Mathematics Teaching in Shanghai and Year 7 Mastery
The ‘Shanghai Mathematics Teacher Project’ began in 2014 following on from results from PISA (Program for
International Assessment: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/aboutpisa/pisafaq.htm). The 2012 PISA results below show that
students in Shanghai outperformed students from any other country or region participating in Pisa.
At the beginning of September, Mr Fehr and I visited Shanghai to observe and research Mathematics teaching in
Shanghai. Our pre-conceptions about rote and teacher-led learning were quickly dispelled as we observed engaging and
mathematically rich lessons. We saw that the ‘mastery curriculum’ led to a deep understanding of mathematics and, as
such, there was no need to re-teach content as the students progress through the school.
A mastery approach has the following characteristics:
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Teachers reinforce an expectation that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards in mathematics.
The large majority of pupils progress through the curriculum content at the same pace. Differentiation is achieved
by emphasising deep knowledge, and through individual support and intervention.
Teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons in order to
foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.
Practice and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed variation within this builds fluency and
understanding of underlying mathematical concepts in tandem.
Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual and procedural knowledge, and assess pupils regularly to
identify those requiring intervention so that all pupils make progress together.
With these principles in mind, we will be making a number of changes to our mathematics scheme of learning.
Throughout November:
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To maximise the impact of this project, students will have 5 lessons of maths per week. This reflects the
structure of Mathematics lessons in Shanghai and makes the most of the time the Chinese teachers are
spending at SVC.
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Maths lesson format: Maths lessons will be split into two sections: 40 minutes of instructional lesson time and
20 minutes of support and intervention.
Home Learning: Students will be set a small amount of homework after every lesson. This will be a
consolidation activity based on the objectives of the lesson. The homework will be due the following lesson and
will marked by the teacher.
Feedback: Teachers will mark students’ classwork and home learning every lesson to identify those needing
additional support or enrichment.
Intervention: During the 20 minutes of intervention the teacher will work with any students that found the
previous lesson challenging. Students’ classwork and home learning will help inform this decision. Other
students will correct their work or work collaboratively on an enrichment task.
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After November
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Students will return to three lessons of Maths per week.
We will evaluate the effectiveness of the changes that have been made. Strategies deemed successful will
continue, and those that weren’t will be revised, changed or abandoned.
All year 7 groups will follow the same curriculum, refined and improved through our experience with our visiting
teacher