Teachers committed to becoming maths champs

Primary school teachers in the South West will soon be ranked among the State’s best when it comes to maths.

Teachers from Treendale Primary School, Australind Primary School, Glen Huon Primary School and Eaton Primary School have been taking part in the new Champions of Maths component of the Alcoa Maths Enrichment program in partnership with Scitech.

The component was designed to develop teachers’ classroom methods and instructional practices through one-on-one mentoring and coaching.

“I take the best practices in maths teaching from research around the world and condense it down into workshops for the teachers,” Scitech maths multiplier Shyam Drury said.

“Then I’ll come into the classroom and observe the teacher teaching with another teacher, they work in pairs, before we debrief and break down the lesson.”

To be accepted into the initiative, teachers had to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to improving their teaching and creating maths leaders within their schools.

Treendale Primary School teachers Kate Archibald and Lisa Tatham were both accepted and have been working with Mr Drury since the start of the school year, though not for the first time.

“Last year I was involved with the Alcoa Maths Enrichment program, so Shyam worked with us last year,” Miss Archibald said.

“When the opportunity came up for this new program, he spoke to the school about it and I was quite keen to get back on-board again.

“We’ve noticed a huge difference in the kids and their enthusiasm towards maths, as well as their confidence towards problems and wanting to solve a problem.”

Mrs Tatham said the benefit that hit home for her was the students actively wanting to understand a concept rather than just learn a process that provided an answer.

Only select schools between Kwinana and Bunbury have been accepted into the inaugural program, with the other major South West centre being Harvey.

Alcoa chairman and managing director Michael Parker said providing the next generation with the relevant skills to succeed in the modern workplace was essential, not only for them as individuals, but for the entire country.

“Alcoa is proud to continue our partnership with Scitech, which is making a real difference in maths teaching and learning,” he said.