A Report of Training Course on Primary Maths teachers

A Four Days Training Course for the primary schools mathematics teachers 

Bashir ahmed (training facilitator)

INTRODUCTION

Today schools are functioning in a rapid changing world. This changing scenario demands a continuous improvement of the schools in nurturing the students to pace with the global demands as well as to face local challenges. In the process of school improvement, the capacity building of teachers is viewed highly substantial in change process.

To address the emerging educational needs of teachers various content and innovative pedagogy courses are offered to transform their pedagogical skills. Primary Mathematics competency course is one of the approaches which is considered more relevant to the schools. It focuses the effective teaching strategies used in mathematics classroom by providing creative activities. Competency course is also the process by which teachers learn more effective and efficient ways of teaching and learning. It is also one of essential process of enhancing teachers’ capacity to meeting the need of new global community. This process ultimately improves the teaching and learning process and as a result students learning outcomes are improved.   

Keeping in view the changing roles and emerging needs of the school teachers, primary mathematics competency course was designed and developed for mathematics teachers with ultimate aim to improve the schools and students’ learning outcomes.

In this regard, MIED Islamabad and MH Pakistan has successfully developed and implemented a primary mathematics competency course in Muslim Hands Educational Complex Wazirabad. The training process was divided into three phases. In the first phase, the needs of the teachers were identified for the training course. In the second phase, training manuals were developed according to the identified needs. In the third phase, the course participants were involved in different activities to strengthen their pedagogical content knowledge and skills.  The duration of the course was four days. Face-to-face sessions were enacted from 9:00am to 4:00pm including breaks. In each face-to-face session, the CPs were engaged in learning certain concepts, notions, approaches and skills by using different teaching strategies.

The main characteristics of the course can be summarized as follows:

·         The courses focuses on effective teaching strategies used in mathematics classroom and develop teachers with certain skills of these strategies as they are expected to work as change agents.

·         The course focused on hand-on activities for teaching mathematics therefore, CPs were given opportunities to develop and present various activities related to their area of interest.

·         The CPs were encouraged to be reflective and critical thinkers to analyze their current practices and need of the students.

·         Collaboration and collegiality among the CPs was highly appreciated to learn from each other and take collective effort to respond their challenges.

This report discusses aims and objectives of the course. It also highlights the proposed themes, teaching strategies, implementation plan and monitoring and evaluation mechanism of the course. It follows outcomes of the course, challenges, recommendation and conclusion of the report are also part of this paper.

AIM OF THE COURSE

The overall aim of this course was to nurture the capacity of twenty five primary school mathematics teachers who play their active role in transforming their traditional teaching methods/strategies into effective and innovative teaching methods/strategies used in mathematics classroom.

Objectives of the Training Course

1. Orient course participants with key teaching strategies used in a mathematics classroom.
2. Engage participants in mathematical problems solving to get hands-on experience of these teaching strategies.
3. Enrich teachers’ existing knowledge and skills of teaching mathematics by retrofitting  interactive and fun-loving  teaching techniques;
4. To explore and reconstruct teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of teaching and learning mathematics;
5. To provide teachers with an opportunity to share their experiences of teaching mathematics in order to improve their competency in content knowledge and pedagogy;
6. To improve teachers’ mathematical discourses and concepts in the selected themes by using symbolic, pictorial and descriptive representations;
7. To enrich the concepts of mathematics by practical examples for in-depth understanding; and
8. To renovate teachers’ competency in developing brief and precise learning activities.

PLANNING FOR THE COURSE

The course was designed to meet the needs of the teachers of the selected Muslim Hands Schools. Various themes were decided according to the findings in the need analysis and reconnaissance reports. Contextual realities, needs, interests, and experiences of both students and teachers were kept in view.

Unlike traditional teacher training program, special emphasis was given on andragogical perspective of the CPs where course participants were given a chance to re-conceptualize the different notions (of education, teaching and learning) through enhanced socialization, by valuing their past experiences, need of the future, focusing on the challenges and viewing them as self directed learner.

Beside that, social, gender, and religious sensitivities were kept in mind during the implementation of the planning. 

COURSE THEMES

Different themes were covered during the course. The core themes of the course is given briefly as under

• Orientation to the concept of mathematics and teaching of mathematics;
• Reflection on aims of teaching mathematics with reference to our daily life;
• Revise and review the methods and techniques of teaching mathematics;
• Effective teaching strategies used in mathematics classroom; and
• Assessment forms used in mathematics

All the topics were covered through interesting teaching strategies, demonstration of micro teaching and assessment procedure. Different approaches and strategies were used to make a lesson more interactive, effective and provide CPs an opportunity to actively participate in various activities. It was the core feature of the course. Moreover, sharing of reflection was an essential part of the course.

