Six educational institutions partner with Ateneo for ProbSET 2.0

With the resounding success of its pilot implementation last year, the Ateneo Department of Mathematics officially launched the second iteration of Problem Solving Enrichment and Training (or ProbSET) last 22 July 2023. Aside from Southern Luzon State University (SLSU), West Visayas State University (WVSU), and DepEd Division of Davao de Oro (DepEd DdO), who have supported this project since its pilot run, ProbSET 2.0 has expanded its network of trainers to three new partner institutions -  Central Luzon State University (CLSU), Iloilo Science and Technology University(ISAT-U), and DepEd Division of Ormoc City (DepEd Ormoc). 

ProbSET is a hybrid program aimed at nurturing communities passionate about mathematical problem-solving across the Philippines.  ProbSET has three main components - ProbSET A, ProbSET Camp, and ProbSET B. 

In ProbSET A, teachers undergo enrichment of their background on problem structures and heuristics to develop their mathematical content knowledge. In ProbSET Camp, teachers are guided in curating problem-solving modules and designing their own problem-solving sessions to foster the deepening of pedagogical content knowledge. In ProbSET B, teachers who qualify to be trainers, along with volunteers from Ateneo de Manila University, mentor selected public school senior high school students by going through non-routine problems.

The pilot implementation of ProbSET ran from April to December 2022 with over 150 student participants from 31 public schools in Iloilo City, Quezon Province, and Davao de Oro. The project yielded valuable insights on mathematics education related to, for instance, the project's predominantly online modality and the importance of the local tongue in educating students of particular regions.

Aside from the ceremonial signing of memoranda of agreement by university presidents (or their representatives) and DepEd superintendents, the online launch of ProbSET 2.0 last July also featured talks by esteemed mathematical problem-solving advocates and educators, namely, Dr Po-Shen Loh of Carnegie Mellon University, Fr Bienvenido F Nebres of Ateneo de Manila University, and Dr Queena Lee-Chua of Ateneo de Manila University. During his speech, Fr Nebres — professor emeritus of the Department of Mathematics — reminded everyone of the proper mindset when dealing with real-world problems: “Problems are unique … Contexts are very different. And so you always have to begin by immersing yourself."

As of this writing, the current implementation of ProbSET A includes more than 30 teacher-trainers from the six (6) partner institutions. They will finish their training in January 2024, after which ProbSET Camp and ProbSET B will commence.