Master Mathematics Teachers

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