Experts from the University of Stavanger has for the last years been testing Russian mathematics curriculum on Norwegian school children. At Smeaheia School in Rogaland 65.5 percent of the children achieved the highest level in the 2013 national tests in mathematics. The average for Norway was 25 percent.
The publishing house Barentsforlag in Kirkenes has been asked to help obtain licenses and print books in Norwegian based on Russian mathematics curriculum. Textbooks, work books and teachers’ instructions are some of the things that will be produced, Leader of the publishing house Natalie Romanova says to newspaper Finnmarken.
“The Russian way to teach mathematics gives children more challenges when it comes to observing and analyzing problems. It is not just about finding the answer to a problem, but finding out what lies behind the problem through logical thinking,” Romanova says.
Associate professor Natalia Blank at the University of Stavanger is one of the originators of the projects. She has tested Russian curriculum in primary schools in Rogaland and Hordaland for four years. “Our experience so far is that children are ready for mathematics at a higher level and with a faster progression than what is normal in Norwegian schools,” Blank says. “The Russian textbooks are written by skilled mathematicians and the problems are considerably more varied than in Norwegian textbooks. The pupils learn to explain and give proof to how they work when solving problems.»
Barentsforlag is planning to have the first five textbooks and an Internet portal ready this spring. A working group that includes several experts from the University of Stavanger is ready to start teaching Norwegian teachers the principles of Russian mathematics education.
The 2012 PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) test showed that Norwegian 15-year-olds are performing worse in mathematics than the average in OECD countries.
