Improving Student Achievement in Math Critical – Thwaites
By: March 13, 2015 ,The Key Point:
The Facts
- He was speaking at the third staging of the Ministry’s national mathematics exposition held on March 12, at the Old Library grounds at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus.
- The Education Minister said the exposition is in keeping with efforts to get students to love the subject, and to change the perception that math is hard.
The Full Story
Education Minister, the Hon. Rev. Ronald Thwaites, says improving student achievement in mathematics is critical to the country’s continued growth and development.
“That is why over the past three years…there has been a wholehearted commitment … to arrest the decline in our appreciation of mathematics and that we improve our methods of teaching, our understanding of the principles and eventually the outcomes of young people,” Rev. Thwaites said.
He was speaking at the third staging of the Ministry’s national mathematics exposition held on March 12, at the Old Library grounds at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus.
The Education Minister said the exposition is in keeping with efforts to get students to love the subject, and to change the perception that math is hard.
“We have to change that and that is why we are here to show all of the applications and to make mathematics fun,” he noted.
Rev. Thwaites said the Ministry is working to meet two important timelines in terms of student achievement in numeracy.
These are the revised goal of having 85 per cent of students in the grade four cohort achieving numeracy mastery by 2018; and the 2017 timeline for all grade 11 students to be sitting Mathematics in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination or any other test administered by another recognised governing body.
The Mathematics expo was attended by thousands of primary and secondary school students from across the island.
It featured concept-based booths allowing for interactive exploration of mathematical concepts and theories outlined in both the primary and secondary curricula.
Exhibitors included the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, Port Authority of Jamaica, Jamaica Institution of Engineers, Caribbean Maritime Institute, Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, Heart Trust/NTA, National Meteorological Service, Statistical Institute of Jamaica and the Shipping Association of Jamaica.
The expo also included scheduled tours of the UWI, competitions, and a variety of games and activities.