Education Ministry and INAFOCAM Launch Math Teaching Program with Technical Support from

Education Ministry and INAFOCAM Launch Math Teaching Program with Technical Support from Santo Domingo Technology Institute
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 2/12/2012

The Ministry of Education, through the National Teacher’s Training and Education Institute (INAFOCAM in Spanish) along with support from the Santo Domingo Technology Institute, have begun a course in Teaching Mathematics in the Second Cycle of Elementary School, which will train 600 teachers from three educational regions in the southern part of the country.

With this educational program, the Ministry of Education, through INAFOCAM and the Santo Domingo Technology Institute (INTEC in Spanish), confirm their commitment to the quality of the National Education System.

The selection of INTEC to train math teachers came about through a bidding process won by INTEC. Several other higher education institutions also entered the bidding. 

The training proposal was agreed upon by mathematic representatives from the General Directorate of Curriculum, the General Directorate of Basic Education and the Continuing Education Department of INAFOCAM.

Participants from the Ministry of Education (MINERD in Spanish) included Rosa Vanderhorst, Director of Curriculum; Enrique Villeta, in charge of the course cycle elementary schools and Dignora Cabrera, Regional Director from 04 of San Cristobal. For  INAFOCAM, Elsa Sánchez, Director of Continuing Education and Marcelina Piña, Degree Coordinator were present.

Participants from INTEC included Leandra Tapia, Academic Deputy Rector; Sandra González, General Degree Coordinator ;  Migdalia Martínez, Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities and Nurys González, Academic Coordinator.

At the opening event of the project, it was agreed that teachers involved in the project must have significant prior knowledge of the content and they must commit to the effectively transmit what they learn to their own students.

Along these lines, Rosa Vanderhorst, who spoke in the name of MINERD and INAFOCAM, said the project seeks to change the teaching and learning of mathematics to be different from what it has been up to this point in the school system and to overcome the low test results that Dominican students have been turning in up to now.

Ms. Vanderhorst said that MINERD is currently working on the revision of the school curriculum. She cautioned, “You can’t impose a curriculum designed to improve the educational quality of the schools if you don’t have high quality teachers to implement it.”

Education authorities from MINERD, INAFOCAM and INTEC at the launch, in San Cristóbal, meet at the launch of the Teaching Mathematics in the Second Cycle of Elementary School project.

Parte los 600 maestros que cursarán el diplomado en la Enseñanza de la Matemática auspiciado por el MINERD, INAFOCAM y el INTEC