IS CHINESE-STYLE MATHS THE FUTURE?

Text by Lena Gidwani Translation by Emma Xu Illustrations by Sandy-Z

IS CHINESE-STYLE MATHS THE FUTURE?

Text by Lena Gidwani Translation by Emma Xu Illustrations by Sandy-Z

In an apparent post-Brexit world, we're faced with a few uncertainties: perhaps an ensuing slowdown of export growth to the United Kingdom, a dampening of investment fl ow or even, heaven forbid, no more made-in-China Harrods teddy bears to cuddle.

That being said, this hasn't stopped the UK Department for Education from recently announcing that it's earmarking a staggering 41 million pounds of funding to help over 8,000 primary schools. The plan is to implement a 'Shanghainese' style of teaching called 'Maths mastery' in a bid to improve the competitiveness of the UK's education system.

So far 140 teachers from primary schools in England have been trained by the National Centrefor Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) to help schools adopt the mastery approach. The huge investment, spread over four years, will ensure the method is taught more widely, with an initial 700 teachers to be trained to support schools in maths mastery, and acquire the necessary textbooks.

Statistics from tests conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development clearly shows that Shanghai is the highest-performing area in the world, putting them three years ahead of their English counterparts in their mathematical ability.

Shanghai, you say? Oh yes. Move away, famed soup dumplings and scenic restaurants by the Bund, it's all about the Maths, 'bout the Maths, no kiddin'!

As a mother of two whose children were born and bred in China, it's safe to say that while I am proud of my adopted nation's mathematical success, I am also afraid. Are my third-culture, internationalschool-going children good enough to stand tall and proud with the locally educated children when it comes to the world of long division?

The westerners have always been accustomed to a more inquiry-based learning, celebrating critical thinking and individuality. But perhaps, just perhaps, going back to age-old techniques like repetition, regimented drills and 'chalk and talk' whole-class learning may just ensure a deep, secure understanding of fundamental principles and rules of the subject.

Anyone who understands the Chinese system of education will tell you that its cornerstones are daily routines and exercises, stringent discipline and longer hours at school. It's not for the faint-hearted, but all you need to do is look around today and marvel at the many feats that Chinese students have achieved, both locally and overseas. Personally, given the choice, I would love a combination of both worlds. But I will never actually see that, will I?

Till then, Shanghai, you ought to be proud. Who needs dumplings when you have quadratic equations in the bag?

COLUMNIST'S PROFILE

Working in an international school in Guangzhou, Lena Gidwani is a mother to a son and a daughter and resident of Guangzhou for 14 years. She enjoys flitting around from restaurants to cities as she discovers all that China has to offer.

Lena Gidwani在国际学校任职，膝下有一双儿女，已在广州居住14年，热衷穿梭于餐厅与市井间去发现中国之美。

中式数学，大势所趋？

脱欧后，英国经济面临各种不稳定因素，但这阻止不了英国教育部宣布投入4,100万英镑在8,000多所小学推广上海式数学教学法。2012年以来，尤其是BBC纪录片《面对中式教育，英国孩子够强吗？》热播后，大批上海教师前往英国分享数学教学秘诀。经济与合作发展组织的统计数据表明，上海学生的数学能力领先英国学生三年。

你说，上海？是！闻名的灌汤小笼包、如画的外滩请让让，现在讨论的是数学。

我在中国养育了两个孩子，我为中国数学教学取得的成绩感到自豪，同时也害怕！在数学上，身处第三文化的孩子能与本地孩子比肩吗？西方人习惯了探究型教学法，鼓励批判性思维，崇尚个性化。但是，回到传统的教学方式，例如重复、标准化训练、填鸭式教学也许更能确保对基础概念和规则的深度理解。懂中国教育体系的人会告诉你，这种体系的基础是日复一日地强化学习、严格训练。没有夸大其词，中国学生确实在海内外创造了非凡成绩。有选择的话，我个人更愿意这两种教学方式兼容并存。

是的，上海，你是令人自豪的。有数学法宝在手，谁还惦记小笼包呢？