The Math Wars mash-up
The relationship between knowledge, skills and understanding is not new. In fact, many people have debated these themes for centuries. In recent years they have been part of the so-called …
Course: World Class Maths: Asian Teaching Methods
Evaluation of the importance of practice: strengths and limitations
According to Prof. Li Shiqi, a professor at East China Normal University in Shanghai, there are four cultural roots of the belief that ‘practice makes perfect’ in China. The tradition …
What does research say about practice?
This video will explain how the previous weeks have shown that practice is one of the key features of Asian maths pedagogy, and will reinforce this by describing research on …
Why does practice make perfect?
In this video, Professor Fan explains why practice is such an important element of Asian maths pedagogy. In Asian mathematics classrooms, particularly in China, teachers usually believe that practice makes …
Wrapping up the course
In this four-week course we covered the following topics: In Week 1 we set the scene, to explore if Asian countries are indeed doing well. We looked at the TIMSS …
Summary and extended reading
In this last week of the course, you should have learned the following main points: Practice is an essential element of successful Asian maths teaching methods. Effective principles have to …
How does Shanghai develop its teachers?
In this video Professor Fan introduces CPD in Shanghai. In China, most mathematics teachers received their pre-service training in the departments of mathematics of universities, often called normal universities. The …
How does Singapore develop its teachers?
In this video, Prof. Fan introduces CPD in Singapore. Singapore has a rigorous teacher preparation and professional development system. All Singapore school teachers are expected to complete their pre-service training …
The importance of teachers’ professional development
In this video, Professor Fan presents an outline of CPD. We know that maths textbooks and classroom pedagogy are very important for students’ learning. To support this, we must also …
Introducing Week 4
Welcome to Week 4! This week we will focus on one final Asian Maths principle, namely the key role of practice. We’ve all heard the expression ‘practice makes perfect’! In …
Recap of Week 3
Welcome to Week 4! In Week 3 we focused on the Two Basics and Variation theory as Asian mathematics teaching methods. Based on the experiences of Educators and learners, in …
Summary and extended reading
In Week 3 of the course, we have covered the following main points: Two key principles from two other Asian countries are Two Basics and Variation theory. Both approaches are …
Looking at Variation theory in more depth
This step picks out the key points from the following article: Gu, F., Huang, R., & Gu, L. (2017). Theory and development of teaching through variation in mathematics in China. …
Interview with Professor Gu
This is an interview with one of the key people involved in the development of variation theory, Professor Gu. Perhaps you still have some questions about variation theory after watching …
Underpinning Variation theory with research
This video explains how Variation theory fits with contemporary research on learning. As explained in the previous video by Professor Fan, Variation theory states that learners need to experience variation …
