Shanghai's Math Method: Is it as Good as it Seems?
An elementary school math teacher in Shanghai has quite a different job than other elementary school teachers around the world: rather than teaching many subjects, they exclusively teach math to their young pupils. These teachers are given at least five years of training for a specific age of kids. With this, they acquire a complete understanding of how to teach and the way children learn.
For these teachers, a typical day would consist of a mere two classes with the rest of the time being spent on assisting students who need extra help and discussing teaching methods with their colleagues. Middle school and high school teachers are similar in that they spend more time planning and preparing lessons instead of teaching them. Additionally, school days are longer, going from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. and lessons are shorter–each is 35 minutes and then a 15 minutes break. For these teachers, every student must understand the material thoroughly before moving on to the next unit. Due to this pace, teachers would not teach fractions until third or fourth grade, by which time teachers assume that multiplication and division have been mastered.
This system of teaching provides benefits to both students and teachers. Firstly, the teacher is extremely specialized in teaching their subject. The schedule of 35 minutes of school and 15 minutes of play allows both the teachers and the students to have ample time to relax and not get too stressed out. With the system of making sure that every student comprehends the material completely, children from lower classes can achieve their potential. In fact, data and testing have suggested that children from working class families in Shanghai do better academically than higher class families in the West.
However, this system is inherently flawed. Despite the many breaks, the long school hours make the day tiring. It is somewhat similar to our school schedule here; many students are very tired from a ten hour day, despite the multiple breaks in the middle. This system also increases stress on students. 35 minutes classes are also not effective for learning. And to top it off, these class sizes are larger, making it harder to get individualized attention and help in class.
Every child must completely understand the math concept before moving on. This would inevitably waste time for some to wait for others. For example, if a small fraction of students does not understand the material, the majority of students would have to wait for each individual to completely understand. With larger class sizes, this again slows down the speed of the class. Furthermore, an estimated 80 percent of students receive private lessons outside of school. This destroys the atmosphere that this system is trying to set up–having the students advance in school collectively as a group. Compared to Western-style teaching, this method is worse. In Western-style teaching, children can often choose the courses they want and can be placed at a level appropriate for them, in which the students are all generally on the same level. In terms of the schedule in Western schools, class days often have class times of at least 45 minutes, with one break in the middle. This system is much more efficient without having multiple breaks hindering the speed of learning.
The schedule at Phillips Exeter is similar in terms of the number of breaks in long school days, which is something that needs to be improved. However, Exeter has a huge range of courses and difficulties in mathematics, allowing small groups of students of similar interests and levels to work together rather than up to thirty students of varying capabilities
So does the Shanghai math system work? The answer is no. There are pros, including specialized teachers and having poorer children achieve their potential, but the downsides far outweigh the prostiring days, ineffective schedules, larger classes, and wasted time. The Harkness method should be applied to school systems like Shanghai’s, which would take a step towards healthier and more effective learning.