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Donna Chanasyk, a mathematics and CALM teacher at Paul Kane High School, in St. Albert, helps Ian Ferrier with his math assignment.
Donna Chanasyk has been honing her math skills for years; she has been a member of the ATA’s Mathematics Council since 1973 and the council’s secretary for more than 17 years.
“The math council is a great way to find out what’s happening in other districts across the province,” says Chanasyk. “The way we teach and the curriculum have changed over the years. The council has helped many math teachers keep up with the technology, like the graphing calculator, and adapt to the constructivist approach to teaching math.”
About 14 years ago, Chanasyk and some Mathematics Council colleagues formed TERM (Teachers of Mathematics in the Edmonton Region). “We meet every second month. At first it was only open to department heads and math leaders, but now it’s open to anyone. We share information, invite guest speakers and present to each other,” explains Chanasyk.
In addition to her work with the Mathematics Council, Chanasyk has been involved in letter-writing campaigns to the minister of education, writing grant proposals, contributing to discussions with the government and the ATA, and writing and marking diploma exams.
She is currently teaching math and CALM in Paul Kane High School’s outreach program, in St. Albert. “If you have a passion for the subjects you teach and you like working with students, you can make things happen!” says Chanasyk. Student Ian Ferrier agrees wholeheartedly. Ferrier says that learning math through the outreach program is ideal. “I like working independently,” he says, “but if I need help, it’s great to know that I can come here to get it. I’m actually progressing faster than I did before.”
