600 Maths Coaches to Benefit from Book Merchant’s Training Workshop

Approximately 600 mathematics coaches and specialists assigned to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information are slated to benefit from the second staging of the Book Merchant Limited’s (BML) Mathematics Teacher Training workshop from August 21 to 23.

The three-day session involves collaboration with Shortwood Teachers’ College and will be staged at the institution’s campus, 77 Shortwood Road, Kingston 8.

Addressing a JIS Think Tank on Wednesday (July 11), Chief Executive Officer of BML, Sharon Neita, said that this year’s event comes against the success of the inaugural workshop held in 2017.
She informed that a programme called Scholastic Prime Mathematics will be employed during the training.

The programme is a compilation of the best practices of the three top-performing mathematics nations – Singapore, Republic of Korea and Hong Kong.

BML, an agent of the United States-based Scholastic International, discovered the programme through Scholastic in 2015 to assist local teachers and students with the teaching and learning of maths.

Ms. Neita said the three-day workshop will be divided into panel discussions and breakout sessions covering various topics.

These include key practices of top-performing nations, the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, introduction to the Bar Model Method, lesson planning and developing assessment instruments of the 21st century learner.

A new course called Differentiated Literacy Instruction will be introduced this year, through which teachers will learn how to interpret and use data to plan and deliver lessons that meet the needs of diverse learners in their classrooms.

Mathematics instructors will include Scholastic Programme Implementation and Professional Development Specialist, Kelly Lim from Singapore, along with several local and regional Prime Mathematics trainers. The literacy component will be delivered by renowned educational consultant and lecturer, University of the West Indies, Mona and Educator, trainer and senior Manager for Scholastic Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the Caribbean, Miguel Melendez. Ms. Neita is appealing for public- and private-sector support for the workshop.

Acting Vice Principal of Administrative Affairs at Shortwood Teachers’ College, Dr. Claudette Barrett-March, said that the institution is elated to be partnering with BML to host such an important workshop.

She noted that the college is always in the business of capacity-building; therefore, it welcomes every opportunity to provide training.

Shortwood Teachers’ College will provide accommodation and meals for participants who are desirous of staying on campus. Persons, who successfully complete the workshop, will receive certification from the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC).

Deadline for registration is Sunday, August 5. For further information on registration and cost persons may contact the BML at info@bookmerchant.net.