A group of 41 Mathematics teachers from different cities in Vale do Paraíba and the city of Salto (SP) is making history. They are part of the first class of the third line of research of the Professional Master's in Education (MPE): “Pedagogical Practices for Equity” from the University of Taubaté (UNITAU).
The MPE's new line of research began in August this year and is the result of a partnership between UNITAU and the Canoa Institute, which is responsible, No brazil, through the Teaching Specialization Program (PED Brasil). PED Brasil is linked to the Stanford University Teacher Training Program – Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP) – and is an initiative of the Lemann Center for Educational Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Brazil, localizado na Stanford Graduate School of Education, and developed in partnership with Instituto Canoa along with Higher Education Institutions (IES) Brazilian.
UNITAU is the first partner HEI to offer PED Brasil in the Professional Master's degree modality. The Profa. Dr. Ana Maria Correa Gimenes Calil, who is part of the MPE faculty and is one of the creators of the line of research “Pedagogical Practices for Equity”, says that upon learning about the international methodology of the Teaching Specialization Program, he soon identified the affinity between it and the Professional Master's in Education at UNITAU, as the proposal to generate practical changes in the teacher’s field of activity.
“The scope of the course [do PED] is very large and we think it should not be a specialization. Then, We made this proposal to Instituto Canoa and the creator of the course, Rachel Lotan, from Stanford University, that here [at UNITAU] he became a master. And she agreed. The course we know at Instituto Canoa, which serves state and federal universities throughout Brazil, in our project he became a pioneer”, says professor Ana Maria.
On the occasion of the inaugural class, the person responsible for the PED, prof. Dr. Rachel Lotan, from Stanford University, sent a video to master's professors and spoke about the pioneering initiative of the University of Taubaté.
“You are part of the first class in the PED network in which teachers will receive a master's degree. Your University, to UNITAU, is the first to offer this master's degree to teachers. That’s why I say you will be pioneers.”, said Rachel Lotan in the video recorded especially for the teachers of the new master's degree.
Students from the third line of research at MPE
Photo: Personal archive – ACOM/UNITAU
Transforming Education
Os 41 teachers, who work in state schools in the region teaching Mathematics, were awarded a scholarship 100%, financed by Instituto Canoa, via BNDES, and Lucia and Pelerson Penido Foundation (FLIP).
Professor Ana Maria states that Basic Education students tend to perform poorly in Mathematics in large-scale exams in Brazil. Hence the idea of offering the master's degree to teachers of the discipline.
“In addition to promoting a transformation in the teaching of Mathematics, The idea is to promote teaching with equity, with social justice, so that no one is left behind, so that no one gets less attention in the educational system. Then, the proposal of ‘Pedagogical Practices for Equity’ comes in this sense, to improve equity and learning in teaching this subject and with social justice”, says the teacher.
One of the paths pointed out by the MPE researcher is the appreciation of everyone in the classroom. So, The proposal of this methodology is that in group work, for example, everyone has a role and the group only finishes the activity when everyone has finished. Another highlight present in the reflections is that an individual does not have all the skills, but at least one. Then, each person has an importance in the learning process.
“Each person must be valued in an integrated sense, holistic, of word. Not with a Cartesian view, that she has to understand Mathematics and point. But who is the human being in my classroom?? He deserves respect, he deserves attention, he deserves appreciation. Then, at the same time that I value my students, I also value the teacher's attitude, who is also a person and who is attentive to all these movements”, explains the teacher.
Maria Auxiliadora Massote Resende Silva is a Mathematics teacher in the final years of Elementary School (from 6th to 9th year) in the city of Cruzeiro. She is one of the scholarship holders of the new MPE line and says that, as soon as he discovered the project, did some research and soon fell in love with the possibility of doing a Master's degree.
“I'm already applying what I'm learning in the Master's, which consists of researching my own practice. I'm working this way and it's helping me a lot. I record my attitudes in a diary, students' attitudes, from school and, in some time, I will be able to do an analysis and, more and more, improve as an educator. I hope to leave the Master's degree a better professional, a better person and learn a lot. I’m sure it will bring a lot of good things”, says Mary Help of Christians.
In the Professor’s assessment. Dr. Ana Maria Correa Gimenes Calil, the new line of research of the Professional Master's in Education will give even more visibility to the UNITAU program.
“We were able to include educators from several municipalities in Vale do Paraíba and Salto-SP, from different schools, of the final years of Elementary and High School, in addition to some of the initial years who also work on teaching Mathematics in classrooms. The expectation is that the Master's degree will bear fruit for practice within the classroom, of schools and which raises students’ learning and self-esteem levels, to the extent that it values equity, diversity and social justice”, says Ana Maria.
ACOM/UNITAU
Originally published in: https://unitau.br/noticias/detalhes/5887/mestrado-profissional-em-educacao-abre-linha-pioneira-para-professores-de-matematica-visando-a-equidade-no-ensino/
