Presenting teaching with variation
This video explains what teaching with variation entails and will demonstrate the principle with some concrete examples.
In China, teaching with variation has been used in classrooms for a long time.
Professor Gu is one of the most well-known mathematics educators in China. Based on previous experience and his own experiments in Shanghai maths classrooms, he systematically analysed and synthesised the concepts of teaching with variation (1981). According to Gu, there are two forms of variation: ‘conceptual variation’ and ‘procedural variation’.
According to researchers (Gu, Huang, & Marton, 2004), teaching with variation characterises mathematics teaching in China and by adopting teaching with variation, even with large classes, students can actively involve themselves in the process of learning and achieve excellent results.
References
Gu, L. (1981). The visual effect and psychological implication of transformation of figures in geometry. Paper presented at annual conference of Shanghai Mathematics Association. Shanghai, China.
Gu, L., Huang, R., & Marton, F. (2004). Teaching with variation: A Chinese way of promoting effective mathematics learning. In Fan, L., Wong, N-Y., Cai, J., & Li, S. (Eds.) (2004). How Chinese learn mathematics: Perspectives from insiders. Singapore: World Scientific.
World Class Maths: Asian Teaching Methods
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