Il-Bottegin ta' San Martin

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Malta education Division

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secodary and Primary:

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English

Italian

Arabic

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 bottegin@gmail.com

Maltese

Married to Michelle nee Cassar in Dec 1994 . We have three children. Sarah (1996), Daniel (1999) and Petra (2001)

15^th November 1966

• At present I am lecturing in Mathematics with MCAST. I am also a company Director of Smart Developments Ltd - A company deeling with property development. Our first project was the restoration of an office block in the centre of Valletta.
In 2006 I became the local agent for Pfeil wood carving tools
I have been teaching wood carving at the Malta Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce since September 2006.
I am registered as a part-time self-employed artist. In June 2006, I have opened my studio "Il-Bottegin ta’ San Martin" at 185A, Old Bakery street Valletta. Here I also sell a wide variety of carving tools, art books and wooden sculptures made in Italy besides other artifacts made in other artists
I also give private tuition in wood carving to a number of students of a variety of ages.
I have been giving Private tuition in Pure and Applied Mathematics Up to Advanced – level for a number of years.

I have thought Physics with the Education Division up to November 2007.  I was posted at Guze Galea Boy’s Area Secondary school. In the previous scholastic year I was posted at San Frangisk ta’Assisi Boy’s Area Secondary school. I have organized various trekking events and a camping weekend at Selmun.

• In July 2000 Professor Keneth Wain, recommended me to teach mathematics at San Andrea Private Secondary School , Imselliet, Limits of Mgarr. (In this school I have guided the first two sets of students that set for their Matsec Ordinary level. There was an 85% pass rate in both sessions even though we hade a very wide mixed ability group. I was House Master for four years and I also organized a very large number of Sailing expeditions to Comino, and around the Maltese Islands.)

• Between October 1993 and June 2000 I was employed with the Malta Education Division. I worked in various schools according to the exigencies of the department:

  • Between September 1999 to August 2000 I taught mathematics at Mother Teresa College, a post secondary, pre-vocational school for nursing students. (Here I took care of some of the sports activities especially Sports Day that was held at the Marsa Sports ground)

  • Between November 1995 and August 1999 I taught pure mathematics, applied mathematics, physics and some sailing to Navigating officer cadets and Marine engineering cadets at the Malta Nautical School. (In addition, In this school I organized a number of camping expeditions at Selmun, Paradise bay and also Golden bay).

  • Between October 1993 and October 1995 I taught mathematics at Bighi Secondary technical School. (Besides teaching I also organized a camping expedition near Dingli cliffs)

• In Summer 1992 I did Voluntary Work at Stella Mares College - Gzira

• In Summer 1991 I did Voluntary Work at Id-Dar tal-Providenza

• Between June 89 and September 89 I worked with Air Malta in the Computer Section.

• Between January 89 and May 89 I worked as a sales person in a shoe shop in Valetta

• In the Summers of 84 and 85 I was a Pupil worker at the Bank of Valletta.

• In September 2006 I obtained the diploma in art with the Malta School of Art. The title of my dissertation was ‘Using the Language of Art to Express My Personal Feelings and Ideas on Education’.

• From September 1989 to June 1993 I studied at the University of Malta where I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Education specializing in Mathematics and Physics. The title of my dissertation is ‘Computers in Mathematics Learning’.

• From September 1985 to January 1989, after obtaining a scholarship, I studied Computer Studies at the Universita’ di Pisa – Italy.

At the Universita di Pisa I passed in the following examinations:

• 16/6/88 – Teoria ed Applicazione delle Macchine Calcolatrici - Mark 22/30

• 3/3/88 - Analisi Matematica – Mark 21/30

• 22/2/88 – Algebra – Mark 18/30

• 1/6/87 – Fisica I – Mark 27/30

• 28/5/87 – Geometria – Mark 24/30

• Between October 1982 to June 1985 I was a student at the New Lyceum, Msida

• Between October 1981 to June 1982 I was a student at De La Salle College, Cottonera

I obtained G.C.E. Advanced Levels in:

• November 84 - Pure mathematics - Grade A - Associated Examination Board

• November 84 - Applied Mathematics - Grade B - Associated Examination Board

• June 85 - Physics - Grade B Associated Examination Board -

• June 86 - Technical Drawing - Grade C - Associated Examination Board Certificates

• June 89 - Systems of Knowledge - Grade D – University of Malta

Between October 1974 and June 1981 I was a student at Stella Mares College, Gzira.

I obtained G.C.E. Ordinary Levels in:

• June 84 - Maltese (Matriculation) - Grade 5 – University of Malta

• June 83 – English Language – Grade C – London University

• December 81 – Italian – Grade 2– University of Malta

• June 83 – Arabic – School leaving certificate Grade 4 - University of Malta

• December 81 – Mathematics – Grade A - London University

• December 81 - Physics – Grade C - London University

• January 83 – Chemistry – Grade C – London University

• June 85 – Biology - Grade B – Oxford University

• November 85 - Geometrical Drawing (Engineering) – Grade B – Assosciated Examining Board.

• June 86 – Computer Studies- Grade C – Oxford University

• June 85 – Accounts - Grade B – Oxford University

• November 85 - Art – Grade C – Assosciated Examining Board.

Between October 1970 and June 1974 I was a pupil at Stella Mares School, Balzan.

