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Course for high school math teachers is transmitted by RNP

The National Education and Research Network (RNP) and the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (Impa) repeat, on January 27, an invaluable partnership for Brazilian education: the transmission, through the academic Internet, of the course Professional Development for High School Math Teachers.

The course, offered by Impa since 1990, is free of charge and has already benefited thousands of math teachers, who could interact with renowned authors in this field, solving problems and doing exercises. The transmission of the course through the academic network RNP2, operated by RNP, has been happening since last year. This will be the third time this partnership is repeated, taking this important training practice to several parts of the country.

Program covers the three grades of high school

The program of the course is divided into two independent modules, which cover selected topics from the three grades of high school. The activities, in both modules, happen during school recess. Each module consists of full-time training for a week. The activities on each day include lectures in the morning and group work in the afternoon. By the end of the week, each group of teachers gets a task, involving problem solving and designing additional didactic material.

Each of the modules in the program takes place simultaneously at Impa and in partner institutions all over the country. The lectures are transmitted live, via Internet, using RNP's infrastructure. The participating teachers can send their questions during the classes by means of a chat tool. The activities in the afternoon are locally conducted.

The remote participation of the state university of Campinas and federal universities of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Pernambuco, Piauí and Rio Grande do Sul is predicted for January 2003.

Impa is an international reference in the field of mathematics

The Impa was founded in 1952 by the National Research Council (Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa), now called National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico)-CNPq. Its goals were carrying out high-level mathematical research, forming new researchers, and spreading mathematical knowledge by means of publications, courses and scientific meetings.

Its academic prestige was consolidated as of 1957, when the Brazilian Colloquiums of Mathematics started. Today, this biannual event gathers more than 1,200 mathematicians. Impa's intensive exchange with foreign nations and its respected Master's Degree and Ph.D. programs have made it an internationally recognized research institute. Nowadays, Impa is considered the most prestigious mathematics institute in Latin America, having even been appointed as a Center of Excellence for Post-Doctorate studies, in an international level, by the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS).

[RNP, 01.13.2003]