Welcome to the Department of Mathematics. The department is committed to excellence in all aspects of our programme offerings and to the total education of you our most valuable asset.

The Department is committed to promoting and sustaining excellence in all its teachings and learning experiences as well as fostering an ethos of collegiality and purposeful work.

Shortwood Teachers' College Mathematics Department is committed to the preparation of Mathematics teachers of the highest quality by actively engaging them in learning, modeling best pedagogical practices, using of appropriate technology, and fostering a healthy productive learning environment in all learning experiences.

The department is committed to sustaining excellence in all its teaching and learning experiences as well as fostering an ethos of collegiality and purposeful work. The department achieves this mission by:

• Giving students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and useful skills.
• Encouraging and promoting responsible attitudes and sound leadership qualities.
• Fostering a firm commitment to the teaching profession and an adherence to the highest standards of professional conduct.
• Facilitating the development of ideals of love and loyalty to Jamaica and promoting zeal for nation building.

The first objective of our teaching philosophy of the mathematics department is to instill in our students-teachers an aesthetic appreciation of mathematics as a whole. We strive to always empower our students with the right tools to enjoy the beauty and elegance of mathematics.

Within the mathematics department, we realize that past experiences, various learning challenges and life stressors all affect a student's ability to gain access to the linear, analytic, functions of the brain required to do mathematics, hence our goal is to present our students-teachers with new perspectives from which to view their world and to welcome the accompanying sense of inquiry such new perspectives naturally bring. This objective dominates our teaching philosophy: we believe that students will want to learn any subject if they see beauty and wonder in it. Whether presenting new material in a lecture setting or analyzing an assignment in a problem solving session, we make no secret of our love for and awe of the mathematics.

Having our students' best interest in mind and the mandate which they will have to carryout as teachers of mathematics after leaving our institution, we provide an atmosphere that is safe and positive so that they can begin to open their minds to the world of math. It is with this spirit, we often delay the introduction of a clean solution to a problem in order to help our student teachers gain the experience of toiling with ideas first. This approach naturally lends itself to a Socratic teaching style of suggestions and queries, in which the students play active roles in shaping the mathematical structures that they will use. Each class is begun in a reflective mode, where we examinee problems from the previous day's assignment. This affords our student teachers a chance to review ideas and articulate them in their own words, allowing them to use each problem as a bridge that leads to new topics and emphasizes the continuity and connectedness of the course topics.

We realize that our students have been previously exposed to mathematics, however, regardless of this we act as though we may be the first math teachers they ever had who believed that they could do math or the first to present it in multiple different learning modes so that they could finally grasp it. Hence, our student teachers are provided with all the necessary support that they need from both lectures and staff support.

From the onset we make clear to our student teachers that it is both our job and our joy to help them. At all time we ensure that they receive consistent feedback on the bits of progress that they make so that they continue to put one foot ahead of the other working their way up the mathematics mountain of success. It is each mathematics teachers' duty from the first assignment to try to associate faces and names, and to find the general mathematical pulse of the class and to work with our student teachers to create a learning atmosphere that fosters learning and discovery that appeals to their different learning styles. Letting them let know that it is ok to make mistakes and to take the risk that allows them to learn.

It is our belief in the mathematics department that in order for us to be truly effective with our students, we need to recognize the hindrances or challenges that are preventing them from learning. Hence encourage their learning in every possible way, we facilitate them and use all the support that can be garnered

We encourage our student teachers to develop their skills in mathematics, while doing individual assignments or doing interactive group assignments. We are aware that from doing these individual or group explorations student teachers can develop their own mathematical voice on individual assignments and group assignments.

As teachers of the mathematics department, we are willing to reflect on the challenges that we faced in shadowy parts of our academic past, reflecting on some of the courses that we least enjoyed, Because of our willingness to admit our discipline is no better and no worse than any other academic discipline but that it currently enjoys a reputation as being the best indicator of intelligence,then we can truly realize the incredible courage it takes for students to enter the world of mathematics and wanting to realize their dream of becoming mathematics teachers. In our mathematics department we endeavor to be mathematics teachers who:

• clearly set expectations and ground rules,
• give in class presentations that are well thought out and organized,
• know our students by name and actively engage them positively in the teaching/learning experience,
• vary in class activities to accommodate the different learning styles and attention spans of our students.

1. Diploma in Teaching
• Double Option Mathematics
• Mathematics and Science (Single Option Mathematics)
• Mathematics and Information Technology
2. Bachelors Degree in Mathematics Education

Double Option Mathematics

Year 1
Semester 1	Semester 2
Foundation Math	Math Education1
College Algebra	Pre-Calculus 1
Geometry	Trigonometry 1
Measurement & Basic Geometry	Statistics & Probability 1

Year 2
Semester 1	Semester 2
Mathematics Ed. 2 & 3	Mechanics 1
Pre-Calculus 2	Calculus 1 & 2
Linear Algebra	Computer Programming

Year 3
Semester 1	Semester 2
Mathematics Ed. 4	Teaching Practicum
Mechanics 2	Professional Development
Further Calculus
Statistics & Probability 2

Mathematics and Science (Single Option Mathematics)

Year 1
Semester 1	Semester 2
Foundation Mathematics	College Algebra
Measurement	Mathematics Education

Year 2
Semester 1	Semester 2
Mathematics Education 2	Trigonometry
Statistics & Probability 1	Geometry

Year 3
Semester 1	Semester 2
Two out of any three 45 hours, combination from Calculus	Teaching Practicum
Linear Algebra	Professional Development
Pre-Calculus 2

Bachelors Degree in Mathematics Education
Pre-requisite Courses
CITE 300:       Statistics & Probability 2
CITE 301:       Pre-Calculus
CITE 302:       Intermediate Calculus

Special Math Ed Courses
CM401;           History of Mathematics
CM 402:          Pedagogical Foundations of Secondary Mathematics
CM 403:          Research in Mathematics Education
CM404:           Technology Software Application in Mathematics
CM406:           Applied Mathematics
CM 407:          Advanced Calculus