Presenting the next unique story of our series #LifeatBSU. Our first guest in the 2023-24 academic year is BSU Secondary Mathematics teacher Mr U.Aduuch. Mathematics teacher Mr U.Aduuch received his qualification and became an examiner teacher at Cambridge Assessment International education’s in 22-23 AY.
Q1: Good morning, Could you tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Aduuch Urichinkhand and I have been working at BSU for four years and it is my 10th year of teaching mathematics. I teach Advanced mathematics and Further mathematics for Year 12, Year 13 students in BSU.
Q2: Could you tell us about the importance of Mathematics as a subject?
Let’s take a real life example. If your children want to apply to the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Biology, or have a professional law degree in the US, or wish to study at a Top 100 universities in the World, one of the main requirements that universities look for from their applicants are their mathematical skills and their mathematics test scores.
In this way, the whole world is acknowledging the importance of mathematics, putting it as the number one consideration. Even the in the field of science, content that isn't necessarily based on mathematics includes mathematical criteria. Similarly, it is scientifically proven that doing mathematics has high importance for development of individuals, such as the ability to think, personal behaviour and more.
Not only in Mongolia, in all curriculum around the world, mathematics is the only language that is given equal ranking with the native language of the country from the 1st grade to the final grade. While chemistry and biology are taught from middle school, and geography is taught for three years from the 9th grade, mathematics is the only science that is taught for 13 years alongside the mother tongue.
Q3: Could you explain more about BSU’s mathematics curriculum.
In any education, it is important to ‘build’ a person. In the British curriculum, before learning to be a mathematician, it is important for children to learn about life and their surrounding environment and "acquire basic life skills". After that, the importance of acquiring mathematical and scientific knowledge is discussed.
If you imagine the UK education system as an inverted pyramid, at the widest and base are kindergartens and primary schools. In this section, subjects do not delve too deep into academic knowledge, but are based on the causation of things, providing students with a variety of general knowledge and covering a lot of subjects.
The UK curriculum provides practical exercises and lots of experiments, meaning that the person should be better prepared for the part of life where he/she can use his/her mathematical skills to solve the basic problems of life. Related to this children can solve science problems with their basic knowledge and basic behaviour. In a secondary school, however, students are divided into faculties and choose lGCSE lessons according to their needs and future profession.
For me, firstly, I teach in the secondary school students who have studied science, especially mathematics, and then wish to use their maths scores to study abroad, and secondly, I teach for Mongolian students who are studying the program to obtain a Mongolian certificate of secondary education at a BSU, and who are about to take the YESH examinations.
International schools in Ulaanbaatar currently do not have a Pure mathematics program, but it has a program called Advanced Mathematics 9709. This program is for secondary school maths. The program currently being studied at BSU is 9231 or Further Mathematics. Further Mathematics means higher mathematics. So, today some of our school children are studying their university mathematics here.
It is understood that the mathematics taught in the university is being continuously taught in the secondary school, which defines the academic base of the teacher and that school.
In my opinion, the mathematics program taught in the university is being continuously taught in the secondary schools, showing the academic base and the level of proficiency of the teachers and the school.
Q4: Congratulations on becoming a Cambridge examiner teacher. Could you explain us what does Cambridge examiner do?
Cambridge Assessment International Education is a provider of international qualifications, offering examinations and qualifications to 10,000 schools in more than 160 countries. Last year, 576,000 children took Cambridge exams worldwise meaning that all those children's handwritten materials are corrected by the Cambridge examiner teacher.
In general, I have no information on how many teachers from Mongolia work as a Cambridge examiner teacher. As for me, I became a Cambridge examiner teacher for Mathematics at the first time of application.
There are numerous international schools with Cambridge programs in Ulaanbaatar, with teachers who are just teaching like me. I want to let the other teachers know that we have opportunities to develop.
With this in my mind, I am trying to develop myself and to work with an international team in the international level, and being the first example as a Mathematics Cambridge examiner in Mongolia.