maths monster
On a mission to defeat the Arthur Grant Scholarship recipient plans to pass on critical-thinking skills so students can overcome fear of dreaded subject
OF THE countless lessons The Mico University College has taught 22-year-old teaching aspirant Denielle Morrison, critical thinking is the most deep-rooted.
A third-year student reading for a bachelor’s degree in primary education, Morrison is the 201718 recipient of the prestigious Arthur Grant Scholarship.
But while her merits now afford her such academic honours, the youngster from Wild Cane, St Ann, recounts a time before she had been ingrained with critical-thinking skills, a time when the intricacies of mathematics, her current area of specialisation, threatened to derail her studies.
“Like many, I dreaded math. There was a mental block, but at the same time, I knew it was essential. The breakthrough I needed after struggling with it for so many years came during my first year when a particular teacher taught me that it’s all about thinking critically and approaching problems in a systematic way. They instil critical thinking in you at Mico, and because of that, I’m an A-plus student in math,” Morrison told The Gleaner moments after receiving her scholarship during an awards ceremony on the school grounds on Tuesday.
Set to graduate in 2019, the Edwin Allen past student already has plans to complete her master’s at Mico.
JUST ANOTHER SUBJECT
Thereafter, Morrison is keen to impart her critical thinking qualities to primary students in a remote area, similar to the one she’s from.
“I want to bring real-life experiences. I want them to understand that through critical thinking, math, in particular, is just another subject. It’s something we apply in our everyday lives,” she explained.
In the same breath, the scholar voiced her support for the partially implemented national standards curriculum aimed at shifting focus away from rote learning and towards critical thinking.
To this end, Morrison singled out the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), which is to replace the Grade Six Achievement Test in 2019, as a strategic move on the part of the education ministry.
“I’ve been in situations where the day of an exam, or the day before, something happened and I was so out of it mentally that what I produced on the exam wasn’t close to my best effort. With PEP, you’ll be able to utilise your cognitive skills while demonstrating your development over a period of time,” Morrison reasoned.
She continued: “So, having grades being accumulated over the years in different areas will be a better representation of the student rather than them just studying or swatting for a few weeks and writing an exam that will determine which high school they transition to.”