Hey teachers—math got you puzzled? New program may
be the key
If you have unpleasant memories
taking mathematics in elementary
school, you’re not alone. Your teacher
may have felt the same way.
Surveys show that less than 30% of
elementary teachers and preservice
elementary teachers describe
their own experience of learning
mathematics as positive.
Teachers confided in one survey
as feeling “high anxiety over
mathematics” and struggling to
“explain things in different ways if
students ‘don’t get it.’ ”
Now, the University of Regina is
offering a new certificate program
– Teaching Elementary School
Mathematics. It’s a 10-course,
30-credit hour, certificate designed
primarily for elementary (K-8) school
teachers who teach mathematics.
“This certificate responds to the
limited educational means previously
available at the U of R or elsewhere
in the province to address teachers’
concerns,” says Dr. Kathleen Nolan,
Professor of Mathematics Education at
the Faculty of Education.
Nolan, in consultation with colleagues
from the mathematics education
subject area and the Faculty of
Education student program office,
designed the certificate program.
Nolan is well aware of the anxieties
faced by some elementary school
mathematics teachers. She sought
feedback in a research study, which
was funded through an Insight Grant
from Social Science and Humanities
Research Council of Canada.
In that study, Nolan surveyed
three school divisions in southern
Saskatchewan as well as some
stakeholders connected with
mathematics education, including
parents, to understand perceptions
of teaching elementary school
mathematics
The study showed that only about
half of the teachers and preservice
teachers surveyed relayed feeling very
comfortable with the mathematics
concepts they were expected to teach.
Dr. Gale Russell (l), Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education and Dr. Kathleen Nolan (r), Professor of Mathematics
Education, recently taught two courses in the new Certificate in Teaching Elementary School Mathematics. Photo by Trevor
Hopkin, U of R Photography
In fact, most respondents expressed
some level of discomfort.
Other courses in the program include:
•
“A majority from each stakeholder
group we contacted thought it
was very important that teachers
develop a deep understanding of the
mathematics they teach. This was
the prevailing view especially among
parents of children in grades 6 to 8,”
says Nolan.
Nolan thinks the certificate program
will provide welcome professional
development opportunities.
“There are many benefits in
connection with more professional
development in mathematics
for K-8 teachers,” says Nolan.
“These benefits include additional
qualifications, expertise and
confidence, as well as positive
attitudes toward and a passion for
mathematics.”
•
•
Implementation and assessment
of problem-solving in
mathematics.
Mathematics in the inclusive
classroom: Assessment and
intervention
Number sense for the elementary
school mathematics teacher.
Please visit the Faculty of Education
website for more information on
the Teaching Elementary School
Mathematics certificate program.
Current Faculty of Education students
are also encouraged to apply, either
for the full certificate program or to
take program courses as electives in
their current program of study.
For more information please contact
the Faculty of Education Student
Program Office.
By Costa Maragos
This past July, Nolan and Russell
each taught one of the 10 courses
to officially launch the certificate
program— a course in culturally
responsive pedagogy and one
in mathematical modeling and
representation.
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