1st Edition
Master Mathematics Teachers Educational and Professional Excellence in Chinese Primary Schools
This practical guide invites teachers to take a journey towards masterly mathematics teaching using the experiences and lessons learnt across five Chinese provinces, Anhui, Beijing, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and Tianjin.
On this journey, you will gain a thorough understanding of: (1) the quality and characteristics of master mathematics teachers’ teaching, (2) the quality of mathematics learning they have nurtured amongst their students in affective, metacognitive and cognitive dimensions and (3) the teaching-learning mechanisms that underpin excellent performance in the three dimensions. Alongside the quantitative and qualitative evidence on educational excellence, you will also delve deep into the trajectories and processes of professional development that generate professional excellence amongst master mathematics teachers and their peers within and across primary schools, up and down China.
Building on data collected with 70 master mathematics teachers and 3,178 students and from teaching research events at the school, municipal, provincial and national levels, the Master Mathematics Teachers (MasterMT) project is, to date, the first that has looked at the legendary tribe of master mathematics teachers in China at such a large scale, and with such breadth and depth. The book offers invaluable insights for any teacher or teacher educator who wants to improve mathematics teaching and learning and generate educational and professional excellence in primary schools and beyond.
More information on the Master Mathematics Teachers (MasterMT) project can be accessed at https://mastermt.org/.
Biography
Zhenzhen Miao is Assistant Professor in Mathematics Education at Jiangxi Normal University, China. Zhenzhen teaches both initial teacher education (ITE) and research courses in Mathematics Education to both undergraduates and postgraduates and is an active contributor to teacher professional development (PD) at local schools, provincial teaching research conferences and the National PD Programme for Rural Teachers in China. Her research focuses on mathematics learning, teaching, ITE and teacher PD in both local and global contexts. She has a PhD from the University of Southampton, UK.
Christian Bokhove is Professor in Mathematics Education at Southampton Education School, University of Southampton, UK. He is also Director of Research at the School and has co-led their Mathematics, Science and Health Education research centre. He has a PhD from Utrecht University, Netherlands.
David Reynolds, CBE, was Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor, Head of Department and Professor of Education at Swansea University, UK. Since 2021, he has been Distinguished Professor of Education at Hangzhou Normal University, China. He has published extensively in the areas of educational effectiveness, comparative education and educational policy (over 20 books, 150 articles) and has lectured, consulted and/or researched in over 70 countries.
Chinese students’ mathematics performance is consistently good in international comparative studies. The role and effort of good mathematics teachers is indispensable. What is the secret of a good mathematics teacher in China? This book will tell you all about it. The MasterMT project aims to unfold the secret behind best teaching practice in primary mathematics in China via a mixed methods study. The study put focuses on three dimensions of mathematics teaching, namely action, mind and pattern. The findings delineate vivid pictures of master mathematics teachers’ individual and collective effects of various factors at multiple levels of student achievement in mathematics knowledge, skills and thinking; their perceptions of schooling and math learning; their professional trajectories. Educators, researchers, teachers and parents will enjoy this book.
Mok Ah Chee Ida, Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong
Education policy across the world is often based on claims made about practices in other countries, and in Mathematics China has been one of the countries often cited. However, much of this commentary is based on overinterpreting international studies such as PISA, with very little research on what mathematics teaching in China is really like. This important book reports on a major study of Master Mathematics Teachers in five Chinese provinces, and provides us with rigorous data and analysis on their teaching practice. This is linked to student outcomes, not just in the cognitive sphere, but in the affective and metacognitive spheres as well. All of these make this book a must-read for anyone interested in mathematics education, and how we can improve it.
Daniel Muijs, Professor of Education and Head of the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen's University Belfast