Course Participants were also made aware of the importance of child, friendly classroom environment, modern teaching and learning strategies such as; child centered learning, hands on and minds on activities, interactive based strategies, experience based approaches, inquiry or discovery based strategies and effective use of resources for teaching and learning were the other main features of the course.

PROCEDURE:

Throughout the course, participants were given an opportunity to discuss, share and evaluate their previous experiences of teaching and learning mathematics. The facilitators facilitated the course participants through different cooperative learning techniques and encouraged their discussions, group works, and presentations of relevant activities from mathematics. Facilitator connected the understanding of CPs with the relevant literature and examples from daily life. Moreover, emphasis was placed on reflective practices of the teachers because teachers are considered as change agent in the classroom in creating a learning environment.

TEACHING STRATEGIES

To make the course interactive and effective different teaching strategies were opted such as discussion, power point presentations, role plays, short lectures, readings, brainstorming, pair work question and answer, individual work, demonstration, problem solving, dialogue and videos. However, to make the course more meaningful and to ensure the essence of participatory approach, variety of strategies were used such as

(a) Expose the participants to new teaching strategies,

(b) Enhance content pedagogical knowledge of the teachers,

(c) Transform teaching methods and strategies,

(d) Ascertain student centered teaching and learning,

(e) Develop the idea of using resources for classroom teaching and learning.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Effective evaluation is viewed very significant in the success of any course. Keeping in view the importance of monitoring and evaluation different strategies were employed to evaluate the learning of the course participants and effectiveness of the course. In regard, following strategies were used

·         Daily reflection of the CPs

·         Filling evaluation forms by CPs at the end of the course 

·         CPs’ task completion during face-to-face session

·         Active participation and involvement of CPs

·         Daily attendance of the CPs

·         Facilitators reflection

OUTCOMES OF THE COURSE

The training course provided unique opportunities for the course participants to learn the experiences of teaching mathematics with each other. Similarly, it also provided multiple opportunities to explore new teaching strategies used in mathematics classroom. The key outcomes of the course are as under

ENHANCED PEDAGOGICAL KNOWLEDGE

The course facilitator encouraged CPs to participate classroom discussions. The discussion strategy helped CPs to clarify their misconceptions regarding teaching mathematics. Various themes, topics and field experiences were discussed to understand the notions of teaching mathematics. This strategy helped CPs to find solutions of various field challenges. The training facilitator ensures the participation of all the CPs in group discussion. It was observed that the confidence level of CPs also enhanced during their participation in discussion. As a result the teachers’ knowledge is enhanced regarding teaching of mathematics. Some of the comments of CPs are as under

• The course participants highly appreciated the methods of teaching used during the course. One of the CPs shared that “before this course I was illiterate regarding teaching mathematics. This course helped me to know about some of the teaching methods and strategies used in mathematics classroom”.
• Another CP highlighted the learning environment created by the course facilitator. She shared that “Trainer was very friendly; he used effective activities during the training and told us the process of various teaching strategies used in mathematics classroom in a friendly manner”. “We like trainer’s positive and friendly attitude, he spoke in soft voices which encouraged us to share our ideas and issues openly with them. This strategy helped us to know something about teaching mathematics.”

The above reflections show that some of the CPs were not oriented with the teaching methods and techniques of mathematics before this course. The orientation and involvement of CPs in various activities helped them to enhance their pedagogical content knowledge.

DEVELOPED VARIOUS SKILLS

During the course the CPs were involved in different activities which helped them to develop various skills. The training course focused on to develop various pedagogy skills among the CPs therefore; activities were designed in such a way that skills would be developed. In the training session, the CPs were given maximum opportunities to develop activities related to their subject area. It was observed that CPs were able to develop some of the hand-on activities during the course. Similarly, during the course, CPs were exposed to a variety of teaching strategies and methods. By involving in co-operative learning process, the CPs demonstrated their pedagogical skills through working on various activities. Some of the reflections of CPs are as under

·         I was unaware about the importance of teaching strategies used in mathematics classroom. Now I came to know that the importance of teaching strategies and its effective usage in classroom. I can confidently say that I can use some the strategies in my mathematics classroom.

·         I never learned that mathematics is taught in different ways. In my academic experiences, I was taught with a single method, this is first time that I am introduced with different teaching strategies used in mathematics classroom. Now I can confidently say that I can teach better than from my previous experiences

·         One of the course participant shared that “I used chalk and board method for teaching mathematics but now I realized that it is traditional method. I learned how to develop activities for teaching mathematics I will use activities for teaching mathematics”.

