Report on the Certificate Course on Enhancing the Research Capabilities as a Teaching Tool among Secondary Science Teachers.
Center for Mathematics & Science Education
The Certificate course on Enhancing the Research Capabilities as a Teaching Tool among Secondary Science Teachers was offered by the Centre for Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo in collaboration with the Science Branch, Ministry of Education. It was designed to guide in-service secondary science teachers and administrators to master the key elements of scientific research through activity-based learning and propagate an activity-based learning culture in the school community. Also, the focus of this program was to develop teachers’ skills in developing teaching learning material for project-based learning, integrating technology in the teaching-learning process, assessing students in project-based learning, and performing action research. The program was conducted for 6 selected days starting from 30.05. 2024 to 31.07.2024, and 15 teachers from 15 different schools participated in the program.
The Ministry of Education provided logistics and the official directive to nominate teachers in selected schools.
The panel of resource persons comprised of the academic members of the Faculty of Science, namely, Prof. Hiran Jayaweera, Prof. Inoka Perera, Dr. Siyath Gunawardena, Dr. Gayan Dharmaratna, Dr. Iroja Caldera, Prof. M.N. Kaumal, Prof. C. Nanayakkara, Prof. C. Hettiarachchi, Prof. A. Mahasinghe, and Prof. Aashani Tillekaratne. Emeritus Prof. Sarath Kotagama and Dr. Preethi Udagama also participated as panelists. Further, Dr. Sulochana Neranji (Department of Humanities Education, Faculty of Education,University of Colombo) and Dr. Asoka De Silva (Director, Department of Science, NIE) joined the team as experts in Assessment and Action Research.
The participants were mentored by Prof. Hiran Jayaweera, Dr. Thanuja Sooriyagoda, Dr. Vindhya Kulasena, Dr. Gayathri Silva, Prof. M.N.Kaumal, Prof. C. Hettirarchchi, Prof. Anuradha Mahasinghe and the CMSE members including Dr. Siyath Gunawardena, Prof. Gayani Galhena, Prof. Inoka Perera, Prof. C.Nanayakkara, Dr. J. Dissanayake, Dr. Manuja Lamabadusuriya, Prof. Aashani Thilakarathna and Dr. Ruwani Mayakaduwa.
It is planned to conduct a Mini-Symposium in October, 2024 to present findings from inquiry-based learning applied in the respective classroom by the participants.
The Certificate course on Enhancing the Research Capabilities as a Teaching Tool successfully achieved its objectives of empowering educators with professional development and teaching practices. Participants provided positive feedback on the course, highlighting the practical relevance of the content and the interactive nature of the sessions.
DAY 1
Brief Description of the Talk on 19.02.2022
In this talk, the speaker will share some theoretical ideas and research informed principles about teaching and learning mathematics in different forms of technology-rich settings: 3D printing, touchscreen apps for learning numbers, and dynamic geometry environments (e.g. Geogebra & Desmos), and block-based programming. Drawing on her own experience of teaching with these technologies and researching their use in mathematics classrooms, she will discuss pedagogical suggestions and implications for transforming mathematics education from being characterized as linear, abstract, and paper-and-pencil dominant to multimodal, hands-on, and technological. Specifically, the talk will cover: (1) technologies for embodied mathematics learning, (2) technologies for mediating mathematics thinking, (3) and technologies for constructionist mathematical problem solving.
Recording of the talk by Dr. Oi-Lam Ng.
Speaker and Bio:
Dr. Oi-Lam Ng began her career as a high-school Mathematics teacher in Vancouver, Canada upon completing a BA in Mathematics (First Class Honours) and BEd in Secondary Mathematics Education at the The University of British Columbia. Her passion towards mathematics education continued to motivate her to further her studies in this area. After obtaining her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction at The University of British Columbia, she earned a PhD in Mathematics Education at Simon Fraser University in 2016 and later served briefly as a SSHRC post-doctoral fellow at University of Calgary. Currently, she serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Since 2018, she has been serving as Deputy Programme Coordinator for the Bachelor of Education in Mathematics and Mathematics Education (BMED) Programme.
DAY 2
Brief Description of the Talk on 26.02.2022
The speaker will share some current ideas in mathematics education related to teaching and learning mathematics popular in the USA. These ideas are based on research-informed principles and theoretical concepts that helped to develop student-centered teaching and learning. In this talk, the speaker will discuss pedagogical strategies based on research theories such as Constructivism and Sociocultural theory, trying to answer “how do students learn? and “How do we reach out to all students?" particularly focusing on elementary and secondary education and sharing activities that can implement these concepts in classrooms.
Recording of the talk by Prof. Rajee Amarasinghe.
Speaker and Bio:
Dr. Amarasinghe’s areas of expertise include using technology in mathematics teaching and learning; understanding students’ attitudes toward and beliefs about mathematics; and using interdisciplinary tools in teaching math.
In August 2018, Amarasinghe was awarded a 2018-19 Faculty Innovation and Leadership Award by the CSU Chancellor’s Office. The award recognizes faculty who are implementing innovative practices and who’ve demonstrated leadership in improving student success at a CSU campus. Amarasinghe was nominated by CSU Bakersfield president Dr. Lynnette Zelezny (then provost of Fresno State), who said of his work, “Dr. Amarasinghe has proven unfailingly that he can meet the most pressing challenges with creative solutions.” The professor also received the Provost’s Award for Innovation at Fresno State in 2017-18.
Colleagues have called Amarasinghe “a transformative national leader and scholar” and a creative leader, particularly for his work in designing a new math curriculum that balanced students’ needs, Chancellor’s Office policy and other limitations.
For his part, the Sri Lanka native is eager to share the credit. “I am lucky to have a very energetic and supportive group of colleagues who are working on many initiatives, including a lot of outreach activities to reach our future generation of mathematicians.”
Amarasinghe earned two master’s degrees at Purdue University before getting his doctorate in mathematics education at Indiana University. He arrived at Fresno State in 2000 and to date has received more than $13 million in grant funding.
DAY 3
Brief Description of the Talk on 05.03.2022
Topic: Tacit mathematical knowledge in teaching: Perspectives and examples
Abstract:
Is there a need for advanced mathematics studies in the professional education and development of school mathematics teachers? While teacher certification requires university-level coursework, teachers often see little value in these courses for their school teaching. The speaker will discuss several perspectives on the “usefulness of knowledge" and share several research results on knowledge use in instructional situations.
Recording of the talk by Prof. Rina Zazkis.
Speaker and Bio:
Rina Zazkis is a Professor of Mathematics Education in the Faculty of Education and an associate member in the Department of Mathematics at the Simon Fraser University, Canada. Her research focuses on tertiary mathematics education, with a particular attention to the development of teachers’ knowledge. She holds an appointment of Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, a prestigious recognition of excellence in research and research training.
DAY 4
Brief Description of the Talk on 12.03.2022
In this presentation, the significance of leveraged computational thinking and modelling in mathematics, as well as its role in improving equity and justice in society will be discussed and exemplified.
Speaker and Bio:
Dr. Sedaghatjou is a former mathematics and CS teacher. One of her career goals is to support underserved and underrepresented students by improving their computational thinking and modelling. She is an Assistant Professor of Education at Alfred University, USA.