Amid renewed concerns in recent months about the performance of students in the CSEC and CAPE exams, the following article, which was first published March 9, 2005, as part of the Gleaner's Education 2020 Supplement, is being republished. The authors contend that there is new, innovative pedagogy that needs to be generalised within Jamaica's schools.

Trevor A. Campbell and Reginald K. Nugent, Contributors

The educational community in Jamaica has been desperately searching for some answers to the enormous crisis facing the teaching and learning of mathematics in the public-education system, which has broad implications for the future prospects of the competitiveness of the Jamaican workforce. This is what motivated the Gibraltar Institute to design a week-long mathematics workshop for high-school teachers. This was held on the campus of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) from August 9-13, 2004.

This workshop, titled 'Unlocking Barriers in Mathematics Education: A Mathematics Innovation Programme', engaged high school-based mathematics teachers in Jamaica in a dialogue about how to get their students excited about learning the subject, and to explore creative methods of teaching mathematics. The objective was to create a core group of math teachers throughout the island who could benefit from a global network of researchers outside of Jamaica who are actively engaged in exploring ways to unlock the barriers that students face in learning math.

Week-long workshop

Professors Michael Orrison and Jon Jacobsen, of the math department of Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California, developed the curriculum and conducted the week-long workshop. In the end, our hope was that participants would leave the workshop excited about teaching mathematics with enthusiasm and purpose, and that they would gain some 'bigger picture' ideas. We also see this as a first step to creating a network of dedicated mathematics teachers whose experiences and new ideas can be disseminated widely throughout the island.

As examples of mathematical ideas within broad mathematical and social contexts, the participants explored the connections between the natural numbers, integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and complex numbers. They pondered the mathematically and visually stimulating world of fractals while discussing the mathematical framework in which fractals arise. They also saw how mathematics can be used to predict, detect, and analyse paradoxical results that can arise in voting.

Early reactions of the teachers

It is interesting to note that, at the end of the first day, many of the teachers felt disoriented. They were under the impression, given their previous experience at workshops they had attended, that they were going to be given a tool kit of instructions on how to get the students to pass the math exams. They were shocked that this workshop had been designed to raise their level of understanding of the complexities of the universe of mathematics that would allow them to be more effective and creative teachers.

The organisers and the professors led a discussion with the group about why it was important to move beyond the practice of narrowly focusing on preparing students to pass an exam. By the end of the second day, the teachers began to open up to a whole new approach to the study and teaching of mathematics. By the end of the week, they were raving about the conceptual breakthrough in their thinking regarding the study and teaching of mathematics. They said that they now felt more intellectually empowered as teachers.

Teachers reflect on the overall experience

The following are some of the teachers' evaluations, written anonymously, at the end of the week:

The hardest question to answer in any mathematics class is: 'Why is this important?' I've never been able to give what I feel is a satisfactory response. Having participated in this workshop was I now feel more confident that I can provide the perfect answer.

I like the fact that the presenters were not in the mode of dictating best-practice procedures but encouraging group discussions on what works for different people based on their situation. I also liked being presented with material designed to broaden my intellectual horizon and not just the same old stuff that I teach 'every day'.

The presenters, Mike and Jakes, were excited and enthusiastic math educators who brought to our attention new ways of thinking about mathematics and presenting it. The good thing about this workshop is that it brought together math educators from all different backgrounds who were allowed to share useful information in well-organised discussions.

I've found the workshop to be a mind-opener to the various topics in mathematics. It has built my enthusiasm towards the subject and enabled me to see clearly the link between mathematics and our environment.

The workshop allows me to see how as a teacher I can get my students to think creatively.

This workshop opens the door for mathematics teachers to begin to look at mathematics as not just a subject that is taught formally, but mathematics itself is what the universe is living, today, yesterday, and tomorrow.

In my eyes, math was always seen as a complete science, and I never imagined mathematics was so much more than a science but an art that is rather creative and artistic.

I realise more clearly that mathematics is fun, power and life. I am empowered to be more of an ambassador for the subject and transfer this zeal to my students.

The workshop has allowed me to connect topics I did in college to real-world situations. I now realise that these topics can be used to make my lessons innovating.

This workshop is the first for us. Hence, one would expect that there may be hitches here and there from the onset. On the contrary, it turned out that the sessions went quite well because of good coordination, moderation and facts well presented. The presentations made by Reginald and Trevor made our expectations more specific. We were kept in constant update of the proceedings. For Mike and Jakes, they certainly know what they were about. Their thoughts were inspiring.

Gibraltar Institute is the 'Real big thing'. Big up! Keep up the good work and continue to do well!

Some key lessons for educational innovation

The importance of equality:

The participating math teachers were highly committed to their craft, even though they labour under some very trying material conditions. The young professors from Harvey Mudd were amazed at the poor conditions under which the young teachers were being trained and the quality of the dorms in which they lived. But the professors quickly connected with these teachers, viewing them from the start as colleagues rather than their students. From the first day's orientation, everybody was on a first-name basis, irrespective of formal degree or professional status, this being the 'California style' of work. The Jamaican teachers found this to be remarkably refreshing and remarked how liberating this was. This set the context for a healthy exchange of ideas.

The workshop organisers concluded that real innovation in education and other areas of the Jamaican society cannot occur in an authoritarian environment, which unfortunately, is part of Jamaica's colonial legacy. The forces for change within Jamaican society are coming into constant collision with the old style of leadership and the suffocating and archaic social relations upon which the society rests.

An environment that inhibits the free flow of energy cannot produce and nurture creative workers or entrepreneurs in either the private or public sectors who must be able to take initiative in the modern workplaces characterised by unrelenting technical change. The absence of innovation leads to certain marginalisation for large numbers of the population. Innovation itself can only occur when a new quality is introduced into a social process or environment.

Trevor A. Campbell, moderator of the 'Caribbean Dialogues' forum, does research on and teaches the political economy of scientific and technical innovation in a capitalist economy. He can be reached at tcampbell@eee.org.

Reginald K. Nugent is a business consultant and economist, and is the founder of Petras Green Solutions, LLC, a Maryland, limited liability company that is dedicated to the implementation of sustainable energy in communities globally. He can be reached at reggienugent@gmail.com.