Chinese-style maths teaching helps UK students

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British Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to China has brought some good news for public school students in maths learning.

Her office announced on Wednesday that 11,000 British schools will join the UK-China Maths Teacher Exchange Program by 2023.

Some Chinese maths teachers have been in Southampton, southeast England, where they have delivered a showcase class to year-four students, watched by local primary school teachers.

A Chinese teacher helps primary school students in Southampton, south east of England, learn math. /CGTN Photo

The students at St John’s Primary and Nursery School drew pictures and lines in different colors to learn fractions with the help of Chinese teachers. It is one of a dozen British primary schools that have hosted Chinese teachers recently.

One girl in the class was quite impressed. She said, "It is easier than I was taught before because they make sure everyone understand. They will give us maths sheets to show what the pictures show and how they split into fractions."

"They try to guide us," one boy added. "If you've got questions, they make it fair for everybody."

The over 80 local primary school teachers who shadowed the class came with questions. Some said they were quite impressed by the “small step” procedure of learning.

CGTN Photo

Sue Wilson, the head teacher of Northern Parade Infant and Junior School, said picture reading and maths language building play fundamental roles in maths learning in an earlier age.

The Chinese teachers' visualized approach "is not about just answering the questions and coming up with the right answer. It is about the deeper learning where children can visualize the concept and therefore when they meet the more difficult problems they have no problem with it because they understand what the question is asking them."

There is no fixed maths textbooks for primary schools across the UK. Teachers who shadowed the class said they are thinking of applying the Shanghai-style teaching approaches to their maths sheets which are regarded as textbooks in Britain.

Local teachers in primary schools usually cover English, maths, science, art and physical education, and the busy schedule leaves them little time to specialize in maths teaching.

That is why Li Yan, maths teacher from Shanghai Min Hang Qu Pingnan Primary School, noticed gaps during her shadowing of a British class.

Chinese teacher Li Yan teaches UK primary school students maths using Chinese-style picture thinking. /CGTN Photo

"Since they have neither maths textbooks nor class preparation group work, local teachers are eager to teach all kinds of concepts of fractions in a one-hour class while some students could not follow the pace at the same speed as others," she said.

However, local teachers now have some examples to follow as the Department of Education in UK has arranged several seminars to study the Chinese textbooks.

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