Supporting Teachers To Have Fun With Mathematics



Professional Development of the teachers is one of the major components of an institution in Gilgit-Baltistan namely the Centre for Educational Development (CED) which plays a key role in the capacity building of the subject teachers in the areas of pedagogical skills and content knowledge to improve teaching and learning. So CED team has been engaged in designing, planning, and executing different subject training courses. 

The following sections of this writing contain a report on mathematics training courses conducted to address the needs of the mathematics teachers teaching in middle and primary grades. The needs were identified by the teacher educator for mathematic working with different schools in Gilgit-Baltistan.
This report comprises training rationale, objectives, process, achievements as well as challenges followed by recommendations on the basis of experiences during the training course.

Rationale      
               


1)      To enrich teachers’ existing knowledge and skills of teaching mathematics by retrofitting interactive and fun-loving teaching techniques;
2)      To provide teachers with an opportunity to share their experiences of teaching mathematics in order to improve their competency in content knowledge and pedagogy;
3)      To clarify mathematical terms and concepts with conceptual understanding and daily life application;
4)      To improve teachers’ mathematical discourses and concepts in the selected themes by using symbolic, pictorial, and descriptive representations;


The training consisted of a duration of six days comprised 5 hours 15 minutes per day excluding lunch, prayer, and tea breaks. A total of 13 participants availed themselves of the opportunity to get the training.
Day 01: The training was started formally with an opening ceremony. Director Academics CED presided over the ceremony, who shared the goals and objectives of the training and explained that the training conducted by CED has made positive effects on school improvement. He appreciated the efforts and contribution made by the academic team of CED in bringing about changes in classroom teaching and learning situations. He emphasized CPs ensure the application of their new learning during the training in their classrooms.

Then an introductory session of CPs and CFs took place followed by a multimedia presentation on the mentoring process. Another activity was administering a pre-test to find out the prior learning among CPs regarding the planned content to be addressed in the training course. 

The themes covered on day one were; mentoring, challenging existing beliefs among the teachers, and basic concepts of Mathematics. CFs’ thought-provoking puzzles made CPs think to reach alternative ways to deal with mathematical concepts. Group work was assigned to explain and elaborate the assigned concepts of mathematics followed by CPs presentations during which hot debates among the CPs were observed. After each presentation, CFS provided feedback to reinforce CPs’ learning. 

At the end of the day, the session was summed up by highlighting the main points from the whole day session. Then reflection sheets were provided to the CPs to write reflections to be shared the next day.
Day 02: On the 2nd day the themes such as numbers namely numbers, numerals, digits, ordinal, nominal cardinal numbers and number sets, mental maths, and estimation skills were addressed.  All the CPs were involved in solving puzzles, practical and hands-on activities, presentations, discussions, and so on. Diversity of CPs was taken into consideration and conceptual understanding of CPs was developed through their experiences and understanding. 

Day 03: During the sessions on day three, fractions and basic concepts of algebra such as monomials, polynomials, algebraic sentences, expressions, and equations were the focus of the day. CPs were provided with ample input by the CFs and they also brought into practice their own experiences. Conceptual understanding of the mentioned concepts was emphasized through presentations by facilitators and diverse expertise made it easy for the CFs and CPs to conceptually understand the concepts clearly.

Day 04: The major themes were algebra tiles and geometrical figures including van Hiele’s levels of geometrical understanding. The content of the session was addressed through puzzles, CFs input, group work, pair work and individual work, and CPs presentations. Picks puzzles and brainstorming were used as strategies for the planned content to be covered.

Day 05: On day five, lesson planning and scheme of work came into consideration. CFS provided input on both the themes and CPs were assigned group and pair tasks to develop a scheme of work of mathematics for different grade levels for the first semester of the academic session. Standardized formats for a scheme of work were provided to CPs to develop a scheme of work. CPs took help from the CFs wherever they need in rectifying their confusion. In the end, they presented their developed scheme of work with the whole class for group discussion and further feedback.

Day 06: it was the last day of the training course during which CPs were given opportunities to carry out micro-teaching to observe how they apply their learning during training in their teaching. CPs one by one taught different concepts through meaningful and engaging creative activities using low/no-cost resources. At the end of each micro-teaching, CFs and CPs provided feedback and suggestions to improve their teaching more.

Then a post-test was administered to see the impact of the training among the CPs. After post-test, training evaluation sheets (TET) were filled out by the CPs.

A closing ceremony was held to formally close the training. CPs from both pieces of training shared their reflections and appreciated the efforts made by facilitators to enrich CPs' knowledge and understanding of teaching their subject areas. Facilitators in their key messages emphasized the application of their learning in real classrooms and bring about changes in their professional practices in schools.


From our (CFs’) own observation, CPs’ reflections, from the training evaluation tool, and the analysis of pre and post-test the following achievements were evident:
1.      Most of the CPs are now confident to teach mathematics using meaningful and engaging activities in the classroom;
2.      Similarly, some of the CPs made it clear that most of the basics of mathematics are clearer than before;
3.      One of the CPs reflected in the reflection session that “I was thinking teaching algebra with practical examples is impossible, but now it is clearer for me that it is very much possible”.
4.      Another CP reflected that mathematical puzzles and hands-on practical activities used in the training compel them to think critically which improved their critical and logical thinking.



Following were some of the challenges encountered during the training:
  1. For some of the teachers who teach mathematics at the middle level, most themes were not challenging as they were of primary level themes.  
  2. Quite colder weather remained a challenge that disturbed the smooth conduction of the training.
  3. Some strong beliefs among the CPs as they thought punishment is sometimes the only tool to make students learn what they want them to learn.
  4. All the CPs have different educational backgrounds like some have a science background and some have humanities, yet they were teaching mathematics at different levels. So, it was very difficult to respond to individual needs

Teachers from diverse school systems come with different academic backgrounds and experiences which were taken as a source of support during the training course. Using practical and thought-provoking activities in training courses enhances CPs' motivation towards their learning.

   Recommendations

  1. Follow up of the scheme of works and application of learning by CPs need to carry out on periodic intervals;
  2. Teaching practicum should be carried out in real classrooms by the CPs so that feedback would be provided in a true sense.
  3. During planning while selecting themes for the training plan brainstorming needs to be done with the mathematics teacher to address the actual needs of the teachers.