The effects of culture on mathematics lessons: an international comparative study of a collaboratively designed lesson
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The effects of culture on mathematics lessons: an international comparative study of a collaboratively designed lesson Stéphane Clivaz 1
& Takeshi Miyakawa
2
Published online: 29 August 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract
This paper reports the results of an international comparative study conducted in Switzerland and Japan of an elementary school mathematics lesson. The principal aim of the study was to advance understanding of the cultural specificities of a mathematics lesson in its totality using concrete examples of lesson design and implementation and of how cultural factors within and beyond the classroom/school shape and produce mathematics lessons in a particular country. We analysed two Grade 4 mathematics lessons designed and implemented in Switzerland and Japan by pre-service teachers in the context of a project-based international exchange programme. The lesson, initially designed collaboratively by the pre-service teachers of the two countries, was ultimately realised in different ways in each country. Specifically, we found differences between the Japanese and Swiss lessons in the structure of the lesson and validation of solutions. To elucidate these differences and identify the cultural factors that yield them, we analysed the resources developed and used during lesson design and implementation (lesson plans, official documents, and textbooks). Furthermore, we discuss three aspects of mathematics lessons that account for the main characteristics of each lesson: collective or individualistic teaching and learning, problem-solving lessons, and distance between theory and practice. Keywords International comparative study . Cultural context . Collaborative lesson design
Notes: Stéphane Clivaz and Takeshi Miyakawa contributed equally to this work. The preliminary results of this paper have been presented at the Eleventh Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME11) and the Third International Conference on Mathematics Textbook Research and Development (ICMT3).
* Takeshi Miyakawa [email protected]
1
UER MS and Lausanne Laboratory Lesson Study, Lausanne University of Teacher Education, Cour 33, 1014 Lausanne, Switzerland
2
School of Education, Waseda University, 1-6-11 Nishiwaseda Shinjuku, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan
54
Clivaz S., Miyakawa T.
1 Introduction Many international comparative studies have been conducted on different aspects of mathematics education (Cai, Mok, Reddy, & Stacey, 2016; Dindyal, 2014; Jablonka, Andrews, Clarke, & Xenofontos, 2018; Leung, Graf, & Lopez-Real, 2006). Large-scale studies such as PISA, TIMSS, and TALIS provide extensive information on education. These studies are complemented by smaller ones that enhance understanding of specific aspects such as students, teachers, and the mathematics curriculum (Cai et al., 2016; Jablonka et al., 2018). Among other aspects, the mathematics lesson became an object of comparative study when the TIMSS video study was conducted in the 1990s. This study highlighted differences in mathematics clas
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