Why read this: This article gives students a researcher's view of two real classrooms in dialogue: generalist elementary teachers in Windsor, Ontario, working alongside specialist math teachers in Chongqing, China. The reading purpose is to follow a dual stance: Ontario math education has genuine strengths worth defending, and at the same time has practical lessons to borrow from Chinese practice. Mandarin L1 readers will recognise the Fang and Shou pair and can use that knowledge to anchor the article's central claim about consolidation. The piece is a useful model of how researchers write for the general public, mixing test data, named voices and a hedged recommendation in roughly 700 words.
What to notice: Watch how the author holds two positions at the same time, defending Ontario and proposing change, without collapsing into a single side. Notice the work that reporting verbs do (reflected, noted, emphasised, characterised) and the careful hedging (modest, uneven, may, would, should). Track who is speaking in each quotation: a Chinese specialist, a Canadian Grade 5 teacher, researcher Christine Suurtamm or the author. Pay attention to nominalisations like consolidation, autonomy, modelling and efficacy, which carry a lot of meaning in compact form, and to the way subheads guide the argument from data, to dialogue, to challenges, to a closing call for evolution rather than a revolution.
Skills practised: Students practise tracking a hedged, multi-voice argument across an extended text, distinguishing reporting verbs that all mean roughly to say but carry different evaluative weight, and unpacking nominalised subject phrases into clearer verb sentences. They also practise reading statistical reporting (per cent figures, year-on-year change) and integrating it with qualitative interview evidence, and recognising the quote-then-interpret pattern typical of researcher op-eds. Discussion can extend these skills to evaluating the strength of the evidence and to comparing the Ontario picture with their own schooling systems.
What Ontario and Chinese math classrooms can teach each other
A multi-year research dialogue between teachers in Windsor and Chongqing suggests that Ontario's math education has real strengths worth defending, and a few practical lessons worth borrowing.
Tap any green word in the article to see its meaning.
What sort of classroom helps a child actually learn mathematics? In Ontario, the most recent provincialprovincial: Of or pertaining to a province — 省的 test results (2024 to 2025) show only modestmodest: Unassuming in the estimation of one's abilities; moderate in amount or size. — 谦虚的；适度的 improvement in elementaryelementary: Relating to the basic or introductory level of a subject; simple and straightforward. — 基础的；初级的 math, and performance across the provinceprovince: A region of the earth or of a continent; a district or country — 地区；领域 remains unevenuneven: Not uniform — 参差不齐的, especially in the junior grades. Sixty-four per cent of Grade 3 students met the provincial standard, up from 61 per cent a year earlier. By Grade 6, however, only 51 per cent met that mark, meaning roughlyroughly: Approximately; in a way that lacks precision or gentleness. — 大约；粗略地 half of students were not yet at the expected level by the end of the junior divisiondivision: The action of separating into parts; a section of an organisation; disagreement between groups. — 分裂；部门；分歧. Attitudes shifted in the same direction: 67 per cent of Grade 3 students said they liked mathematics, but the figure dropped to 48 per cent by Grade 6.
These numbers point to a slow recoveryrecovery: The process of returning to a normal state of health, mind, or strength after illness or a setback. — 恢复；康复；复苏 from pandemicpandemic: Of a disease: epidemic over a wide geographical area and affecting a large proportion of the population; also, of or pertaining to a disease of this nature — （疾病）大范围流行的；普遍的 disruptionsdisruption: A disturbance or problem that interrupts an activity, event, or process. — 干扰；中断；混乱, and to the fact that more sustainedsustained: Held continuously at a certain level — 持续的 work is needed before teachers and students can engageengage: To participate or become involved in; to attract and hold attention. — 参与；吸引 deeplydeeply: To a great extent; profoundly; intensely. — 深深地；强烈地 with the 2020 math curriculumcurriculum: The subjects and content included in a course of study at a school or university — 课程；教学大纲, which introduced new prioritiespriority: Something that is regarded as more important than other things and dealt with first. — 优先事项；重点 including codingcoding: The process of writing computer software code — 编程；编写代码, social-emotional learning: schoolwork that builds students' emotional and social skills alongside academics — 社会情感学习, mathematical modelling: using math to describe and solve real-world problems — 数学建模 and financial literacy: the skills and knowledge needed to manage money well — 财商;理财素养. My research, grounded in classroom observationobservation: The action of watching something carefully; a remark or comment based on something seen. — 观察；评论, has put Ontario math instruction taught by generalist elementary school teachers: primary-school teachers who teach all subjects, not just one — 全科小学教师 in dialogue with Chinese mathematics teaching delivered by specialist math teachers. The work was supported by a partnership grant: research funding awarded to a team of partners working together — 合作研究资助 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, in collaborationcollaboration: The action of working with someone to produce or create something; a joint intellectual or creative effort. — 合作；协作；合作成果 with researchers Shijing Xu and Michael Connelly.
