安省应向中国数学教学看齐

 

 

不断培养出国际数学天才的上海，其数学教育得以在全球傲视群雄。上海学生在2010年首次参加国际标准化测试便拔得头筹，其学生的数学水平比经合组织成员国学生的平均水平领先大约三年，令全世界刮目相看。毫无疑问，中国的数学教育令其他国家难望项背。

Shanghai math education has gained bragging rights on the global stage as classrooms in the city continue to churn out international math geniuses. When Shanghai students stunned the world by wining the top prize in their international standardized testing debut in 2010, Shanghai students were three years ahead of average students in OECD countries. Undoubtedly, no country does better in math than China. 

但在中国数学教育蒸蒸日上的同时，安省学生的数学水平却深陷危机。今年有半数6年级学生EQAO数学测试不达标。在安省政府终于决定修改数学教程大纲之际，要求安省向中国数学教学看齐，以提高学生数学成绩的呼声亦不断高涨。

While China thrives in math, Ontario students face a math crisis, with half of Gr6 students failing the EQAO test this year. As Ontario government struggles to revamp its math curriculum, calls for the province to look China to improve its math performance has gained momentum. 

与西方国家目前所用的数学教学大纲相比，中国的数学教程大纲要求要高得多。除了依靠大量练习和注重基本功训练，中国的数学教育实施了“掌握式教学法”，这一教学法是基于如果给予适当的指导，所有学生都能获得数学好成绩之理念。它使得学生能够更深入地了解数学概念，并要求他们将各种抽象数学概念应用于不同的现实生活中。在使用这种教学法时，教师一直要到全班学生都掌握了现教的数学概念后，才会继续教下一个新概念。

Chinese curriculum is significantly more demanding than the curriculum in Western countries.  Apart from relying on massive drills and focusing on basic exercises, Chinese math education adopts a  “mastery approach”  -- based on beliefs that all students can succeed in math learning if given proper instructions. It allows students to go into a concept in greater length, requesting them to apply the abstract ideas in different real-life context. Under this approach, the teacher won’t move on to the next concept until the whole class has demonstrated understanding of the current one. 

在加国和其他西方国家学生的数学成绩持续下降之际，“掌握式教学法”被越来越多人视为是可以提升学生国际数学竞赛排名的法宝。在安省教师提出建议称将复杂的三角棱柱表面积和体积的计算方法剔除6年级数学大纲时，中国的学生已经在学习利用正弦和余弦曲线、三角法以及麦当来的金色拱门计算上海著名的东方明珠电视塔的高度。

 

The mastery approach is believed to have propelled the students to the top rankings in the international math competitions, at the time when Canada and other Western countries face a declining result. As some Ontario teacher suggest to remove the difficult formula of surface area and volume of a triangular prism from Grade 6 math courses, students in China are learning to calculate the height of Shanghai's famous Oriental Pearl Tower by using sine and cosine curves, trigonometry and McDonald's Golden Arches. 

中国学生优异的数学成绩也令中国数学教师获得国际数学教育界的认可。他们堪称全世界最勤勉和最尽责的数学教师。安省教师往往要到一个星期后才会将批阅好的作业发给学生，而中国教师则会通宵达旦批改学生的家庭作业，使学生第二天就收到批改结果。

The credit of students’ stellar performance also goes to Chinese math teachers who have gained recognitions from the global math community.  They are the most diligent and committed math teachers in the world. Unlike Ontario teachers who wouldn’t return marked assignment to students until a week later, Chinese teachers would correct students’ homework overnight, providing feedback to them the very next day.

上海市还非常注重教师的技能和资历，并营造了奖励最优者的竞争环境。此外，教师也需要接受完整的培训 ，并会定期接受测试。如果他们的测试成绩不达标，他们就会丢掉饭碗。

The city of Shanghai also obsesses over the teachers’ skills and their credentials, creating a competitive environment that rewards the best. The teachers are also required for complete training programs and to face ongoing test periodically. If their test scores don’t reach a certain level, their job is gone. 

中国学生卓越的数学成绩也激励了许多西方国家数学热情。英国所派的对上海进行实地考察的代表团深深被遍布上海高中教室内的数学激情所感染，英国政府已经开始实施一项大胆的计划，着手彻底改革数学教学大纲，采用上海和新加坡使用的优秀数学教学方法。

Chinas’ dazzling math achievement has led many Western countries desperate to match its success. Britain has become the first country that turns to Chinese text books to improve its students’ math score, after a fact-finding-mission to Shanghai that has discovered a math mania prevailing in every classroom. Britain has forged ahead with a bold government backed plan to embark on a journey of math curriculum overhaul, embracing the great math-teaching approach used in Shanghai and Singapore. 

除了英国，阿拉伯、马来西亚和美国等其他一些国家也都有意效仿中国的“掌握式教学法”或是采用其教科书。在全球都在狂热效仿亚洲的数学教学方法时，安省学校却对此漠然视之，无动于衷，这种态度简直让人不可思议。

Besides Britain, a number of other countries – including the United Arab Emirate, Malesia and the US have expressed interest in learning Chinese mastery model or adapting its workbooks. Amid this global frenzy to learn math teaching from Asia, it is unfathomable that Ontario schools would not follow the suite.