Vol. 519 No. 2
343 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Education and Science if action has ensued further to Parliamentary Question No. 354 of 5 October 1999 on curricular reform in the teaching of mathematics to primary school children following the meeting of his officials with a retired school teacher (details supplied) in Dublin 22 who has put together an innovative teaching system. [13634/00]
Two inspectors of my Department, one a primary inspector and the other a post-primary inspector, met the retired teacher in question on 29 November 1999. The inspectors concluded that the teacher's approach to concept development is sound and is in keeping with the approaches embodied in the revised primary curriculum. They discussed the possibility of the teacher promoting his ideas to a wider audience through the network of education centres and the colleges of education.
Last September, all teachers were issued with curriculum statements and teacher guidelines on all the subjects, including mathematics, of the revised primary curriculum. By the end of June 2000, they will all have been invited to attend two two-day seminars and two planning days, dealing with an overview of the revised curriculum and either Irish or English. In the years ahead, it is intended that all teachers will attend seminars on the other aspects of the curriculum, including mathematics. The precise order of the mathematics seminars in relation to the other subject areas has not yet been decided. However, at the meeting between the retired teacher and the two inspectors, the feasibility of affording the teacher an opportunity of outlining his ideas to the group of teachers who will be seconded to the primary curriculum support programme as mathematics trainers in due course was explored.
