THE Caribbean Centre of Excellence in Mathematics Teaching (CCEMaT) has officially opened its doors, following two years of work by the Mico University College and the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching (CIMT) at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom.

The two tertiary institutions have collaborated to make the centre a reality in Jamaica.

“It is a part of Mico’s mandate to be a centre of excellence for math and science teaching in the Caribbean. Given the low performance in mathematics nationally and regionally, we saw the need to identify, through research, what were some of the factors contributing to the low student performance levels and to identify, also through research, what were good practices,” Tamika Benjamin, director of the centre, told Career & Education.

The stated objectives of CCEMaT include:

* to be consistently engaged in conducting research, locally and regionally, into issues relating to the teaching of mathematics;

* to utilise findings to inform policy decisions at the early childhood, primary and secondary levels;

* to substantially influence the mathematics education of teachers in training;

* to establish and make available to a wide range of stakeholders a data bank of information and resources which can promote the use of research-proven best practices in the teaching of mathematics; and

* to facilitate the upgrading of teachers at the early childhood, primary and secondary levels.

Already CCEMaT has completed its first piece of research, one which evaluates the mathematical knowledge of third-year teacher trainees and compares their performance with that of trainees in five countries whose performance in mathematics has received high ratings on international tests administered by the Programme for International Student Assessment. The study compares the teacher preparation programme design and highlights areas of concern and opportunities for improvement for the Jamaican system.

According to Benjamin, CIMAT was and would continue to be a vital partner in their conduct of research at the centre — as detailed in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two tertiary institutions at the official launch of the centre on May 3.

“We have access to their database and to their website which has teaching resources, lessons plans, etc, so students, teachers, anybody will have access to it through the Mico, CCEMaT website. People can actually come to the centre for lesson plans, and to do research,” she said, adding that they were also an active research partner.

CCEMaT, for its part, Benjamin said, will also facilitate training for schools.

“It is a physical space that people can come to and use. It is not restricted. We don’t want to restrict it to Mico students alone. Other persons can call in and request when they can come and use the space,” she said.

With Benjamin as director, the centre is managed by a steering committee chaired by Dr Claude Packer, president of the Mico University College and Professor of mathematics education at the university. Other steering committee members include Dr Bermadee Briscoe, dean of the faculty science, mathematics and information technology; Dr Albert Benjamin, acting head of the department of science, mathematics and information technology; Novlet Plunkett, head of the mathematics section; Pauline Thames-Baker, mathematics lecturer; and Donald Rose, e-learning project manager.