In April, we are embracing a furious spring when seeds sprout. On April 19, 2022, the Fourth Workshop for Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Seed Teacher Trainees in Jiangsu Province was successfully held in a virtual way. Members of the expert group of Jiangsu Province on abacus and mental arithmetic educational experimentation: Qian Zhiping (Director of the Youth Activity Center in Dantu District, Zhenjiang City and Special-grade Teacher of Jiangsu Province), Zhang Jian (Director of Department of Science and Education at Chinese Abacus Museum in Nantong), Gu Peihua (Principal of Taqian Primary School in Changshu City) and Huang Wei (Vice Principal of Changshu Yizhuang Primary School) participated in the whole event. Other participants include all the abacus and mental arithmetic seed teacher trainees and some representatives of key teachers that totaled nearly 100 people.
Main activities during the workshop include: three parts, i.e, online classroom teaching observation, micro-report exchange and expert lecture guidance.
1. Show Themselves at Class
The classroom is the main field of teaching. For example, Wang Xiaoqin, a teacher from Fengli Primary School in Rudong County, Nantong City, teaches “abdication subtraction of two digits minus one digit” to students in the first grade; Yuan Fang, a teacher from Yangzhou Jiangdu District Experimental Primary School, teaches “abdication subtraction minus 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1” to students in the first grade; and Ding Haixia, a teacher from Zhenjiang Yicheng Primary School, teaches “carry plus 1” to students in the second grade.
Three seed teachers have actively explored “the quality classroom model” following government efforts to alleviate students' academic workloads, seriously studied textbooks and carefully designed the teaching process based on actual conditions of students, so that each class features clever design, diverse forms, flexible means and a lively teaching atmosphere, fully exhibiting the infinite charm of abacus and mental arithmetic class!
2. Acquire Knowledge from Sharing and Exchange
At this workshop, Zhang Chunling, a teacher from Lanling Primary School of Changzhou City, gave a micro-report entitled “Proper Trade-offs and Integration--Exploring the Way of Abacus Calculation and Mathematics Teaching Integration”; Wang Ting, a teacher from Qilin Central Primary School of Nanjing City, gave a micro-report entitled “Teaching for ‘Understanding’--Thinking and Practice of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Teaching from the Perspective of Unit”; Wan Liyun, a teacher from Xinghai Primary School in Suzhou Industrial Park, gave a micro-report entitled “Understanding Principles, Integrating Approaches, Learning from Well-designed Class--Teaching Practice and Exploration of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic”; Wei Hua, a teacher from Yicheng Primary School of Zhenjiang City, gave a micro-report entitled “Letting the Ship of New Knowledge Anchor on the Anchor Pile of Old Knowledge”. Four teachers gave wonderful comments on the three video lessons based on their own teaching experience as well as their control and understanding of textbooks, and put forward some unique new ideas and new concepts for abacus and mental arithmetic education and teaching.
3. Seek Growth under Expert Leadership
Gu Peihua, Principal of Taqian Primary School in Changshu City, delivered a report on Raising Students’ Mathematics Core Literacy in Classroom Teaching of Abacus and Mental Arithmetic. She focused on how to raise students’ mathematics core literacy in classroom teaching of abacus and mental arithmetic from three aspects of building number sense among students by integrating math with abacus; developing the thinking ability by integrating approach with theory; and accumulating experience from well-designed activities. By combining theory with practice, explaining profound theories in simple language and leaving many takeaways for students, she provides a path for innovative teaching design of abacus and mental arithmetic classes by frontline seed teachers and defines the direction for driving professional development.
Qian Zhiping, Director of the Youth Activity Center in Dantu District, Zhenjiang City, said, Normal classes can be structured based on the integration of mathematics textbooks and abacus and mental arithmetic textbooks, teaching approaches, teaching ideas and other aspects.
At last, Zhang Jian, Director of the Chinese Abacus Museum, made a summary for this research and study event. Highly affirming the teachers' passion for learning and their love for abacus and mental arithmetic, he hoped that the seed teachers can apply what they have learned, thought, felt and understood into daily teaching practice, and take the initiative to build a regional community of abacus education and constantly raise the team’s research level.
Students benefit from classroom teaching with substantial contents; while teachers gain insights from exciting reports. This event will guide the seed teachers to pursue in depth the “higher-order thinking learning” and “implementation of core literacy”. It’s firmly believed, with the dream, thinking and action, a bright future is waiting for us!