Through a Sister School Network: a programme pairing schools in different countries for ongoing exchange — 姐妹学校网络 project, generalistgeneralist: A person with a broad general knowledge, especially one with more than superficial knowledge in several areas and the ability to combine ideas from diverse fields — 通才；全才 teachers from a Windsor, Ontario public school and specialist colleaguescolleagues: A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate — 同事 from a Chongqing primary school joined monthlymonthly: Done, produced, or occurring once a month. — 每月的；月度的 online knowledge-sharing meetings. They compared curriculum, taught short demonstrationdemonstration: A public display or exhibition; a march or gathering to protest or support a cause. — 示范；示威游行 lessons on topics such as fractionsfraction: A small or tiny part of something; a number that is not a whole number. — 一小部分；分数, multiplicationmultiplication: A calculation involving multiplication — 乘法运算 and estimationestimation: The process of making an estimate — 估计；估算, and discussed student learning and parent engagementengagement: Active involvement or participation in an activity, cause, or interaction. — 参与；投入；约定. Between 2016 and 2019, Xu and I co-ordinated these monthly exchanges and organised visits in both directions, with Canadian teachers travelling to Chongqing and Chinese teachers visiting Windsor.
What surprised us was how warmly Chinese specialistsspecialist: A person who concentrates on and is expert in a particular subject or activity. — 专家；专科医生 spoke about features of Ontario's generalist model, especially the comprehensivecomprehensive: Including or dealing with all or nearly all aspects of something; thorough — 全面的；综合的 special educationeducation: Facts, skills and ideas that have been learned, either formally or informally. — 学识；所学知识 support system available to students with diversediverse: Showing a great deal of variety; including people from many different backgrounds. — 多样的；多元的 needs and the high level of professional autonomy: the freedom of professionals (here, teachers) to make their own work decisions — 专业自主权 that Ontario teachers enjoy. One Chinese teacher with more than 20 years of experience reflected, “I wish we could have a special education support system like in Canada.” In an interview, mathematics education researcher Christine Suurtamm characterisedcharacterise: To depict someone or something a particular way (often negative) — 描绘;刻画 the same strength differently, noting that the deep trusttrust: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. — 信任；信赖 placed in teachers' professional judgmentjudgment: the ability to make careful, well-considered decisions or form sensible opinions — 判断力；判断, and in their freedomfreedom: The state of being free; the right to act, speak, or think freely. — 自由 to selectselect: To carefully choose someone or something as being the best or most suitable. — 选择；挑选 and sequencesequence: A particular order in which related things follow each other; a set of related events or actions. — 顺序；序列；一系列 activities that address curriculum expectationsexpectation: A strong belief that something will happen or be the case. — 期望；预期 and meet diverse student needs, is a real benefit for Ontario students.
A Grade 5 Canadian teacher in the study described a similarly positive experience when invited to co-plan and co-teach: to plan lessons and teach them jointly with another teacher — 共同备课与共同授课 with a Chinese specialist. She emphasisedemphasise: to show or state that something is especially important (British; US = emphasize) — 强调 how much she valued the collaboration, and hoped Canadian schools could create more structuredstructured: Having structure; organized — 有组织的；有条理的 time for this kind of professional partnership. Suurtamm agreed it would be worthwhileworthwhile: worth the time, effort, or money spent; of value or importance — 值得的；有价值的；有意义的 if Ontario teachers had more time to develop math lessons together. In 2023, the province announced fundsfunds: A sum or source of money — 资金；基金 to double the number of school mathematics coaches; research into how the coachingcoaching: The process by which someone is coached or tutored; instruction — 辅导；指导 model has been implementedimplement: To put a plan or decision into effect. — 实施；执行, how teachers actually use it, and what classroom effects follow would tell us much more about the efficacyefficacy: Ability to produce a desired effect under ideal testing conditions — 功效；效力 of this approachapproach: A way of dealing with a situation or problem; a method — 方法；途径.
