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.
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:
- For some of the
teachers who teach mathematics at the middle level, most themes were not
challenging as they were of primary level themes.
- Quite colder weather
remained a challenge that disturbed the smooth conduction of the
training.
- 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.
- 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
- Follow up of the scheme of works and application
of learning by CPs need to carry out on periodic intervals;
- Teaching practicum should be carried out in real
classrooms by the CPs so that feedback would be provided in a true sense.
- 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.
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