As Teach For Australia alumni, Maths Pathway founders, Richard and Justin are passionate and regular contributors to the broader conversation around educational equity and excellence in the Teach For All network.
We’re excited to share that Maths Pathway has been involved in the High Tech, High Touch movement in Asia, which seeks to ensure that we can bring the best of technology alongside high quality teaching to maximise student outcomes.
A pilot program
After meeting with the CEO of Teacher For Cambodia, Monirath Siv, we were excited by his passion to improve the educational outcomes for Cambodia’s children and we saw the incredible opportunity to create real and meaningful change in a country that has so much potential.
This led to us working together for several months to structure a pilot of the Maths Pathway model that could work in the Cambodian school context. Excitingly, this trip to Cambodia marked the launch of Phase 1 of that work.
While in Cambodia, we were fortunate enough to visit the schools who will be involved in this pilot. During the launch event itself, we signed a formal agreement, and shared the vision for our work with supporters, government officials and teachers.
Visiting Cambodia
Upon visiting Cambodia, we were struck by just how different learning experiences are compared to Australia. . Students express a genuine interest in and passion for their education. There is a real thirst for learning, particularly with regard to modern technologies, developing English and Chinese language skills in addition to their native Khmer, and generally being fully engaged in the school experience. Class sizes are much larger (up to 60 or 70 students), but the culture is one of respect for the teacher and the school.
Schools often have to find creative ways to raise funds – one school had managed to convince the local soccer club to build their new field on school grounds, so that the students could share the facility. Another had secured a sponsorship from a local cola company to provide additional learning resources to the students.
So, what’s next?
Over the next few years, we will be testing and evaluating the efficacy of Maths Pathway in Cambodia, and making adjustments as necessary to adapt to the local needs, contexts and conditions. We’re so fortunate to be working with such an incredible group of dedicated and passionate people.
We can’t wait to see what happens next!
