UK classrooms use Shanghai math books

SHANGHAI - The English version of a popular set of math books from Shanghai debuted at the Shanghai Book Fair, attracting a number of readers.

In March, HarperCollins signed an agreement with the Shanghai Century Publishing Group at the London Book Fair to publish an English version of math books used in Shanghai's primary schools. The series of 36 books, called Real Shanghai Mathematics, will be used by students in Britain from September.

Chinese students perform excellently in math in the Program for International Student Assessment, an international study assessing 15-year-olds on key knowledge and skills, mainly in the areas of reading, math and science. According to the study's website, students from Shanghai came first in the PISA in 2012. British participants were 25 places behind. The assessment has been conducted every three years since 2000.

In 2016, the UK Department for Education said it would spend $53 million on a four-year program to spread the Shanghai Teaching for Mastery Program in the country.

Chen Yilin, a math teacher from Shanghai Luwan No 1 Primary School, helped translate Real Shanghai Mathematics into English.

"The team spent three months on translation - word for word, with some adaptations - in accordance with the requirements of the British side," she said.

The deal between Harper-Collins and the Shanghai publishing group is the first time that a whole series of Chinese textbooks has been transferred to the national education system of a developed economy. But it is not the first time HarperCollins has taken Chinese textbooks overseas.

In 2015, the company published an English version of The Shanghai Math Project, supplementary study materials originally published by East China Normal University Press and used by students in Shanghai for over 20 years.

"Given the cultural and curricular differences, merely translating a Shanghai textbook into English would cause problems for students, so the adaptation work is important. Still, we have delivered the essence of Shanghai math to British teachers and students," said Ni Ming of East China Normal University Press.

More than 400 schools in Britain are already using that material, the Chinese publisher said.

"The feedback is mostly positive," said Fan Lianghuo of the University of Southampton.

Academic exchanges between math teachers from China and Britain started in 2014. Chen spent two weeks teaching in Thorndown Primary School in Cambridgeshire in January last year.

Chen taught the same way she did in Shanghai in Thordown. She encourages full class participation to ensure no students lag. She also demonstrated the teacher-led mastery method to groups of British teachers.

"There used to be a perception among many British teachers that teacher-led lessons were boring. After my class, I was told by British teachers that they found my method more effective," said Chen.

UK Minister of State for School Standards Nick Gibb said there is much to learn from the Chinese approach to teaching mathematics in his speech at a British school in 2016.

Shanghai teaching methods depend on instructions from the teacher, with constant questions and interactions between the teacher and students, Gibb said.

Imraan Ahmed's 11-year-old daughter studies at a private school in Birmingham and takes her math score very seriously.

"If you want a better future or career, you'd better learn math quickly and hard, especially given Brexit," the fashion store owner said. "It's not only about math but also about competitiveness."