Our work also pointed to two challenges Ontario might address by learning thoughtfully from Chinese practice. The first is teacher collaboration. Chinese specialists routinelyroutinely: In a routine manner, in a way that has become common or expected — 例行地 engage in co-planning, lesson observation and collective reflection: teachers thinking together about how a lesson went and how to improve — 集体反思, while Canadian generalists, despite a clear appetiteappetite: A natural desire for food, or a strong desire or liking for something. — 食欲；胃口；欲望 for it, have few sustained chances to work together in this way. The second is consolidationconsolidation: The act or process of consolidating, making firm, or uniting; the state of being consolidated — 整合，合并. One Chinese teacher described mathematics teaching as a dynamicdynamic: Characterised by constant change, activity, or progress; energetic and forceful — 动态的；充满活力的 balance between Fang, which means open exploration: letting students freely investigate ideas and try different approaches — 开放式探究 and the use of multiplemultiple: Having or involving several parts, elements, or members. — 多个的；多种的 strategies, and Shou, a structured consolidation phasephase: A distinct stage in a process of change or development. — 阶段；时期 in which key ideas are clarifiedclarify: To make a statement or situation less confused and more understandable. — 澄清；阐明, connections are synthesizedsynthesize: To combine two or more things to produce a new product — 综合；整合 and methods are formalizedformalize: To give something a formal or official standing — 正式确立；使正规化. The consolidation phase in Ontario classrooms, by comparison, often feels comparatively thin.
None of this argues for a wholesale switch to a specialist system. As Suurtamm puts it, curriculum change should be seen as an evolution rather than a revolution: gradual development instead of sudden total change — 渐进而非颠覆: it builds thoughtfully on what already characterizescharacterize: To describe the distinctive nature or features of something; to be a typical feature of something. — 描述……的特征；是……的典型特征 good practice, rather than replacing it overnightovernight: During or for the night; suddenly or very quickly. — 一夜之间；突然. The picture from our research is hopefulhopeful: feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event or outcome — 抱有希望的；乐观的. Ontario's generalist model has genuinegenuine: Not counterfeit, spurious, false, or adulterated — 真正的；非伪造的；非假冒的 strengths that educatorseducator: A person who provides instruction or education, especially as a profession. — 教育工作者；教育家 in the province can take pridepride: A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction from one's own achievements or qualities. — 自豪；骄傲 in, and at the same time has room to borrow practical habits, such as regular co-planning and stronger consolidation, from elsewhereelsewhere: In, at, or to some other place or places. — 在别处；到其他地方. Before pursuingpursue: To follow or chase someone; to continue with an activity or course of action. — 追求；从事；追赶 new directions, it is worth pausing to recogniserecognise: To acknowledge the existence or legality of; to treat as valid or worthy of consideration — 承认 the foundationsfoundation: An underlying basis or principle; an organisation set up to fund charitable work — 基础；基金会 Ontario already has.
What sort of classroom helps a child actually learn mathematics? In Ontario, the most recent provincialprovincial: Of or pertaining to a province — 省的 test results (2024 to 2025) show only modestmodest: Unassuming in the estimation of one's abilities; moderate in amount or size. — 谦虚的；适度的 improvement in elementaryelementary: Relating to the basic or introductory level of a subject; simple and straightforward. — 基础的；初级的 math, and performance across the provinceprovince: A region of the earth or of a continent; a district or country — 地区；领域 remains unevenuneven: Not uniform — 参差不齐的, especially in the junior grades. Sixty-four per cent of Grade 3 students met the provincial standard, up from 61 per cent a year earlier. By Grade 6, however, only 51 per cent met that mark, meaning roughlyroughly: Approximately; in a way that lacks precision or gentleness. — 大约；粗略地 half of students were not yet at the expected level by the end of the junior divisiondivision: The action of separating into parts; a section of an organisation; disagreement between groups. — 分裂；部门；分歧. Attitudes shifted in the same direction: 67 per cent of Grade 3 students said they liked mathematics, but the figure dropped to 48 per cent by Grade 6.
