THUNDER BAY — Melanie Biesenthal can add the title of math coordinator to her resume.
Biesenthal previously served as the math resource teacher for the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, but the title got changed as a result of an initiative announced by the province in April.
She will work alongside board superintendent and math lead Omer Belisle.
“[It is an] opportunity for us to continue the work that we [have] been doing to really understand how students are thinking about mathematics, to really understand where our students are in their mathematics and how do we support them in moving their mathematics forward. We are looking forward to continuing this collaboration,” Biesenthal said.
The announcement included an investment of more than $180 million to help students build math, reading skills and knowledge, which included introducing one math lead per board to spearhead the implementation of the curriculum and standardize training, as well as providing additional supports for math coaches in the classrooms.
Biesenthal notes that the work involved with coding has given students another opportunity to investigate and problem solve.
“[The students] are trying things out, testing them out, talking with their partner, seeing what's working and then they are troubleshooting within the moment. And that really is what we want them to do in life, right?" she said.
"When they're faced with problems in different contexts that they're working with a partner, and they really see the mathematics as connected as in the classroom and also in real life.”
AJ Keene holds the math lead role with Lakehead Public Schools.
