Mathematics Classrooms in Twelve Countries: The Insider's Perspective

405 Pages·2006·5.52 MB·English

by  D. Clarke

Mathematics Classrooms in Twelve Countries

Mathematics Classrooms in Twelve Countries
The Insider’s Perspective

Edited by

David Clarke Christine Keitel Yoshinori Shimizu
University of Melbourne Freie Universität Berlin University of Tsukuba
Australia Germany Japan

SENSE PUBLISHERS
ROTTERDAM / TAIPEI
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 90-77874-95-X (paperback)
ISBN 90-77874-99-2 (hardback)

Published by: Sense Publishers,
P.O. Box 21858, 3001 AW Rotterdam, The Netherlands
http://www.sensepublishers.com
Printed on acid-free paper

Cover design: Cameron Mitchell, ICCR, Melbourne, Australia

Cover Photo: Simulated data generation at Flinders Peak Secondary College, Corio,
Victoria, Australia, Used with Permission

All Rights Reserved © 2006 Sense Publishers

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
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SERIES PREFACE
The Learner’s Perspective Study provides a vehicle for the work of an international
community of classroom researchers. The work of this community will be reported
in a series of books of which this is the first. The documentation of the practices of
classrooms in other countries causes us to question and revise our assumptions
about our own practice and the theories on which that practice is based.
International comparative and cross-cultural research has the capacity to inform
practice, shape policy and develop theory at a level commensurate with regional,
national or global priorities. International comparative research offers us more than
insights into the novel, interesting and adaptable practices employed in other
school systems. It also offers us insights into the strange, invisible, and
unquestioned routines and rituals of our own school system and our own
classrooms. In addition, a cross-cultural perspective on classrooms can help us
identify common values and shared assumptions, encouraging the adaptation of
practices from one classroom for use in a different cultural setting. As these
findings become more widely available, they will be increasingly utilised in the
professional development of teachers and in the development of new theory.

David Clarke
Series Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xi

1 The Learner’s Perspective Study 1
David Clarke, Christine Keitel and Yoshinori Shimizu

2 The LPS Research Design 15
David Clarke

3 ‘Setting a Task’ in German Schools: Different Frames for Different
Ambitions 37
Christine Keitel

4 The Role of Seatwork in Three Japanese Classrooms 59
Keiko Hino

5 Mathematics Education Reform in Three US Classrooms 75
Terry Wood, Soo Yeon Shin and Phu Doan

6 Teacher-Dominating Lessons in Shanghai: The Insiders’ Story 87
Ida Ah Chee Mok

7 Mathematics Teaching in Two Singapore Classrooms: The Role of
the Textbook and Homework 99
Berinderjeet Kaur, Low Hooi Kiam and Seah Lay Hoon

8 Fine-Tuning a Language of Description for Mathematics Items
which Incorporate the Everyday 117
Godfrey Sethole, Busi Goba, Jill Adler and Renuka Vithal

9 ‘Ganas’ – A Motivational Strategy: Its Influence on Learners 131
Soledad Asuncion Ulep

10 Case Studies of Singapore Secondary Mathematics Classrooms:
The Instructional Approaches of Two Teachers 151
Seah Lay Hoon, Berinderjeet Kaur and Low Hooi Kiam

11 Students’ Verbal Actions in German Mathematics Classes 167
Astrid Begehr

12 Discrepancies in Perceptions of Mathematics Lessons Between the
Teacher and the Students in a Japanese Classroom 183
Yoshinori Shimizu
vii
13 Students’ Private Discourse in a Philippine Classroom: An
Alternative to the Teacher’s Classroom Discourse? 195
Florenda Lota Gallos

14 The Israeli Classroom: A Meeting Place for Dichotomies 209
Michael N. Fried and Miriam Amit

15 Autonomous Looking-In to Support Creative Mathematical
Thinking: Capitalising on Activity in Australian LPS Classrooms 221
Gaye Williams

16 A Tale of Two Cities: A Comparison of Six Teachers in Hong
Kong and Shanghai 237
Ida Ah Chee Mok and Francis Lopez-Real

17 Mathematics Lessons in Korea: Teaching with Systematic
Variation 247
Kyungmee Park and Frederick Koon Shing Leung

18 Repetition or Variation: Practising in the Mathematics Classroom
in China 263
Rongjin Huang, Ida Ah Chee Mok and Frederick Koon Shing
Leung

19 Constitution of the Classroom Environment: A Case Study 275
Helena Binterová, Alena Ho"pesová and Jarmila Novotná

20 Mathematical Norms in Japanese Mathematics Lessons 289
Yasuhiro Sekiguchi

21 Same from the Outside, Different on the Inside: Swedish 307
Mathematics Classrooms from Students’ Points of View
Jonas Emanuelsson and Fritjof Sahlström

Appendix A: Country Overviews

Introduction 323
Christine Keitel

Australia 327
Gaye Williams, Carmel Mesiti and David Clarke

China 331
Frederick Koon Shing Leung, Ida Ah Chee Mok and Rongjin Huang

viii
Czech Republic 335
Jarmila Novotná

Germany 339
Christine Keitel and Eva Jablonka

Israel 345
Miriam Amit and Michael N. Fried

Japan 349
Yoshinori Shimizu

Korea 353
Kyungmee Park

The Philippines 357
Florenda Lota Gallos and Soledad Asuncion Ulep

Singapore 361
Berinderjeet Kaur

South Africa 365
Jill Adler, Busi Goba, Renuka Vithal, Godfrey Sethole

Sweden 369
Sverker Lindblad

The United States of America 373
Terry Wood

Author Index 377

Subject Index 385

ix