Differences between students can be overcome with differentiated teaching. Some differences may be cognitive, personality, and physical skills. Other differences may be more about preferences, such as personal interests. To be able to provide effective mathematics learning and provide opportunities for all students to learn, teachers need the ability to design teaching strategies that can accommodate diverse students. To improve the ability of mathematics teachers in designing differentiated teaching, SEAQiM collaborates with the Maluku Province Teacher Mobilization Center (BGP) to organize Middle School Mathematics Teacher Training activities in Differentiated Learning under the title Pelatihan Guru Matematika SMP dalam Pembelajaran Terdiferensiasi, Kerjasama SEAMEO Regional Centre for QITEP in Mathematics dengan Balai Guru Penggerak Provinsi Maluku.
The in-country course was successfully held on 12-15 November 2023 onsite at Hotel Manise, Ambon. A cohort of thirty-five (35) devoted junior high school mathematics teachers delved into a multifaceted learning experience. The event seamlessly blended face-to-face interaction from November 12th to 14th with a virtual extension through a Learning Management System, on November 15th, ensuring comprehensive engagement. “We are highly appreciating for SEAQiM team’s hard work to provide the in-country course to equip the middle school mathematics teachers with differentiated teaching skills. Moreover, we hope this initiative program will foster the next collaboration”, said Drs Ferdinandus F. Taso, M.Si., the Head of Kota Ambon Education Office in his opening remark. Before starting the course, Dr Sumardyono, signed the MoU between SEAQiM and BGP Maluku Province to collaborate in improving the better education.
Afterwards, the course sessions artfully interwove theoretical frameworks with practical applications, offering participants a rich tapestry of differentiated instructions for Mathematics Learning. Dr Sri Wulandari Danoebroto, SEAQiM Deputy Director for Programme and Ms Ummy Salmah, SEAQiM academic team, introduce the importance and principles of the approach differentiated instruction in heterogeneous classes, produce mathematics teaching and learning materials for differentiated instruction, select and design appropriate assessment instruction, and demonstrate the ability to design, implement, and evaluate differentiated teaching. As the course culminated, these educators emerged equipped with finely crafted lesson plans tailored to infuse their classrooms with the dynamic essence of differentiated mathematics instructions, poised to transform their students’ learning journeys. The course was officially closed by Dr. Lamansur, the Head of BGP Maluku Province.