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 …
Course: World Class Maths: Asian Teaching Methods
Looking at the Two Basics in depth
This step picks out the key points from the following article: Zhang, D., Li, S., & Tang, R. (2004). The “two basics”: Mathematics teaching and learning in Mainland China. In …
Underpinning the Two Basics with research
This video explains how the Two Basics fit in contemporary research on learning. The Two Basics is an essential feature of Chinese mathematics classrooms. It includes the importance of mathematical …
Presenting the Two Basics
This video explains what the Two Basics are, and demonstrates it with some concrete examples. Due to historical and cultural reasons, eastern Asian jurisdictions, including Japan, Korea, Singapore, and China …
Country video: China (Shanghai) video
In this video, Prof. Fan introduces some basic facts about China, with a focus on Shanghai. China is in East Asia and is the third largest country in the world …
Introduction for Week 3
Welcome to Week 3 of the course! This week we will focus on other Asian mathematics teaching methods. As mentioned in the previous step, there are other Asian countries that …
Recap of Week 2
Welcome to Week 3! In Week 2 we focused on mathematics education in Singapore. Based on the experiences of Educators and learners, in this video we provide a summary of …
Summary and extended reading
In Week 2 of the course you should have learned the following main points: Two key principles in Singaporean mathematics education are the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach and the Bar Model …
Interview with Professor Kho
This is an interview by Professor Fan with one of the key people involved in the development of the Bar Model method, Professor Kho Tek Hong. He is the inventor …
Evaluation of the Bar Model method: strengths and limitations
Strengths: An easy-to-learn visual representation of the quantities and the relationships between the quantities in solving maths problems. Good for all students but especially for underachieving or intermediate-level students. Good …
A simulation of the Bar Model method
In this task, you will be presented with an example Bar Model task. You are asked to try to model, draw or simulate the example yourself. First consider this example …
Underpinning the Bar Model method with research
This video demonstrates how the Bar Model method fits in contemporary research on learning. The method is widely used for calculating ratios, proportionality, percentages, but it can also be seen …
Presenting the Bar Model method
This video explains what the Bar Model method is, and demonstrates it with some concrete examples. The Bar Model method refers to a particular mathematical problem-solving approach using rectangular bars …
Evaluation of CPA: strengths and limitations
Strengths CPA provides a general easy-to-follow principle for curriculum design and textbook development. CPA also provides a general easy-to-follow principle for maths teachers for their teaching in maths classrooms. CPA …
Underpinning CPA with research – part 2
In this second part, we highlight the Singapore context for CPA and cover so-called ‘concreteness fading’. This technique begins with concrete materials and then explicitly and gradually fades to the …
