8,000 U.K. Schools to Adopt Chinese “Mastery Approach” to Teaching Math

Jul 20, 2016 07:25 AM EDT

$Chinese Mastery Approach to Teaching Math$

(Photo : VCG/VCG via Getty Images) Primary school students compete calligraphy on the playground on Jan. 13, 2015 in Dongyang of Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province of China. Pupils of Dongyang Experimental Primary School took part in a calligraphy competition on the playground and formed a logo of 2016 to welcome the New Year on Wednesday.

More than 8,000 primary schools in the United Kingdom will adopt the Chinese "mastery approach" to teaching math in a bid to make English students at par with their Asian counterparts.

Spearheaded by the UK government, the initiative will receive up to 41 million pounds ($54.3 million) in funding, the China Daily reported.

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Under the program, children as young as 5 will be asked to do sums and other math exercises, wherein they should first master each concept before moving on to more difficult material.

The decision to embrace the Chinese mastery approach to teaching math was made after international tests revealed that Shanghai students ranked first in the math program for International Student Assessment in 2012.

On the other hand, British students ranked 26^th in the assessment.

The assessment also showed that 15-year-olds in China are three years ahead of their English counterparts with regards to their ability to solve math problems.

Responding to the results of the assessment, Britain has invited over 120 teachers from Shanghai to share the secrets of their success in the project, which the British media have dubbed "Shanghai Maths".

In his remarks during the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education last week, Nick Gibb, the UK schools minister, noted that the Shanghai style of math should be integrated in England's education system.

"We are seeing a renaissance in maths teaching in this country, with good ideas from around the world helping to enliven our classrooms.

Gibb believes that government's efforts will bear fruit and ensure that the nation's students will overcome their fear of math, and become adequately prepared for advanced studies on the subject.

Lyu Jiexin, a senior coordinator of China-UK math exchange programs, believes that adopting the Chinese "mastery approach" to teaching math is not merely a matter of copying the system but a strategy of the British government to further enhance its math education program.

Tagschina, Chinese Mastery Approach To Teach Math, Chinese Math Program