Winners of kangaroo mathematics competition 2020

Xie Jinyu

 Fresh Interview

Let's hear

Let's share her study in the international department!

1、Q：How do you feel when you were studying in the International Department of Suzhou No.1 High School?

A: First of all, I have always wanted to go to university in the UK, and the International Department of Suzhou No.1 High School can help me realize this dream. In the three months of studying in the International Department, I found that the teaching methods of the teachers are very novel and unique. They often add some small activities in the classroom to facilitate us to better understand the knowledge. The classroom learning atmosphere is relatively relaxed and free. After class, teachers will also conduct personal counselling to help us make up for our own shortcomings. As our study is relatively free, we have a lot of time for autonomous learning, which is very helpful to cultivate our autonomous learning ability. I can spend more time and energy on English improvement and professional foreshadowing in the future.

2. Q: first of all, congratulations on your winning in the 2020 kangaroo math competition. How do you feel about this award? What do you want to share with you in math learning?

 A: I am very happy that I can get a good result in this 2020 kangaroo mathematics competition, which is also a proof that I have always loved mathematics. I am very grateful to all the mathematics teachers who have taught me carefully. They have inspired my love for mathematics. The spirit of the international teachers' serious study on mathematics has deeply infected me.

I think there are two key points in learning mathematics. The first is to sort out the wrong questions. As the saying goes, "where you fall, you should stand up." I think the wrong answer is such a role. Sorting out the wrong questions can let us know which piece of knowledge we lack, and further complete our mathematical knowledge network. The second point is to learn to sum up, many mathematical problems are actually changing the soup without changing the dressing. When working on a problem, we should distinguish which questions are of one type, how should we solve this type of problem, find out the method, and then draw inferences from other examples. The above two methods are commonly used in my daily mathematics learning, which are very helpful to me.

3. Q: during your study in the International Department, you participated in many activities, such as cloud public welfare activities in Peru and online cloud teaching activities. What impact did these activities have on you and what did you gain? 

A: The International Department will provide students with many opportunities to participate in background improvement activities, among which the most unforgettable one is the cloud volunteer teaching activity. As I want to apply for education in the future, this activity let me experience the feeling of being a teacher in advance. In the whole process of preparing lessons and giving lectures, although there will be many difficulties, it is also a process of self-improvement and promotion. At the beginning of the class, the students were a little stiff and the classroom atmosphere was not active. Later, after my efforts, I added some extracurricular knowledge and small activities that students were interested in, and the atmosphere gradually became active. Not only students but also me grew up in this activity. Through this activity, I also understand that the teacher's hard work and teaching is not easy. At the same time, this activity has also trained my thinking logic and eloquence ability. These gains have been beneficial to me all my life.

4. Q: do you have any changes in your life or personality after studying in the international department?

A: After coming to the international department to study, my life has been more enriched. In addition to studying, I can have more opportunities to participate in mathematics competitions or international public welfare activities, enrich my experience, but also learn a lot of knowledge that is not available in textbooks. When I was in the International Department, I needed to interact and cooperate with my teachers and classmates. I became more outgoing and more willing to express my ideas and opinions than before.

5. Q: how do you plan for the coming senior grade 12?

A: I am more interested in engineering, so I will choose to study engineering in Grade 12. Generally, after I get the timetable at the beginning of school, I will first formulate a detailed learning schedule according to the contents of the schedule, set a small goal for each stage, and then finish them one by one, and slowly approach my final goal.

For mathematics learning

Mr. Sergei has something to say

1、 In teaching, what kind of teaching methods will be adopted to guide students to learn mathematics actively and interestedly?

The first thing, that each math teacher should do, is explain students why math is so important nowadays. Such cutting edge technologies as Machine Learning or Blockchain, modern studies like Data Science are based on mathematical methods. It means, that the crucial idea of entire course sounds like “if you want to succeed in our fast-changing world you must learn math”. And this idea should be delivered to students and clearly explained.

As for methods, I prefer classical lecture style for large classes. Such method helps students to prepare for university study, where professors and lecturers aren’t going to play with them, divide class into small groups, sing songs and do other odd things. A university lecturer’s style is somewhat stricter.

In my teaching practice I am always trying to show that it’s not difficult to learn math. It’s just a question of a student’s discipline. The famous “practice makes perfect” works great here.

Another important thing for successful math learners is computer skills and even some programming skills. Ideally, all students should have access to computers (in school and at home) to learn Excel, Geogebra and other useful software apps. And probably the best idea for modern schools is to introduce the Computer Science course, which is a perfect addition to Mathematics.

2、 Can you give students some suggestions on math learning methods and skills in combination with their math learning and teaching experience?

I can recommend students to practice math as much as they can. No teacher has so much time to teach everything. It requires students to learn how to work independently, to use internet resources and textbooks. For all students, who want to study abroad I recommend to find As and A level math textbooks (AQA, Edexcel) not only to develop math skills but also to improve their English. The best way to learn math is to solve problems. Thus, problem solving is a main method to use. There are a lot of different software applications and web resources (like Khan Academy, for example) that may diversify the study of math and make it not so boring. I do not know any local apps working without vpn, but I am sure such apps exist too.