8,000 schools in UK to add Chinese math system

ElizabethTruss,thenBritishparliamentaryundersecretaryofstateforeducationandchildcare,looksonastwostudentsdemonstratemathskillsinaprimaryschoolinShanghaiduringanexchangeprogramin2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

TheChinese"masteryapproach"tomathteachingissettorolloutinmorethan8,000primaryschoolsintheUnitedKingdom,withfundingofupto41millionpounds($54.3million),tobringpupilsuptoparwiththeirAsiancounterparts.

Childrenasyoungas5willberequiredtopracticesumsandexercises,andtheymustmastereachconceptbeforemovingontomoredifficultmaterial.

ThemovecomesafterinternationaltestsshowedthatShanghaistudentsrankedontopformathintheProgramforInternationalStudentAssessmentin2012,and15-year-oldsinChinaarethreeyearsaheadoftheirEnglishcounterpartsintheirabilitytosolvemathproblems.

Sincethen,Britain,whosestudentsranked26ththatyear,haswelcomedover120teachersfromShanghaitosharethesecretsoftheirsuccessintheproject,whichtheBritishmediahavedubbed"ShanghaiMaths".

SpeakingattheAdvisoryCommitteeonMathematicsEducationlastweek,NickGibb,theUKschoolsminister,saidtheShanghaistyleofmathshouldbecomeastandardfixtureinEngland.

"Weareseeingarenaissanceinmathsteachinginthiscountry,withgoodideasfromaroundtheworldhelpingtoenlivenourclassrooms.

"ThesignificantexpansionofthesouthAsian(includingShanghai,SingaporeandHongKong)mathsmasteryapproachcanonlyaddtothepositivemomentum,withthousandsmoreyoungpeoplehavingaccesstospecialistteachersandqualitytextbooks,"theministeradded.

Gibbisconfidentthattheeffortswillensureyoungpeopleareproperlypreparedforfurtherstudyandthatthetoo-oftenheardphrase"can'tdomath"isconsignedtothepast.

LyuJiexinfromShanghaiNormalUniversity,alsoaseniorcoordinatorofChina-UKmathexchangeprograms,believesthenewpolicyisnotamerecopyingofChinesemathteaching,butisinsteadapartoftheBritishgovernment'soverhaultoimprovethestandardsofmatheducation.

Withthegrowinginfluenceoftheinternationaltest,morecountriesarelearningfromthetopperformingnationsinabidtoimprovethecompetitivenessoftheireducationsystems,Lyusaid.

"Theplanreflectsthegovernment'sfullcommitmenttoitsmathreformanddemonstratestheimportantrolethateducationexchangeandcollaborationplayinthatregard,"headded.

However,somecriticswereskepticaloftheprogram,worryingthatthestudentswillnotbeabletomasterfundamentalideasmerelythroughdrillsandrepetition.

CharlieStripp,directorattheNationalCentreforExcellenceintheTeachingofMathematics,saidteachingmathmasteryisnotaboutrotelearninganddrilling,althoughitcertainlyresultsinpupilsknowingandbeingabletorecallmultiplicationtablesandotherkeynumberfacts.Thisrepresentsanimportantfoundationforlearningandusingmath,Strippsaid.

"Teachingformasteryfocusesondeepconceptuallearning,developingsecurefoundationsthatpupilscanbuildonthroughouttheireducation.Whenapieceofmathematicshasbeen'mastered',itcanbeusedasafoundationfornewmathematicallearning.Superficiallearninginmathematicsproducesweakfoundations,whichcanresultininsecurelearningandconfusion,"headded.

(PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE)