Jolene Holtvogt-Briens and Micheal Walter
Jolene Holtvogt-Briens and Michael Walter are the only high school mathematics and science teachers at James Hamblin School, a Kindergarten to Grade 12 school in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. Working together, they developed Math/Science Education Month programs for all levels at the school. Jolene has also developed a peer tutoring program for her mathematics students.
Jolene's and Michael's enthusiasm is evident from the innovative ways they have involved their students, the students' parents and the entire community in their programs. Since they started teaching at James Hamblin School, 40 percent of the school's graduates have enrolled in postsecondary mathematics and science programs, and 67 percent of all female graduates have continued in mathematics and science. Their students won the Southeast Saskatchewan Zone of the Canadian Mathematics Contest in 1991 and 1992, and have consistently placed in the top 25 percent in the province.
Approach to teaching
"We try to involve as many students as possible in math and sciences, to the benefit of the whole school."
In a small community, it is essential to develop programs for students at all levels. For us to focus our efforts on intellectually gifted students would be an ineffective use of our limited resources. Our close cooperation as teachers produces a focused, symmetrical program rich in positive learning experiences. Jolene's peer tutoring program encourages gifted students to volunteer their lunch hours to work with weaker students.
The programs and activities that work best to promote the study and enjoyment of math and science are the hands-on games and fun activities we run in the classroom and for the whole school. These promote interest in the subjects among both academic and non-academic students.
Transferable experience
Although Qu'Appelle is a relatively small town, there are still many valuable resource people in our community available to act as guest speakers on subjects such as engineering, banking, accounting, lab research and flying. We take students on trips to research labs and to uranium, coal and potash mines to show them that the uses of mathematics and science do not end in high school.
Until we started making better use of the resources available to us, it was difficult and tedious work finding people in the community to help with these programs. For example, Jolene was having a hard time finding professionals to act as mentors for a job-shadowing program until she got in touch with the school board. As soon as she let them know she was interested in running the program, the board started providing names.
A school newsletter for parents is also a very good way to find members of the local business community to help with programs. Getting students' parents involved puts a very large network to work for you.
Finally, don't overlook existing alliances that don't seem particularly related to math or science. Our school works closely with the Centre of the Arts, which has among its ranks all sorts of professionals — from electrical engineers to architects — who have a strong math or science component in their work.
We also emphasize the integration of science and other subjects in our courses and special projects. This allows us to teach practical skills as well as science. For example, Jolene has her students form teams to solve problems typical of those facing families. Each team must produce a monthly budget, taking into account such factors as a child needing braces at a cost of $2 000. Students are shown how interest rates work in loans and savings, and go through simulated interviews for a loan. Students buy RRSPs, stocks and bonds, and complete the unit by filling out their income tax forms.
April is Math/Science Education Month in our school. During this time, parents and students participate in games and competitions based on math and science that take place after and during school hours. We emphasize participation, not winning. Students who bring their parents to participate get double "participation points."
For example, we use a game in which students and parents must follow mathematical instructions to find a treasure. The instructions are given as vectors. Students must use a compass to determine the direction indicated and then travel the distance required. When they finish "adding" all the vectors, they arrive at the treasure. The team that finds it in the shortest time wins. We make several different "courses" and stagger the departure times.
Games encourage learning in two ways. The more advanced games encourage problem solving by putting less emphasis on getting the right answer and more emphasis on how students get the answer. Don't underestimate the value of games that require short snappy answers based on general math and science knowledge. Although they do not teach problem solving, these games create an environment that encourages curiosity about science.
In small communities, you have to use different approaches because it's not feasible to develop programs for specialized groups. Even with this constraint, however, there are many things to do. We haven't run out of plans yet.