Department of Mathematics Colloquium
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Abstract |
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| The recent ascendancy of mainland China in
the global marketplace is matched by a similarly impressive rise in the
success of Chinese mathematics education programs. Chinese students are
increasingly outperforming American students on international measures
of mathematics competence; for example, a recent international
mathematics comparison (PISA 2009) ranks Chinese students at the very
top. The increasing influx of Chinese students into STEM graduate
education at top American universities also attests to their
mathematical skill. The ubiquitous “MADE IN CHINA” label seems to apply
more and more to mathematics education as mainland China churns out
employees proficient in mathematics. Much of the popular rhetoric in
the American press paints a gloomy picture for future American
mathematics prospects. Despite this, the Chinese actually envy much
about American mathematics pedagogy—the proverbial “grass being greener
on the other side” aptly fits the comparison of Chinese and American
mathematics education because both countries envy the other. This
presentation is part of the ongoing cooperation between Chinese and
American scholars to learn about the successful mathematics education
practices in the other country. In particular, this presentation
provides for an American audience a window on Chinese mathematics
education practices by comparing Chinese and American teachers’ lessons
on geometric probability, taught to similar groups of Chinese students
at an urban Chinese high school. After detailing the mathematics
content, lesson structures, and patterns of discourse of two specific
lessons, I discuss how the findings of this study both confirm and
challenge current research on Chinese and American mathematics
education.
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