These numbers point to a slow recoveryrecovery: The process of returning to a normal state of health, mind, or strength after illness or a setback. — 恢复；康复；复苏 from pandemicpandemic: Of a disease: epidemic over a wide geographical area and affecting a large proportion of the population; also, of or pertaining to a disease of this nature — （疾病）大范围流行的；普遍的 disruptionsdisruption: A disturbance or problem that interrupts an activity, event, or process. — 干扰；中断；混乱, and to the fact that more sustainedsustained: Held continuously at a certain level — 持续的 work is needed before teachers and students can engageengage: To participate or become involved in; to attract and hold attention. — 参与；吸引 deeplydeeply: To a great extent; profoundly; intensely. — 深深地；强烈地 with the 2020 math curriculumcurriculum: The subjects and content included in a course of study at a school or university — 课程；教学大纲, which introduced new prioritiespriority: Something that is regarded as more important than other things and dealt with first. — 优先事项；重点 including codingcoding: The process of writing computer software code — 编程；编写代码, social-emotional learning: schoolwork that builds students' emotional and social skills alongside academics — 社会情感学习, mathematical modelling: using math to describe and solve real-world problems — 数学建模 and financial literacy: the skills and knowledge needed to manage money well — 财商;理财素养. My research, grounded in classroom observationobservation: The action of watching something carefully; a remark or comment based on something seen. — 观察；评论, has put Ontario math instruction taught by generalist elementary school teachers: primary-school teachers who teach all subjects, not just one — 全科小学教师 in dialogue with Chinese mathematics teaching delivered by specialist math teachers. The work was supported by a partnership grant: research funding awarded to a team of partners working together — 合作研究资助 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, in collaborationcollaboration: The action of working with someone to produce or create something; a joint intellectual or creative effort. — 合作；协作；合作成果 with researchers Shijing Xu and Michael Connelly.
Through a Sister School Network: a programme pairing schools in different countries for ongoing exchange — 姐妹学校网络 project, generalistgeneralist: A person with a broad general knowledge, especially one with more than superficial knowledge in several areas and the ability to combine ideas from diverse fields — 通才；全才 teachers from a Windsor, Ontario public school and specialist colleaguescolleagues: A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate — 同事 from a Chongqing primary school joined monthlymonthly: Done, produced, or occurring once a month. — 每月的；月度的 online knowledge-sharing meetings. They compared curriculum, taught short demonstrationdemonstration: A public display or exhibition; a march or gathering to protest or support a cause. — 示范；示威游行 lessons on topics such as fractionsfraction: A small or tiny part of something; a number that is not a whole number. — 一小部分；分数, multiplicationmultiplication: A calculation involving multiplication — 乘法运算 and estimationestimation: The process of making an estimate — 估计；估算, and discussed student learning and parent engagementengagement: Active involvement or participation in an activity, cause, or interaction. — 参与；投入；约定. Between 2016 and 2019, Xu and I co-ordinated these monthly exchanges and organised visits in both directions, with Canadian teachers travelling to Chongqing and Chinese teachers visiting Windsor.
What surprised us was how warmly Chinese specialistsspecialist: A person who concentrates on and is expert in a particular subject or activity. — 专家；专科医生 spoke about features of Ontario's generalist model, especially the comprehensivecomprehensive: Including or dealing with all or nearly all aspects of something; thorough — 全面的；综合的 special educationeducation: Facts, skills and ideas that have been learned, either formally or informally. — 学识；所学知识 support system available to students with diversediverse: Showing a great deal of variety; including people from many different backgrounds. — 多样的；多元的 needs and the high level of professional autonomy: the freedom of professionals (here, teachers) to make their own work decisions — 专业自主权 that Ontario teachers enjoy. One Chinese teacher with more than 20 years of experience reflected, “I wish we could have a special education support system like in Canada.” In an interview, mathematics education researcher Christine Suurtamm characterisedcharacterise: To depict someone or something a particular way (often negative) — 描绘;刻画 the same strength differently, noting that the deep trusttrust: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. — 信任；信赖 placed in teachers' professional judgmentjudgment: the ability to make careful, well-considered decisions or form sensible opinions — 判断力；判断, and in their freedomfreedom: The state of being free; the right to act, speak, or think freely. — 自由 to selectselect: To carefully choose someone or something as being the best or most suitable. — 选择；挑选 and sequencesequence: A particular order in which related things follow each other; a set of related events or actions. — 顺序；序列；一系列 activities that address curriculum expectationsexpectation: A strong belief that something will happen or be the case. — 期望；预期 and meet diverse student needs, is a real benefit for Ontario students.
A Grade 5 Canadian teacher in the study described a similarly positive experience when invited to co-plan and co-teach: to plan lessons and teach them jointly with another teacher — 共同备课与共同授课 with a Chinese specialist. She emphasisedemphasise: to show or state that something is especially important (British; US = emphasize) — 强调 how much she valued the collaboration, and hoped Canadian schools could create more structuredstructured: Having structure; organized — 有组织的；有条理的 time for this kind of professional partnership. Suurtamm agreed it would be worthwhileworthwhile: worth the time, effort, or money spent; of value or importance — 值得的；有价值的；有意义的 if Ontario teachers had more time to develop math lessons together. In 2023, the province announced fundsfunds: A sum or source of money — 资金；基金 to double the number of school mathematics coaches; research into how the coachingcoaching: The process by which someone is coached or tutored; instruction — 辅导；指导 model has been implementedimplement: To put a plan or decision into effect. — 实施；执行, how teachers actually use it, and what classroom effects follow would tell us much more about the efficacyefficacy: Ability to produce a desired effect under ideal testing conditions — 功效；效力 of this approachapproach: A way of dealing with a situation or problem; a method — 方法；途径.
