In this lecture‚ Professor Lianghuo Fan will present a critical review of research that was aimed to investigate the reasons behind Singapore students’ so–called top performance in mathematics as revealed in the international comparative studies over the last decade. Focus will be on his own research in this area. Professor Fan will then summarise the main reasons based on the evidence from different studies and discuss the implications and issues related to this topic, including misunderstandings and assumptions that are not supported by the available research evidence.
This lecture will start at 5.30pm (refreshments from 5pm) on Tuesday 24 January 2012 in Building 44, Lecture Theatre 1041, Highfield Campus.
For more information and RSVP, please contact Sarah Dack [email protected] or alternatively call 023 8059 2522 (x22522)
Professor Lianghuo Fan holds a Personal Chair in Education at the University of Southampton. He completed his undergraduate study in mathematics at Ningbo Normal College (now Ningbo University), China, his MSc in mathematics education at East China Normal University, Shanghai and his PhD in education at the University of Chicago, USA. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from SIM University, Singapore.
Since 1981, Professor Fan has been a school teacher, a head of mathematics and science department in high schools and later a lecturer at Zhejiang Institute of Education in China for about ten years. Since 1998, Professor Fan was on the faculty of the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, before he joined Southampton Education School in 2010. Professor Fan’s broad research interest includes mathematics instruction and assessment, teacher professional development, mathematics curriculum and textbook research, comparative mathematics education, education policy and sociology, and algorithm of polynomial algebra in mathematics. Professor Fan has a wide range of publications in these areas. His latest publications include an internationally acclaimed book, How Chinese Learn Mathematics: Perspectives from Insiders (co-edited with Wong, Cai, and Li) by World Scientific, and Performance Assessment in Mathematics: Concepts, Methods, and Examples from Research and Practice in Singapore Classrooms by Pearson.