Padre Garcia, Batangas – Synergeia successfully conducted its Teachers’ Training dedicated to provide teachers with new skills and strategies in teaching Math. This is the second leg following the first training focused on teaching methods for English proficiency a week previous. Around 170 public school teachers from Padre Garcia’s 17 public schools participated in the event held in Padre Garcia Central School on April 23-24, 2014.

The day started off with short opening remarks from our trusted partner from Padre Garcia, Vice Mayor Noel Cantos. He encouraged the teachers to be open and participative during the entirety of the training and to help Padre Garcia improve its quality of education by applying their new skills.

The trainers, Leo Dela Rosa, Merlyn Renegado, and Hazel Samaon, focused on problem solving, ratios, and fractions. The strategies and approaches were aimed to make the lessons more understandable, relatable, and practical for students. Part of the training was to provide the values that children can extract from their lessons in math. “It is also important they know not just the practicality of learning math but also the importance of what they are taught,” Ms. Renegado said.

The teachers demonstrated the new strategies they learned through group presentations that showcased their creativity in preparing visual aids and by integrating their own styles of teaching.

Vice Mayor Cantos concluded the event with his own words of wisdom. He challenged the teachers to continue learning and to continue finding new ways to become more effective. He asked for everyone’s help in continuing to improve the education system of Padre Garcia.

(Report by Bernard Borromeo)