World Class Maths: Asian Teaching Practice
Discover effective teaching methods used in Asian classrooms and learn how to incorporate them into your maths lesson plans.
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
3 hours
World Class Maths: Asian Teaching Practice
This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.
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Develop world-class maths teaching techniques to enhance your lessons
With seemingly superior mathematics performance in some Asian countries, there is a lot that can be learned from the techniques and methods these countries embed in their teaching.
On this four-week course from Macmillan Education and the University of Southampton, you’ll examine the key features of Asian maths teaching methods in greater depth and discover how to put them into practice in your own maths teaching.
Explore the Concrete Pictorial Abstract (CPA) approach to mathematics
The CPA approach describes how mathematical skills and concepts can be taught effectively by starting off with something concrete, then using visualisations and imagery, and finally working towards abstract notations.
You’ll learn the basics of this approach, looking at the psychology behind it and why it’s an effective tool for teaching maths at different levels. Then, you’ll move on to explore CPA sequence examples and solutions.
Delve into Singapore’s Bar Model method
One example of CPA is the Bar Model method, a visual approach that can aid in understanding fractions, ratios, and percentages.
During the third week of this course, you’ll do a deep dive into the Bar Model, exploring the basics of this method before completing several Bar Model tasks yourself.
Learn how to put Shanghai’s Teaching with Variation into practice in your classroom
Throughout this course, you’ll examine how to incorporate each of these Asian teaching methods into your own classroom. From the Cognitive Pictorial Abstract approach and the Bar Model method to Variation theory, you’ll explore ways to plan your lessons with these skills in mind to improve the efficacy of your maths teaching.
What topics will you cover?
- An overview of the key features of Asian classrooms and maths pedagogies.
- Understanding established principles with a range of examples and practices from Singapore teaching methods, including the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach and the Bar Model method.
- Understanding another Asian principle, Shanghai’s Teaching with Variation, with a range of examples and practices.
- Put these principles into practice with a range of exercises and tasks, and reflect on how you can use them in your classroom.
Who is this accredited by?
The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Summarise the key features of Asian maths classrooms and teaching methods.
- Reflect on your own maths education and your country’s national performance in maths compared with Asian countries.
- Model Asian teaching methods through staged tasks and exercises.
- Develop the expertise to put these methods into practice in your teaching.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for primary school teachers, school administrators, and education policymakers. It may also be of interest to parents with children at primary school.
For a foundation in Asian maths teaching methods, you can start with the World Class Maths: Asian Teaching Methods course.
Who will you learn with?
Lianghuo Fan is Distinguished Professor and Director of Asian Centre for Maths Educ. at East China Normal University, Shanghai. Prior to this he was Professor in Education at Southampton Educ. School.
I am a Professor in Mathematics Education within Southampton Education School. I specialise in international comparative research and the use of technology.
John Schulz is the Director of the SEds Video & Digital Media Studio and a Principal Teaching Fellow within Southampton Education School. John teaches on a wide variety of MSc and Doctoral programmes.
I am a Lecturer in Mathematics Education at the University of Southampton. My particular area of interest is early mathematics learning and development.
Who developed the course?
Macmillan Education
Macmillan Education is part of the Springer Nature group that includes nature, Scientific American and Springer, prestigious brands that have published ground-breaking research for over 150 years.
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