How does Ireland Teach Mathematics?

 

Similar to the United States, Ireland is trying to urge its teachers towards a more socio-cultural approach, where students interact with each other and learn through collaboration and work with their peers. Ireland has in recent years, begun working on having an education system that does not just teach, but works towards bettering students and society, taking a more practical approach to math and realizing the importance of mathematics in society (Kirwan, 2015, p. 322). There is more of a focus on the functions and purpose of math. Ireland is trying to make mathematics more relevant to students, relating it to the world, their work, and other applications.

 

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Ireland and Mathematics Education Reform

 

In 2010, Ireland produced Project Maths, a mathematics education centered reform aimed at improving Ireland’s scores and ratings internationally; the program began implementation in 2015. Project Maths “involves empowering students to develop essential problem-solving skills for higher education and the workplace by engaging teenagers with mathematics set in interesting and real-world contexts” (Kirwan, 2015, p. 319). Project Maths learning outcomes, or goals, also involve “solving problems involving conditional probability in a systematic way; applying knowledge and skills to solve problems in familiar contexts; exploring problems; analyzing and transferring information into a mathematical form” (Kirwan, 2015, p. 323) and more.

 

While there is no way to know which factors worked, Ireland raised their TIMSS score in mathematics in 2015 to 547, up from 2011 (527) among 4th graders. Whether the Project Maths reform played a part, the teachers, or the class of students, either way, there was improvement.

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Resources:

 

Dunphy, E. (2009). Early childhood mathematics teaching: challenges, difficulties and priorities of teachers of young children in primary schools in Ireland. International Journal Of Early Years Education, 17(1), 3-16. doi:10.1080/09669760802699829

 

Kirwan, L. (2015). Mathematics curriculum in Ireland: The influence of PISA on the development of Project Maths. International Electronic Journal Of Elementary Education, 8(2), 317-332.

 

O'Shea, J., & Leavy, A. (2013). Teaching mathematical problem-solving from an emergent constructivist perspective: the experiences of Irish primary teachers. Journal Of Mathematics Teacher Education, 16(4), 293-318. doi:10.1007/s10857-013-9235-6

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