration is a form of learner-centred approach. It concentrates on the student’s needs (Yasar & Aslan, 2021, p. 6). The advantage is that the teacher chooses the activities engaged by the students. The latter entails the exploration of concepts by students in groups through discussion. The textbook lacks materials for parents and other stakeholders but includes a letter to parents explaining how the book is beneficial to their children. The book does not give teachers mandatory instructional methods to follow. It offers various ways of solving multiplication without limiting the teacher to a specific method. It allows students to draw their images to solve questions, meaning teachers can only guide them on their drawings. Students relate better with aspects they are familiar with. A recommendation to use pictures representing the Arabic culture and texts in textbooks would help uphold the culture of the UAE. Thus, integrating aspects of Arabic culture, like Arabic names, language, and research, in education would make the curriculum less foreign.
Differentiation is present in UAE’s educational curriculum. It refers to the phenomenon where teachers teach students of varying needs and levels simultaneously (Bourini, 2015, p. 54). Teachers address differentiation by issuing different activities to students. The remedial program supported by the UAE curriculum is an example of differentiation where students with disabilities can get special lessons.
In summary, the UAE uses a formal education system, with a curriculum enacted by stakeholders like the MOE, teachers and students. The students and teachers participate in the pilot implementation of the curriculum. The Metric system allows learners to comprehend the basic measurement units. The teachers comment on the effectiveness of the curriculum based on how best it meets the learners’ needs. The curriculum expresses the aims and objectives of the teaching-learning process. The MOE should review the pictures used in the reveal math grade 3 curriculum and change them to suit the Arabic culture. It should also reduce the content to suit the year’s timeline. It is tough to cover 41 learning outcomes in 12 weeks with all the celebrations and days off.
References
Bourini, A. O. (2015). Differentiated instruction in the Mainstream English language Classroom in the UAE Public Secondary Schools: Exploring Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices. BSPACE. Retrieved September 23, 2022. https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/bitstream/handle/1234/792/90004.pdf?sequence=3
Gulzar, A. A. (2021). Taba model of Curriculum Development. Educare.https://educarepk.com/taba-model-of-curriculum-development.html
Harlen, W. (2022). Working towards big ideas: Implications for the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. My College. Retrieved September 25, 2022. https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/working-towards-big-ideas-implications-for-the-curriculum-pedagogy-and-assessment/
Hill, M. G. (2020). Multiplication. In Reveal math (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 46–65). essay, McGraw-Hill Education.
Simpson, B. (2017). The Assessment System in the Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates. SlidePlayer. https://slideplayer.com/slide/5282483/
Yaşar, C. G., & Aslan, B. (2021). Curriculum theory: A review study. International Journal of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, 11(2), 237-260. DOI: 10.31704/ijocis.2021.012
Appendix A
A screenshot of relevant pictures showing the multiplication fact table.
Appendix B
A screenshot of Hilda Taba’s Model. The steps of Taba’s model are in declining order.
Appendix C
A screenshot of Unit Four. Use Patterns to Multiply by 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10.
Appendix D
A screenshot of Unit Five. Use Properties to Multiply by 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Appendix E
A screenshot of learning activities like foldables and spiral review.
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