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Minister Sherlock opens “Maths Counts” Conference & launches Project Maths Report

The Minister of State for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock T.D., today opened the first Maths Counts: Insights into Lesson Study conference.

The conference, organised by the Project Maths Development Team (PMDT), is taking place this Friday and Saturday in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. The conference is open to all post-primary teachers and is a celebration of the past five years’ work of both teachers and students in the initial Project Maths schools.

Minister Sherlock also launched a Research Report into the Impact of Project Maths on Student Achievement, Learning and Motivation at the conference. The research shows that Project Maths is having a positive impact on student motivation and achievement but that change takes time and we still have work to do.

Opening the conference, Minister Sherlock said: “The fact that over 300 teachers of mathematics have registered for this conference is testament to the enthusiasm and professionalism of our teachers. The conference promises to offer a variety of experiences for attendees, with many presentations from practising teachers. I know that teachers find this form of peer to peer sharing to be particularly beneficial and compelling.

“I would like to acknowledge the work of teachers in the initial Project Maths schools, and their commitment to improving how students experience maths. They have made a huge contribution to the reform agenda.

“I would also like to congratulate Dr Anne Brosnan from the PMDT, as well as her team, for staging this event, which I’m sure will be a great success,” he said.

The conference will feature a keynote address from the internationally renowned expert on Lesson Study, Professor Tad Watanabe, from Kennasaw State University, Georgia.

Students from Scoil Chonglais in Baltinglass will perform a specially composed piece of music entitled Rhythm and Algorithm, inspired by the correlation between music and maths. These young musicians are part of Music Generation, a major initiative to expand music education.

Filmed excerpts from the conference will be available online following the event. For these and more information the services provided by the PMDT see www.projectmaths.ie.

ENDS

Note to Editors:

The Project Maths Development Team (PMDT) is a professional development support service established by the Department of Education and Skills. It is a team of experienced teachers of mathematics who provide a range of professional development supports to approximately 6,000 post-primary teachers of mathematics. Supports include the facilitation of workshops, the development of resources to support both teachers and students, the provision of modular courses in ICT and content and the creation and maintenance of web based support.

Music Generation is a major initiative to expand music education. It is a partnership between U2, Music Network, the International Funds for Ireland and the education sector which has enabled the development of a series of music network partnerships around the country on a phased basis to provide vocal and instrumental music tuition for young people. The initiative was made possible by a donation of €5m from U2, and a commitment of €2m from the Ireland Funds, committed for a number of years. The Department of Education and Skills has agreed to take over the funding on a phased basis starting in 2014.