Educators across western Jamaica and St Ann are expected to gather at the Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College to determine how to improve pass rates in mathematics at the ‘Sharp Mathematics 2022’ conference on
Wednesday (November 23).

Konnor Peters, lecturer and head of the mathematics department at the Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College, says educators are concerned about the consistent low pass rates in the subject.

Peters said that educators will look at, among other things, how culture influences performance in mathematics.

It is hoped that the conference will lead to:

• improvement in Primary Exit Profile (PEP) and CSEC examination results,
• creating a learning community of mathematic educators within the western Jamaica region,
• in the long-term, building a culture of research.

The conference, under the theme ‘Angling our Trajectory to the Future of Mathematics’, will include presentations by a distinguished panel of persons specialising in mathematics education:

1. Maureen Dwyer, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Youth,
2. Dr. Tamika Benjamin, National Mathematics Coordinator,
3. Karema Mundell-Thomas, 2019 Mathematics teacher of the year and specialist for region one,
4. Horace Donaldson regional Mathematics Coordinator for St. Ann and Trelawny.

“We have observed that some persons will come in as students showing a willingness to do the secondary programme but do not stay the course,” Peters noted.

“The reason for [students] not staying is that they lack an attitude of perseverance or [have] a tendency to lose focus in completing the course. There is also the fear of maths and unrealistic expectations that it should be easy when, historically, it hasn’t been. It is a subject that challenges you, and through the challenge you rise to a higher level of thinking and reasoning,” he continued.

This is the first time it is being held in western Jamaica and Peters hopes it will become a fixture on the college’s calendar of events.

Peters further contended that repeated underperformance in the subject gives rise to the belief that “persons in our country do not seem to understand the nature of mathematics and its relationship to our current value system, so we consider it prudent to sensitise our people, including our fellow teachers.
The conference will, therefore, be exploring the history of mathematics, the subcultures and their influences on mathematics, future best practices in the subject, digitisation and mathematics, teaching mathematics in a global environment, transitioning from physical to digital tools, and converting classroom processes into an automated operation.