The above reflections clearly describes that the CPs are developed with various pedagogical skills and they are eager to use their learned skills in their classrooms.

TRANSFORMATION OF DISPOSITIONS

It was observed that the CPs traditional dispositions and discourses are transformed into innovative and modern ways of teaching and learning. In an informal discussion with the CPs it was observed that CPs were critically reflected on their previous practices and experiences of teaching mathematics. The training course provided an opportunity to reflect on their previous practices and prepare themselves as champion of change. Some of the CPs shared their reflection as

• “Through playing games and teaching through various activities in teaching mathematics, I though it is wastage of time but I came to know that how important they are in teaching mathematics”.
• Before the training, it was common reflection of the CPs that they have a lot of task to do in the school. They do not have enough time to develop such activities for their classroom teaching. However, after the training course they realized that how important they are for effective teaching and learning. The CPs promised that they will do their best to use their learned skills and knowledge in teaching and learning of mathematics.

DEVELOPED CONFIDENCE

CPs got confidence to share their learning with their colleagues which shows that how learning of the course will be multiplied through course participate. One of the course participants shared that “During the training, I learnt different ways of creative activities which facilitate all the children in the class. I will share these strategies with my school teachers to adapt such ways of developing creative activities for their classroom.”

Participants were able to build their oral and presentation skill during the course, when they got opportunity to come forward and share their ideas. CPs shared her experience, “I learnt a lot in this course, it gave me confidence to share my point in front of other teachers.”

CHALLENGES:

• The space of the classroom was not appropriate; it was difficult to move in the classroom easily. The seating arrangements was not so good, the size of the chairs were very small and it was difficult to sit comfortably. Therefore, many CPs also have highlighted this point in their reflections.
• The timing of the course was too lengthy; it was difficult to capture the motivation of CPs after lunch. Majority of the CPs also highlighted their concern regarding timing of the course in their reflections.
• Some of the training materials were not available on time as a result the effectiveness of the course was not maintained.
• Different course facilitators were involved in different phases of the training course. Therefore, the course did not touch directly the needs of the course participants.
• All the course participants were not the teachers of primary schools therefore; it was difficult to grasp their attention at a certain level.  
• The understanding level of course participants were different as some CPs had good understanding of teaching mathematics while some CPs did not teach mathematics.

• Few of the CPs was observed dominating others while doing classroom discussion and other activities.

SUGGESTIONS:

• Classroom environment plays an important role in students learning. Therefore, it is important to arrange a classroom where CPs can easily perform their activities in a conducive environment. Similarly, the seating arrangement should be comfortable so that the CPs feel easy during their classroom interactions.
• The timing for the course should be schedule in such a way that CPs should be active all the time. However, external factors such as weather affect the motivation level of the CPs. Create such an environment where the influence of external factors should not affect the learning of the CPs.
• Resources play a vital role in effective teaching and learning. All the important and necessary material should be arranged before any training course so that the process of training programme took place in smooth way.
• Understanding and skills about the use of group work is required to be enhanced among teachers by conducting more sessions to strengthen this strategy, make school environment and support of their cooperative learning in schools.
• Follow up visits should be part of this training course. This will ensure the implementation of learnt skills by the teachers in the actual field of classroom. Feedback should be provided in case of any challenge faced during their field work.
• One day refresher course is important after three months or after six months to revise the concepts been taught and know about their achievements and challenges.
• As all the phases of a course are integrated with each other. Therefore, same course facilitators should be involved at all phases of training course. This could help course facilitators to carry on the training process in a better way.
• The CPs from same school level (Primary/Secondary) should be involved to foster the learning of CPs with equal pace. This will help them to share their field experiences with each other which ultimately enhance their learning by sharing their ideas.

CONCLUSION

The course was run smoothly and course facilitator was able to create an environment where teachers were able to re-conceptualize their previous practices of teaching mathematics. Course participants were able to construct new understanding about innovative and creative teaching methods and techniques of mathematics.

 The challenges faced will provide an opportunity of more experience for the next training course. First of all thanks Allah almighty who enables us to develop teachers professionally and thanks to the teachers who extended their valuable time for the training with their full zeal and zest. This has enabled us to celebrate a new milestone in the journey teachers professional development. Secondly, I would like to thank Assistant Manager Curriculum Development and Training of Muslim Hands and Principal Muslim Hands School of Excellence Islamabad for their support, encouragement and constructive timely feedback. Thirdly, I would like to extent my gratitude to all the administration and supporting staff of Muslim Hands Educational Complex Wazirabad for their care during our stay in Wazirabad. The arrangements made for this training course were highly appreciable which made our life easy. Thanks to every one that put his/her hand on it, without their support this could not be possible.