Course Description

The teaching and learning of Mathematics should move from the traditional scenario where learners are expected to take in information, memorize it and reproduce it in tests and examinations. Modern best practices in teaching demands that learners should be helped to apply knowledge, think critically about it and use it to solve life’s challenges.

The rationale of teaching Mathematics is to help learners acquire important mathematical knowledge, skills and attitudes that are useful in life. The goal of teaching, therefore, should be to make learners interested in the subject in order to learn it with ease. The teaching of Mathematics should help the learners to develop self initiative and provide ways for them to get information, apply mathematical ideas and relate what they learn to real life situations. To achieve this goal, there is need to adopt learner- centered teaching approaches where students learn by doing and reflecting on the learning process. This calls for appropriate use of relevant teaching methods, teaching and learning resources and assessment tools.

It is therefore important that the teacher is well prepared as a facilitator in learning. In order to do this effectively, the teacher needs to have the basic content mastery, ability to select and use appropriate teaching methods, teaching resources as well as ability to design and develop appropriate tools for assessment and evaluation of learning.

In view of this, the Mathematics in-service teacher training modules have been written to guide the capacity building of secondary school Mathematics teachers. The main aim of the modules is to guide the strengthening of the knowledge base and teaching skills of Mathematics teachers to enhance effective implementation of secondary school Mathematics curriculum.

The modules will facilitate acquisition of knowledge in specific topical areas as well as application of learner-centered teaching methods. They give guidelines on effective leaner-centered teaching and learning approaches and how to achieve specific objectives in each topic.

It is important to note that, planning is a key component when carrying out the in-service training. The training should be carried out in line with the outlined specific objectives and activities. The teachers should first of all be taken through the methodology topic to build an understanding on:

• Format of a mathematics lesson plans, schemes of work and record of work.
• Learner-centered methods of teaching mathematics.
• Relevant mathematics teaching and learning resources and
• Mathematics test preparation.

The training activities are well spelt out to ensure achievement of the stated specific objectives. The trainers should follow the given activities in each topic in the given sequence. This will ensure the review of the topical content before the teacher demonstrates or explains how to carry out the teaching process with regard to the content.

The trainer is expected to guide the teachers in order to ensure they acquire the skills of applying learner- centered teaching approaches. Trainers are advised to ensure the training is activity oriented and also carry out assessment to gauge the progress of the training. The assessment can be done through observation of demonstrations, activity oriented assignments, continuous assessment tests and written examinations.

It is expected that teachers will be taken through the training activities as a foundation for application of similar approaches in other topics of Mathematics curriculum.

General Objectives

By the end of these modules, the trainees should be able to:

1. Display mastery of Secondary School Mathematics content
2. Apply appropriate teaching methodology in Mathematics
3. Prepare appropriate Mathematics schemes of work and lesson plans
4. Use various methods of solving problems
5. Demonstrate the ability to think critically through application of Mathematics to real life situations
6. Use student-centered approaches of teaching Mathematics.
7. Vary teaching approaches in line with the nature of Mathematics content and the needs of the learners
8. Identify and use appropriate Mathematics teaching and learning resources
9. Encourage students to learn Mathematics
10. Prepare appropriate assessment tools.