Time goes fast, but it also leaves good memories. On December 7, Jiangsu abacus and mental arithmetic education experimental base school work exchange & “seed teacher” training project was successfully launched in the report hall of Yicheng Primary School in Zhenjiang City. Wang Yili, Vice President of CAMAA & President of Jiangsu Abacus Association, Chen Guozhong, Investigator of the Education, Science and Culture Division of the Department of Finance of Jiangsu Province & Secretary-General of Jiangsu Abacus Association, Li Shanliang, Deputy Director of Jiangsu Primary and Secondary School Teaching and Research Office, Guo Qingsong, Teaching and Research Personnel of Jiangsu Primary and Secondary School Teaching and Research Office, Zhu Pinhui, Deputy Director of Dantu District Education Bureau, Zhao Lian, Deputy Director of Zhenjiang Research Center of Educational Sciences, Wang Jinfa, Member of Zhenjiang Research Center of Educational Sciences, Qian Zhiping, Director of Dantu District Youth Activity Center, nearly one hundred heads of abacus and mental arithmetic base schools from across the province, and trainees of “seed teacher” project gathered together. “A song of hope in education” echoed in the report hall, where thoughts collided, consensus gathered, wisdom accumulated, and value was sublimated.
Wang Zheng, a teacher of Hongqi Primary School in Zhenjiang City, taught “Minus-Nine Abdication subtraction”. His class was relaxing, interesting and flexible. The children explored the method of dialing beads to subtract 9 from a number between 10 and 20 through activities such as dialing, thinking and talking. They experienced in the operation, thought in the experience, and communicated after thinking. The arithmetic, algorithm, and dialing methods were taught in an unhurried and lively way, lingering in the hearts of the children as a stream.
He Yuqing, a teacher from Yicheng Primary School in Zhenjiang City, taught “3-Digit Number Multiplied by Four”. The class put students first and was characterized by teacher-student interaction and student-student Q&A, so that students not only knew the answers, but also knew how the answers were obtained. The class not only gave students an intuitive experience, but also developed the abstract thinking abilities of logical reasoning, comparison and generalization, enabling the “experience flower” of mathematical activities to bloom quietly in the classroom.
After the demo classes came the exciting launching ceremony of the “seed teacher” training activity. The launching ceremony was presided over by Mr. Guo Qingsong. Chairman Wang Yili, Deputy Director Li Shanliang, Secretary-General Chen Guozhong, and Deputy Director Zhu Pinhui made important speeches respectively. Afterwards, Chairman Wang Yili and Deputy Director Li Shanliang jointly lit the start button, marking the official kick-off of the “seed teacher” training activity.
Chen Qing, a teacher from Chongming Primary School in Jurong City and the representative of the “seed teacher” trainees, made a keynote speech on the theme of Step on the Long Journey, Shoulder the Heavy Responsibilities, showing the determination to remain true to the original aspiration, work hard and carefully teach every student, and make concerted efforts to achieve more on the road of education. At the end of the activity, all trainees of the “seed teacher” project of the province took a group photo with the leaders and experts on the spot, and this warm and unforgettable moment was engraved with the blend of light and shadow!
On the afternoon of December 7, Chen Haixia from Yicheng Primary School in Zhenjiang City, Wang Li from Qishuyan Dongfang Primary School in Changzhou City, Wang Luxia from Xinghai Primary School in Suzhou Industrial Park, and Zhou Xiaojuan from Fengli Primary School in Rudong County, Nantong City respectively made the following speeches: Pursue Dreams and Fear Nothing, Integrate Teaching, Research and Training: Make Innovative Development While Inheriting the Culture of Abacus Skill, Explore a Better Way of Teaching Abacus and Mental Arithmetic: Always on the Road, and Continuous Learning and Exploration Keep Knowledge Alive. The experience they shared introduced the development of the abacus and mental arithmetic education experiment from multiple levels and angles. The heads and seed teachers of the base schools reflected on themselves during the exchanges and realized self-growth through the reflections.
After experience sharing, the two teachers that have given a demo class briefly explained their own teaching design and teaching philosophy. Special-grade teacher Qian Zhiping appraised the two demo classes and put forward valuable comments and suggestions.
On the evening of December 7, the participating teachers had group activities. The persons in charge of each base reported on the development of the experimental work about abacus and mental arithmetic education. They exchanged confusions, shared experience, and expounded the next steps of each school’s work plan. The abacus and mental arithmetic experimental work of each base school has distinct characteristics. Secretary-General Chen Guozhong and Mr. Guo Qingsong answered questions on the spot and put forward constructive opinions on the next stage of experimental work.
In another group, Director Zhang Jian first interpreted the Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Seed Teacher Training Program, and then conducted a thorough investigation of the professional skills of all the trainees. The content of the investigation included the theoretical knowledge test, i.e. to test teachers’ understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; the abacus skill test, i.e. to count the number of questions about addition, subtraction and multiplication that have been completed within the specified time; the class literacy test, i.e. to conduct on-site class appraisal by watching teaching clips, etc. The teachers were full of enthusiasm about learning, as if they instantly returned to the passionate student age.
On the morning of December 8, during the abacus skill training, Director Zhang gave a material package to the “seed teacher” trainees and requested them to complete a courseware for “Minus-Eight Abdication subtraction” within the specified time. In just twenty minutes, the scenario design, the production of moving beads, and key and difficult points were solved one after another. Some teachers have some regrets when handing in the courseware. Yet as Director Zhang said, the regrettable blank is the most beautiful, as it is the source of motivation and lights the flame of expectation.
Finally, Secretary-General Chen made a concluding statement on this learning arrangement: the activity was not only a rewarding trip but also a big success. The Secretary-General emphasized that it was necessary to deeply understand General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on the inheritance and development of excellent Chinese traditional culture, strengthen cultural self-confidence, build a high understanding of the significance of promoting excellent Chinese traditional culture into textbooks, classrooms, and campuses, and focus on the fundamental task of moral education, so as to bury the seeds of excellent Chinese traditional culture in the hearts of children, and cultivate culturally confident builders and successors of the socialist cause.
This activity has further promoted the construction of the province’s abacus and mental arithmetic education experimental base schools, and accelerated the training of the province’s team of backbone teachers for the experimental education of abacus and mental arithmetic.