A cohort of 30 secondary school educators from across the Caribbean island nation of Dominica has wrapped up a landmark regional professional development initiative focused on upgrading mathematics instruction and expanding technology integration in K-12 classrooms. As announced in an official press statement from Dominica’s Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training and National Excellence, the country’s participation in the second cohort of the Advancing Caribbean Teachers (ACT) in Mathematics programme has reached a successful conclusion.
The cross-border initiative brought together mathematics educators from three Caribbean nations—Dominica, Barbados, and Grenada—uniting them in a collaborative regional push to address gaps in math education and lift student performance across the bloc. For Dominica’s contingent, the 30 participants represented every one of the island’s 14 secondary schools, joined by the territory’s Learning Support Advisor for the Western region.
The programme received joint institutional and logistical support from two leading regional and global education bodies: the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus, and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL). Local activities for Dominican participants kicked off in November 2025 with a two-day in-person introductory workshop held on the 13th and 14th of the month. Following the in-person opening, educators continued their skill-building through an online Community of Practice, which leveraged a suite of accessible digital platforms including Moodle, Zoom, WhatsApp, and COL Commons to keep participants connected between scheduled learning sessions.
Throughout the entire duration of the programme, participating Dominican educators maintained exceptionally high levels of engagement, and readily adopted a range of research-backed, innovative teaching methodologies crafted to drive stronger student learning outcomes in mathematics. Programme facilitators trained participating teachers to implement the initiative’s signature “5 Master Moves” instructional framework, and guided them to integrate a diverse toolbox of interactive digital learning tools directly into their daily classroom practice. These tools included widely used educational platforms and applications: GeoGebra, PhET Interactive Simulations, Polypad, Didax, Wordwall, and Liveworksheets.
Beyond technical digital skills, the programme also trained educators in gender-responsive teaching practices, designed to foster more inclusive classroom environments that encourage equal participation from all students, regardless of gender, in mathematics learning. The initiative also prioritized building sustainable regional collaboration between educators from participating countries, boosted participating teachers’ confidence in leveraging educational technology for instruction, and offered formal credentialing for educators who engaged with Open Educational Resources (OER).
Dominica’s Ministry of Education formally extended its gratitude to all stakeholders who contributed to the programme’s successful implementation on the island, including secondary school principals, department heads, the participating teachers themselves, the UWI Mona Campus team, and the Commonwealth of Learning. Regional education stakeholders across the bloc have framed the ACT in Mathematics Cohort 2 initiative as a critical investment in Caribbean education, noting that it creates valuable space for educators to upskill, exchange evidence-based best practices, and contribute to long-term regional efforts to raise the quality of mathematics education across the Caribbean.