26 (22 men, 04 women) from 23 schools in the North West Region gathered at the Regional Delegation for Secondary Education North West Region in Bamenda on March 12th for a one-day training organised by AIMS TTP Cameroon, in partnership with Mastercard Foundation and the Government of Cameroon.
A review of activities of the 23 Anglophones and 03 Francophones by AIMS TTP’s Trainers revealed that no Cluster had yet started activities in the Region. The Cluster Leaders were edified on their roles, responsibilities and TTP’s expectations. They also received guidelines for effective kick-off of activities as well as copies of Cluster lists and the Master Trainer’s Evaluation Checklist which must be satisfactory for a Cluster member to be recognised with a Certificate as a Certified AIMS Teacher.
The training provided an opportunity for the Cluster Leaders to request that Principals be sensitized on their mission because some of Principals were not receptive to new methodologies and were unwilling to give minimum support to the teachers. Bamenda’s session followed another training on March 3rd in Buea for Cluster Leaders in the South West Region.
A Cluster is a group of Mathematics teachers from the same school or from schools within the same zone who collaborate regularly among themselves, with the support of TTP Cameroon to learn and teach Mathematics differently. AIMS TTP has thus created Clusters in all the Regions and Regional Coordinating Inspectors designated as Regional Focal Points and coaches of teachers. AIMS TTP created the Cluster Strategy after discussions with the Ministry of Secondary Education to not only boost the Follow-up (third) Phase of the nationwide training of secondary school Mathematics teachers but to also provide teachers with a platform to share professional experiences and best classroom practices while encouraging creativity and collaboration as a peer support mechanism.
After the 38th and last training workshop organised by AIMS TTP this academic year, the follow-up phase is gearing up with several clusters already active on the ground nationwide. Several clusters even organised activities nationwide to celebrate the International Day of Mathematics on March 14th. AIMS TTP has so far designated and trained more than 384 (41 women) Cluster Leaders across the country.