Our work also pointed to two challenges Ontario might address by learning thoughtfully from Chinese practice. The first is teacher collaboration. Chinese specialists routinelyroutinely: In a routine manner, in a way that has become common or expected — 例行地 engage in co-planning, lesson observation and collective reflection: teachers thinking together about how a lesson went and how to improve — 集体反思, while Canadian generalists, despite a clear appetiteappetite: A natural desire for food, or a strong desire or liking for something. — 食欲；胃口；欲望 for it, have few sustained chances to work together in this way. The second is consolidationconsolidation: The act or process of consolidating, making firm, or uniting; the state of being consolidated — 整合，合并. One Chinese teacher described mathematics teaching as a dynamicdynamic: Characterised by constant change, activity, or progress; energetic and forceful — 动态的；充满活力的 balance between Fang, which means open exploration: letting students freely investigate ideas and try different approaches — 开放式探究 and the use of multiplemultiple: Having or involving several parts, elements, or members. — 多个的；多种的 strategies, and Shou, a structured consolidation phasephase: A distinct stage in a process of change or development. — 阶段；时期 in which key ideas are clarifiedclarify: To make a statement or situation less confused and more understandable. — 澄清；阐明, connections are synthesizedsynthesize: To combine two or more things to produce a new product — 综合；整合 and methods are formalizedformalize: To give something a formal or official standing — 正式确立；使正规化. The consolidation phase in Ontario classrooms, by comparison, often feels comparatively thin.
None of this argues for a wholesale switch to a specialist system. As Suurtamm puts it, curriculum change should be seen as an evolution rather than a revolution: gradual development instead of sudden total change — 渐进而非颠覆: it builds thoughtfully on what already characterizescharacterize: To describe the distinctive nature or features of something; to be a typical feature of something. — 描述……的特征；是……的典型特征 good practice, rather than replacing it overnightovernight: During or for the night; suddenly or very quickly. — 一夜之间；突然. The picture from our research is hopefulhopeful: feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event or outcome — 抱有希望的；乐观的. Ontario's generalist model has genuinegenuine: Not counterfeit, spurious, false, or adulterated — 真正的；非伪造的；非假冒的 strengths that educatorseducator: A person who provides instruction or education, especially as a profession. — 教育工作者；教育家 in the province can take pridepride: A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction from one's own achievements or qualities. — 自豪；骄傲 in, and at the same time has room to borrow practical habits, such as regular co-planning and stronger consolidation, from elsewhereelsewhere: In, at, or to some other place or places. — 在别处；到其他地方. Before pursuingpursue: To follow or chase someone; to continue with an activity or course of action. — 追求；从事；追赶 new directions, it is worth pausing to recogniserecognise: To acknowledge the existence or legality of; to treat as valid or worthy of consideration — 承认 the foundationsfoundation: An underlying basis or principle; an organisation set up to fund charitable work — 基础；基金会 Ontario already has.
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the 2024 to 2025 provincial results, which statement best describes Ontario's elementary math performance?
- 02
Why does the author describe the dynamic balance between Fang and Shou?
- 03
Which sentence best captures the author's overall stance on Ontario math education?
- 04
How does the author use the voices of Chinese teachers, the Canadian Grade 5 teacher and researcher Christine Suurtamm to support her argument? Refer to at least two examples.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
Evaluate the author's claim that Ontario should learn from Chinese math teaching, but only as an evolution rather than a revolution. What evidence in the article supports this position, and what might be missing?
Suggested length: ~80 words
Questions
Check your understanding
- 01
According to the 2024 to 2025 provincial results, which statement best describes Ontario's elementary math performance?
- 02
Why does the author describe the dynamic balance between Fang and Shou?
- 03
Which sentence best captures the author's overall stance on Ontario math education?
- 04
How does the author use the voices of Chinese teachers, the Canadian Grade 5 teacher and researcher Christine Suurtamm to support her argument? Refer to at least two examples.
Suggested length: ~80 words
- 05
Evaluate the author's claim that Ontario should learn from Chinese math teaching, but only as an evolution rather than a revolution. What evidence in the article supports this position, and what might be missing?
Suggested length: ~80 words