JIS: Some 120 mathematics coaches and specialists assigned to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information will participate in a training workshop from August 21 to 24, hosted by Book Merchant Limited at Shortwood Teachers’ College, in Kingston.
They will join 800 primary and early-childhood maths teachers who will be exposed to Best Practices in Mathematics at the workshop, dubbed: ‘Amazing Math Powers… PR1MED for Success’.
National Mathematics Coordinator at the Ministry, Dr. Tamika Benjamin, told JIS News that the Ministry fully supports the programme, which is certified by the Jamaica Teaching Council, the agency which is responsible for teacher-training and licensing. She lauded the consistent effort of Book Merchant Limited to support the work of the Ministry.
“Last year, they brought two scholastics from Singapore to train principals and teachers, and, this year, they continue to provide opportunities for our maths teachers to be trained,” Dr. Benjamin pointed out.
Book Merchant Limited has a long-standing history of investing in the capacity-building of teachers and teaching quality through the provision of professional-development resources and teacher-training programmes.
Training and Development Specialist at Book Merchant Limited, Joni Gocool, told JIS News that since 2014, some 2,000 mathematics teachers, coaches and specialists in Jamaica and the Caribbean have benefited from this training initiative.
She said the workshop falls under the Scholastic PRIME Mathematics Programme, which is based on a highly successful Singaporean model of teaching. Miss Gocool pointed out that Singapore is leading in both subjects, according to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.
Renowned Scholastic Professional Development Specialist and Lead PRIME Mathematics Specialist from Singapore, Kelly Lim Kai Ling, will lead a team of local and regional facilitators in the training sessions.
Meanwhile, Clinical Psychologist and Life Coach in Jamaica, Dr. Rose Johnson, will present on Emotional Intelligence. She will provide teachers with innovative strategies, which, when utilised, should bring about immediate behavioural change in students.
According to Miss Gocool, “a lot of changes are taking place in the education sector right now, as the traditional method of drill and practice is not working”.
“We are doing things differently this year, so instead of going into the different schools to conduct training, we brought all the teachers together over the course of four days.
We have also opened it up to anyone who is interested in this new method of teaching… they are invited to participate in the workshop,” she said.
At the end of the training, the participants will receive joint certification from the Jamaica Teaching Council and Shortwood Teachers’ College. Sponsors for the workshop include NCB Foundation, JN Bank, Maxie Department Store, National Housing Trust (NHT) and Shortwood Teachers’ College.
For further information, persons can contact Joni Gocool at 946-0926 or email: [email protected].
CAPTION: National Mathematics Coordinator at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr. Tamika Benjamin