Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION III – CENTRAL LUZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF NUEVA

CLUSTER SESSION IN MATHEMATICS

by: Christine A. Leoncio
Teacher III
Laur Central School

The world of mathematics is a complex pattern of vicissitudes aspects of thinking processes to

appropriately understand the sequences of operations to obtain the right answer. The functioning of the
functioning of the brain should at least be conditioned upon the demands of focus and attention that
the individual shall pay to inculcate in the mind the correct route to dismantle the confusion. A student
of mathematics will need more time to think and consume his brain cells to comprehend the
mathematical lesson. Indubitably, there is an indispensable need for a strategy of discussing a specific
topic for a specified time where there will be a great group of students who study it simultaneously. This
is the cluster session in mathematics.

The cluster session in mathematics is a lecture discussion simultaneously to a combined

number of classes in one session for a specified topic. This is also known as the seminar type
lecture discussion instead of a controlled classroom discussion for each class or section. This
type of teaching will enhance the level of lecturing using a specified format and style as it is
similarly applied to all sections involved. This will also give impetus to the singularity of
resource materials that can be utilize for this purpose. It will also create an opportunity of sharing
notes with other students of different sections since this will be the same mode of teaching and
learning materials.
It is just likened into a seminar where there are a great number of participants such as
hundreds and even thousands who wish to join the lecture session. In this set-up, students may
tend to be more cognizant of the topics discussed during the cluster sessions to a considerable
number of participants whom they may have affinity such as being friends in facebook,
messenger, Instagram, and email linkages or other social networking sites where transfer of
information can be made. Thus, interaction among themselves can be more enlightening since
there are several participants who heard the topics being discussed simultaneously to a number of
classes. Moreover, recording of the lecture can be done depending on the platform application is
used. In this case, student-participants can replay the video a number of times as they wish to.
Interestingly, in this cluster session, participants will be asked to join a specific platform
application that can be utilize for discussion without meeting the actual face to face participation
just like the traditional seminar type discussion where it will require a large venue and
accommodations to conduct the activity. It is quite noticeable that this set-up is costly,
expensive, tedious and will require some magnanimous preparations to ensure its success.
Furthermore, this will going to require a considerable number of human resource to execute this
academic related activity.
Ironically, in a cluster session type, it is the sole responsibility of the lecturer to provide
the link to his/her students or the intended participants while using a platform application for
everybody to meet and do the lecturing. Nevertheless, the platform of learning management
system should at least can accommodate hundreds of students to a combined lecture discussion.
Undeniably, there available applications that can be used for this arrangement like the MS
Teams, Google Meet, Google Classroom, Zoom, BOOM, etc. which are all accessible provided
the participants have the wifi data to download it and eventually used as a means of learning
management system. This system of learning management will not require a number of hands to
execute, papers to prepare, or even venues to conduct this type of learning session. This will only
require dexterity of the lecturer in using the intended platform application for learning and the
participants’ readiness to join.
Finally, this will definitely save time, effort, materials and human resources. All the
activities for mathematics can be sent and shared on-line where the students can access and
download it for their consumption. Not only that, recording of the discussion can be done so that
the students can review how the specific lessons were discussed while listening to it at the
comfort of their homes.
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION III – CENTRAL LUZON
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF NUEVA

Team Teaching Strategy in Math Lesson

by: Christine A. Leoncio
Teacher III
Laur Central School

The lasting impressions of mathematics among students is its difficulty and sweating
solutions to problem solving whenever there are exercises being propounded either on the board
or as a seatwork. This appalling situation is a never again to be experienced in the minds of
general population of learners. However, it appears to be inescapable to hurdle until it is toppled
down with great efforts to exert. Nonetheless, all of this unforgiving experiences has to be just a
part of studying to get better. This also dented on the differences and somewhat also similarities
to some extent among the students’ capabilities.
Capabilities of each human is not similar although it can be possibly unique to each one
of us. The measure of one’s intelligence cannot be ascribed as similar to others but rather it is
better true to say that we are all different. This difference can work harmoniously with each other
to achieve a desirable goal despite diversity of attributes.
Interestingly, the teachers have their own specialty and mastery of skills as compared to
others although they may have identical area of concentration. In mathematics, it is undeniable
that anybody can be a learned teacher teaching this area to elementary students but there can also
be variety of approach in teaching their students. It is true that there are a number of teachers
teaching mathematics with similar description. It is therefore possible if they joined together
while allowing them to teach with a specific lesson covered by one subject or course.
Team teaching will allow each team member to select the lesson they would like to tackle
instead of taking all the lessons of the entire school year from day one to the last day. This is a
traditional manner of delivering the lecture to the learners which appeared to be quite
monotonous, wearisome, boring and tedious. This strategy is an admission that every human
being is unique and different from one to another that despite the diversity there can still be
harmony. The strategy’s design is to eradicate learners’ unresponsive and indifference when
mathematics is the subject of the class. This will make them more conscious to the topic since
there will a number of teachers lecturing to them in one subject.
Apparently, there will be a new mode of approaching the study of math rather than using
a traditional way of delivering the topics with the sole responsibility of teacher assigned to one
section. Be that as it may, the assessment of the students can be done with only one set of test,
quiz, homework or seat work to all sections taking the same subject.
 Further, team teaching will also allow each lecturer to converge while sharing their ideas
and concept to make the lecture more interesting with improvised techniques to ensnare the
attention and interests of the learners. It is quite true that ‘two is better than one’ particularly
when there is an enormous task to hurdle. The work one is to be the responsibility and
accountability of all team members hence they will have to work together to topple the
challenge.
Finally, organizations in the present days encourage diversities. It is for the reason that
one’s uniqueness can be the weakness of a team member hence capitalizing uniqueness can be a
strength of the group.