Instruction for Mathematics and Science in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades
Grade at Which Specialist Teachers for Mathematics and Science are Introduced
In almost all lower secondary schools and recently, in some primary schools (in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades), mathematics and science are taught by specialist teachers.
For all grade levels, the school year is approximately nine months long. It begins on September 21, and ends on June 21. Schools operate Saturday through Wednesday.
Mathematics and science are taught separately, beginning in first grade. Instructional time at the primary level comprises 25 periods per week lasting 40 to 45 minutes each. For fourth grade mathematics, weekly instruction time totals 3 hours and 20 minutes, which is 16 percent of total school instruction time per week. For fourth grade science, weekly instruction time totals 2 hours and 15 minutes (in three periods lasting 45 minutes each), 12 percent of total school instruction time per week. At the lower secondary level, 13.3 percent of total school instruction time is allocated to mathematics, while 10 percent is allocated to science.
The approach to mathematics instruction is based on a constructivist view and encourages the active participation of students in educational activities. Teachers are expected to move from merely lecturing to acting more as facilitators. The approach to science instruction supports process-, context-, and inquiry-based learning, where students are expected to learn through working with data.
Instructional Materials, Equipment, and Laboratories
The Organization for Educational Research and Planning prepares all textbooks and curriculum materials in Iran. Most mathematics and science textbooks are accompanied by a teacher’s edition and a teacher’s guide, which include recommendations for teaching and learning, assessment methods, and suggested student activities. Almost all teachers use additional workbooks at their own discretion, prepared by private sector organizations, but this is not mandatory. In primary schools, the use of assessment tools to measure student achievement is recommended.
In science, the program of study includes the use of laboratories, which also may be used for extracurricular activities. Equipment for laboratories is funded by the Ministry of Education and individual schools. Students use calculators, abacuses and counters, and drawing and construction tools in mathematics.
For nearly all newly compiled textbooks, a series of instructional videos is produced for teachers, introducing the goals and objectives of the program of study. There also are educational magazines produced under the supervision of the Organization for Educational Research and Planning available to teachers for additional support.
Use of Technology
The use of video tapes, overhead projectors, calculators, and computers in all subject areas and at all grade levels is recommended but not mandated. Individual schools and teachers decide whether to use this equipment, subject to availability. Currently, several schools in large cities use educational software or integrate the use of the Internet into their curriculum. The Ministry of Education prepares instructional tapes and CDs for schools to use and also provides teachers with instructional activities and guidelines in teachers’ editions and teachers’ guides. New mathematics textbooks include instructions on the use of calculators, as students are encouraged to use calculators to check the accuracy of their operations.