What is it like being a Local Facilitator with the Project Maths Development Team?
(08 July 2010)
I was accepted as a local facilitator (LF) for the delivery of the content modules for probability and statistics in January. At that time we went on a two day training course given by Dr. Ailish Hannigan at the National Centre for Excellence in Maths and Science Teaching and Learning. Dr. Hannigans input was both interesting and informative and it shone a light on the importance, uses and abuses of statistics.
The entire group of local facilitators spent a day in Drumcondra where we were spoken to by Dr. Anne Brosnan (PMDT), Ms. Lynda OToole (TES) and Mr. Bill Lynch (NCCA). This eased the fears of many local facilitators on whom the reality of standing up in front of their peers was beginning to dawn. The LFs giving the content classes were given an extra day of training where some of the RDOs talked us through the slide show we were soon to present. The quality of the slides and the training we were given was second to none. The Project Maths team who put these presentations together are hugely professional. This professionalism is evident in the quality of the material we were given to present as well as the manner in which we were supported.
As a LF I was also supported in a manner above and beyond the call of duty by one of the RDOs who was assigned to me as a mentor. There was also great support from other local facilitators. As a LF you will be presenting material to Maths teachers just like yourself who are under the same stresses and strains that face any teacher in a time of change. These teachers may have walked out of their schools in June feeling, as many of us do, that they have given all that they possibly could have over the course of the academic year. I often feel this way at that time of year but this year having been involved with Project Maths I started to consider the quality of what it was that I was giving to the students in my care. It isnt just about how much you give; its about what you give. Our education system has a duty to improve the teaching and learning of Maths so that standards compare favourably in international comparisons. Methodologies have to improve and ICT has to be embraced.
The experience of working as a local facilitator for Project Maths has been extremely worthwhile. You gain from it in many ways. Your own teaching will improve. Your confidence will improve. You may be given opportunities to hear talks from department inspectors, people from the NCCA, DES and SEC. Your efforts in delivering material will improve the knowledge and effectiveness of all the participants in your group in their teaching of Maths. (Ed )
Joining the Project Maths Development Team was an extremely exciting opportunity. I was delighted to be involved in the launch of this new and innovative syllabus. Delivering courses as a Local Facilitator has been professionally rewarding as I have a direct input into the Teaching and Learning Strategies that teachers will incorporate in their classrooms around the country next year.
Delivering the ICT modules has been rewarding. It is great to see teachers, who at first were wary of using the software packages embrace them and become proficient in their use over the 5 weeks. I can't wait to get back to courses next year. (Glen)
I am glad to say that my experience as a Local Facilitator of ICT & Maths has been very positive. It provided me with a great opportunity to further develop the skills introduced to us by the Regional Development Officers during Workshops 1 and 2 last year. It was also very useful to meet and liaise with other teachers at the initial training days and laterally at the ICT & Maths workshops. Its safe to say that I learned just as much from the teachers attending the workshops, a symbiotic relationship, if you will!!
From my experience, school management are very willing to facilitate teachers attending training days for Local Facilitators and availing of further Continuous Professional Development opportunities such as those that were afforded to us through our association with The Project Maths Development Team. Throughout the course of the year I have been introduced to personnel from many of the organisations that operate in the background, including the NCCA, NCTE, SEC, DES etc. It was fascinating to peer into their world and to understand exactly how such organisations contribute to teaching and learning in Ireland today. I would not have had these opportunities without my affiliation to The Project Maths Development Team as a Local Facilitator.
My role as a Local Facilitator has been thoroughly enjoyable, broadening my horizons beyond the classroom door. Hopefully, I have also become a better teacher over the last twelve months through my association with The Project Maths Development Team. For these two reasons in particular, I would encourage practicing teachers to give serious consideration to becoming a Local Facilitator in the future. (Patrick)
