KINNGAIT/CAPE DORSET - Students at Sam Pudlat Elementary School in Cape Dorset are being introduced to a new way of learning math after a workshop for teachers was held at the school on Sept. 18, according to principal David Webber.

At the keyboard, teacher Nick Viznei works out a math problem with colleague Glen Blahut at Sam Pudlat Elementary School on Sept. 18. - photo courtesy of David Webber

In place of the conventional teacher-at-the-blackboard system, students participate in group activities that allow them to work out answers to math problems for themselves, Webber said. The method uses programs from Nelson Education, a Canadian education publisher.

“Instead of a teacher up at the front of the class, this is a transition from teachers being bestowers of knowledge to being facilitators of learning,” he said.

The new method involves hands-on activities aimed at helping students retain what they’ve learned, Webber said.

“What changes is the way the program is delivered,” he said. “The premise is that if you discover something for yourself, you’ll remember it.”

Grade 6/7 teacher Nick Viznei said the exercises permit students to become more actively involved in solving math problems.

“The way that it’s presented is there are more hands-on activities so they’re more engaged in mathematics, discovery learning,” he said.

Viznei said the hands-on approach allows teachers to be able to gear math problems based on the skill level of particular students.

“I’m very excited about it because it’s something that, most importantly, can meet the needs of a multi-skill level in the classroom,” he said. “This approach is very open and flexible in the way you deliver it. You can make it as challenging as you want and also find a base where everyone can be included.”

Weekly group work helps students improve their math skills and it also allows them to incorporate what they’ve learned into other areas, Viznei said. For example, teachers can give students a math problem on Monday then allow them to meet in groups throughout the week to develop strategies they could use to solve the problem. At the end of the week, students can then show what they’ve learned through various media including presentations to the class, role-playing or shooting a video, Viznei said.

“The last day of the week the students act them out. They can role play, do a presentation,” he said. “Audio-visual can come into play. It can lean into other areas, other disciplines.”

The program can also incorporate Inuit knowledge and stories, such as during role-playing activities using life experiences, Viznei said.

“There are no barriers as far as language or culture when it comes to getting strategies and problem solving.”

Teachers are now learning how to put the new method into practice, Webber said. The full-day workshop held on Sept. 18 will be supplemented with monthly after-school math workshops for teachers throughout the school year, he said. At the end of each year, another full-day workshop will be held. Webber said the workshops will continue every year.

“It also has to be an education for teachers,” he said.

The method will be used in classrooms in the coming weeks.

Webber said he hopes the new way of teaching will help improve math skills of Nunavummiut youth.

“I would hope that at the end of three years, we’re going to see a significant difference in the classrooms in Nunavut,” Webber said.