Maths, the Chinese way in the UK

Exchange program embeds Shanghai's top maths teachers in British schools to share first-rate methods

Teachers of some of the world's brightest minds in maths are for the first time imparting their knowledge to students outside the borders of China.

As part of an education exchange program with the United Kingdom, 29 of Shanghai's top maths teachers are embedded in schools across the UK to teach maths lessons, China-style, to British primary school students.

Wu Yun, from the Shanghai Experimental School, is among the select group of teachers. With more than 10 years of experience teaching only maths, Wu is working with UK teachers and students over a period of three weeks this month.

Wu, who is in her 30s, graduated from maths major, went through extensive English training over a month before leaving for the UK.

"The teaching program is part of an exchange between the British Department for Education and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission," says Shen Yang, minister counselor for education at the Chinese embassy in London.

Each teacher from Shanghai is working with the maths hubs across the UK. The country recently installed a new education structure for maths education that established 32 maths hubs, made up of primary and secondary schools, universities and maths experts. Each component of a hub works together toward the goal of supporting excellence in maths education.

The program was proposed earlier this year by Elizabeth Truss, the former British parliamentary undersecretary of state for education and childcare, after she visited five schools in Shanghai and four other schools in China.

"We have some brilliant maths teachers in this country, but what I saw in Shanghai, and other Chinese cities, has only strengthened my belief that we can learn from them," Truss said during her visit.

The program comes at a crucial time for the United Kingdom.

In 2012, UK 15-year-olds ranked 26th in maths among global rivals on the Program for International Student Assessment, issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development since 2000 to evaluate the skills of young students across the globe.

Shanghai's students, on the other hand, ranked top overall in maths, reading and science on the 2012 exam. The OECD says children of working-class families in Shanghai are on average better at maths than middle class children in the UK.

Nick Gibb, the British school reform minister, says the exchange will set an example for the way education systems around the world can learn from each other.

"Shanghai currently leads the way in maths performance and there is no reason why our children cannot achieve the same high standards. This innovative exchange program enables our teachers to develop their professional skills alongside those from the most successful education system in the world."

He adds "our plan for education is ensuring children in this country receive a world-class education which will equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a competitive global environment".

Shen says Shanghai students excel in mathematics because of China's deep-rooted tradition of paying special attention to the field of study.

"The traditional Chinese method of teaching maths is different from Western ways. Take for example, the multiplication table. It's popular in China, but Western schools teach it to students very late or not at all," Shen says.

Wu agrees, saying, "The Chinese education environment plays a key role in making students good at maths. Chinese people attach great importance to studying maths and Chinese students spend plenty of time learning it."

Charlie Stripp, director of the National Center for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics, says he saw that firsthand in Shanghai's classrooms.

"There is the belief that if you are expertly taught and you put some effort in it, then you are able to succeed."

In the UK, the use of textbooks is frowned upon in primary schools, something Stripp says he hopes to change.

"The books in Shanghai are thorough. The teachers here look forward to using Shanghai textbooks with students. We want to take that as part of our education reform in UK primary schools," he says.

In September, 71 British maths teachers visited Shanghai's high-performing schools and colleges to observe the city's teaching techniques firsthand and discuss learning methods and approaches with their peers in Shanghai.

Tom Isherwood, a coordinator at Hillside Primary and Nursery School in Nottinghamshire, says one major difference in how maths is taught in both countries boils down to specialization. Chinese teachers, he explains, are specialist teachers, while England's primary school teachers teach every subject.

"I teach English, physical education, drama and art, but my specialty is in maths."

Isherwood says Chinese students do homework almost daily and that Chinese teachers will approach them one by one to ensure they understand the day's lessons. British students, he says, tend to do homework maybe once or twice a week.

"Without having seen how the Chinese model works in the UK, it will be difficult to judge which split of time is better, so at this point it is hard to say. After these three weeks I will have a better answer," says Isherwood.

But all of the teachers and experts agree that British children spend far less time studying maths than Shanghai students.

"They don't get additional practice. ... It doesn't have to be as much time as Shanghai students spend, but at least they should try to do so," says one Chinese expert who declined to be named.

Wu says the Chinese approach to teaching maths will work in the UK, though he admits the results of one exchange program won't be enough to determine if Shanghai's methods will make a difference.

"Students in China and the UK are different, so maybe we need to set up a new teaching plan for the English students first and then teach them," Wu says.

What the exchange program can accomplish, however, is changing the attitudes of UK primary school students.

"This is a brilliant, an absolutely positive experience for everyone involved. This exchange enables us to say a little bit more on how the system works. This should have a massive positive impact across the board," Isherwood says.

Stripp agrees.

"I believe the Shanghai teacher exchange will be a powerful catalyst to change the way we teach maths and raise pupils' achievement in maths."

Early next year, more than 34 primary school maths teachers in Shanghai will travel to the UK to shed light on their teaching methods to students and teachers.

But Shen says this "is not a one-way experience. Britain has its own specific strengths in education, so both China and UK will benefit from this exchange."

"We should recognize that our teaching approaches are not the best. We also have a lot to learn from other countries," Shen says. "What is more important is that the communication improves mutual understanding, which has begun with this maths education project. Once the relationship is cultivated, we should try to work together in other areas. That is the real target of our collaboration."

Laura Davis and Zhang Kexin contributed to this story.

Contact the writers through zhangchunyan@chinadaily.com.cn