During my employment I attended the following courses

1. First Aid

2. Yacht master - Coastal Navigation Certificate of Competence

3. Certificate of Competence in Sea Survival

4. Certificate of Competence in Radio Communication

5. Diesel Engines

6. Adlerian Psychology, ICASSI 95

7. Mathematics Software

8. Art – Foundation Year ( in which I came first in History of art) at the School of Art in Valletta

9. Wood Sculpture

10. Three dimensional modelling

11. Pottery – Wheel Throwing

Maltese

• I have a strong team spirit that I have developed through participation in sport activities, training in interpersonal skills at university, at work and also as a House Master of the House of Auvergne wherein I worked with students in respect to sports tournaments, and academic progress.

• I am interested in group dynamics and how one can use win-win strategies when conflicts arise. I was initiated into these ideas during my B.ed course and I have continued developing my skills during my employment.

• I am empathetic towards students with learning difficulties by (a) listening to their problems, (b) finding creative ways of presenting content and also by (c) getting specialized support when necessary.

• I am also empathetic towards my colleagues and I have been a union representative in practically all the schools. I have also been elected on the MUT council for two terms.

• I also enjoy collaborating with other teachers of subjects across the curriculum.

• When I have a leadership role I am a very encouraging person. This has helped me a lot during my post as a House Master, wherein I worked with around two hundred students over a period of four years.

• When it comes to organization I strongly believe that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. So, I prefer a curriculum that has weak classification and weak framing (Bernstein, 1971). In fact, I like to organize my scheme of work using a thematic approach. This encourages the students to develop a relational type of mathematics (Skemp, 1989). Knowledge that is structured in this way is not sequential. I describe this beautiful knowledge structure as organic hypertext. I use the word organic because knowledge structured in this way acts as an agent of its own growth.

• I am quite good at carpentry. In fact I have designed and built most of the furniture in my house. I can also turn wood using a lathe. I have learnt most of my carpentry skills from my father-in-law who is a retired carpenter and also by reading a variety of books and magazines.

• I have good command of Microsoft Office tools. I also surf the net quite often and I am familiar with the principle search engines. I have obtained my O’level certificate in computer studies for which I had learnt how to program using the basic language. I had begun studying for a degree in Computer science at the Universita di Pisa where I studied machine code and Pascal. During my B.ed course I did my dissertation on ‘Computers in Mathematics Learning’. I also Did My inservice training on Mathematics Software.

• I am quite talented in both painting and sculpture. In fact I can draw and paint in all the conventional media including: water colour, acrylic, oil paints and pastels. I can carve both wood and limestone. I can also make sculptures in clay. I mainly acquired this competency through the Diploma course that I have just finished.

• I obtained a special distinction prize in sculpture at the 2007 Malta International Art Biennale

• In April 2007 I have organized my first solo art exhibition entitled ‘Using the Language of Art’ at the Malta Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce, Palazzo De La Salle, 219, Republic street Valletta.
  In June 2008 I have organized a collective exhibition at 188, Old Bakery street, Valletta.
  In May 2009 I held a solo exhibition  'Expressions in wood' at the fouyer of the MCAST administration block.

• Sailing - I am a very good sailor. In fact, I won the Malta national dinghy Championships in the Miracle Class for a number of years. In 1988, I was a member of the Maltese contingent in a triangular meeting in Messina – Sicily. I have also sailed over 1000 nautical miles single handed from Malta to the Aeolian island of Lipari and back in September 2001. Over the years, I have taught many students how to sail.

• Trekking – I was initiated into trekking during my studies at the Universita di Pisa. Here I have climbed the most important mountains of the Apuan Alps. In 1997, I went trekking in Val D’Aosta. I have also walked around the Maltese North West Coast and around the Gozitan Coast that are very beautiful especially in winter.

• Singing – I also have a reasonably good voice. In fact I was a member of the St.Monica choir between 1989 and 1990.

Outdoor life is a priority in my life. My sport activities include sailing, athletics, cycling, basketball, volleyball, football, handball, tennis and table tennis.

I took part in a 170 hour Volleyball Marathon organized by the Kerygma Movement. I won the Malta national dinghy Championships in the Miracle Class for a number of years. I have also sailed over 1000 nautical miles single handed from Malta to the Aeolian island of Lipari and back in September 2001. In February 2002, I completed my third half marathon. During the past years, I have been tracking on the Italian alps. I played with the Bank of Valletta 3^rd division table-tennis team for two years.

I am a keen artist. I enjoy reading books about art, sailing, and educational theory. My favorite book is ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ by Paolo Freire. I have also built most of the furniture in my home including: a kitchen, a dining room, a bedroom and a study.

• This is the abstract of my dissertation presented in part fulfillment of the requirements for the Diploma in Fine arts at the School of Art of Malta

• This is the abstract of my dissertation presented in part fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Education (Honours) at the University of Malta.

The main objective of this study was to experience the use of Computers to facilitate mathematics learning within the constraints of Maltese schools. The research consists of three case studies. In the first study, that took place during a teaching practice at Stella Mares College. Three form II classes were taken to the computer room for one lesson every week. From these students, two groups of three pupils each were chosen to participate in the second study. Each group attended three two-hour sessions based on the Logo software. The sessions were held at the resource centre of the University of Malta. The last study took place during a teaching practice in a girls’ trade school. This time only one computer was used as a day-to-day resource.

The experiences were evaluated through a qualitative analysis of the data collected. Three types of data were collected. On the first day of teaching practice a short questionnaire was administered, the aim of which was to investigate the pupil’s attitudes towards mathematics. The pupils were initiated into the practice of diary writing. A representative sample, consisting of twenty three diaries collected at Stella Mares College and twenty four collected at the girls’ trade school, was analysed. The diaries were used to evaluate the pupils’ attitudes towards the computer-based activities that had been tried out in class. In addition six audio-visual recordings were made during the study at the resource centre.