A group of teachers from the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) visited Shanghai to absorb and appreciate the teaching methods of Chinese schools, particularly in maths

China came first in maths in the 2012 international tables for maths, while England came 26th. The hope was that the Shanghai trip would illustrate to the 64 visiting teachers how Chinese students have become so successful in the subject and through learned techniques in teaching, planning and colleague support, students would become more enthused with maths.

Mandy Milsom, executive principal of Summerhill and Frome Vale academies travelled to Shanghai, a city with a population of 24 million, at the end of September. Mandy describes the trip as being “absolutely amazing” and told us that she learnt a great deal and is extremely excited to implement some of the practices observed in Shanghai. Mandy says: “Over the two weeks we were given the opportunity to see high quality mathematics teaching and understand the context behind why maths is taught so successfully.

“In Shanghai teachers have real mastery of teaching and  they are all subject specialists – they know their subjects inside out. The students were completely engaged in the lessons I observed. The lessons were 35 minutes long and every student was focused throughout. When the bell rang for the start of the lesson, learning began immediately.”

Looking particularly at group work, practical maths, the aforementioned mastery of mathematics and planning carefully crafted lessons, as well as teacher research groups – the Maths Hub is developing an action plan that will incorporate some of the key messages from Shanghai. Mandy explains: “There are a number of things we can learn from Shanghai, including, ‘practice makes perfect’ opportunities throughout the lesson for children to consolidate and deepen their understanding. The effective use of textbooks and homework to develop depth and fluency.

“Procedural – I know how – and conceptual – I know why – variations are planned into the lessons. ‘Open class culture’ – teachers learning from each other. The strong collaborative culture and teachers regularly being seen by other colleagues. Teacher Research Groups at a local, regional and national level to develop and the sharing of good practice.”

Teachers from Shanghai will be visiting English schools in March next year, working within Maths Hubs.

The late summer trip offered an opportunity for the visiting teachers to get together, swap ideas and discuss education at leisure. Of course, it also provided a valuable experience for the teachers, immersed within the skyscrapers. “There is no green space or birds in Shanghai, it made me realise how much green space we have here,” says Mandy. “It took an hour in the car to get out to green fields. It was surreal to be staying in a high rise – so many floors up!”