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Authors Note
Yifan Wei, freshman, Department of Mathematics, Purdue University
Correspondence of this article should be addressed to Yifan Wei, Department of
Mathematics, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
Contact: wei164@purdue.edu
Abstract
This papers aim is to explore the difference of mathematical learning methods
between Chinese and American high school students. To do the research, I read six
What they paid was the incomplete understanding of the mathematical knowledge that
they learned.
By comparison, American high school students did not focus too much on the
scores that they got in math exams. What mattered to them was the process of
learning mathematics (Fuligni & Stevenson, 1995, p.836). During the process of
learning mathematics, American high school students could get better understanding
and developed better command of mathematical knowledge than Chinese high school
students. I always tried to prove the mathematical theories to help me understand
math theories in depth. (Personal Interview, 2015) another interviewees, Servass,
said to me in the interview.
Mathematics was important for high school students to learn. Approximate
mathematical learning methods could help students learn math well. American high
school students mathematical learning methods focused on the process of learning
math. Students could cultivate their creativity and get profound understanding to
mathematical knowledge that they learned. Chinese high school students
mathematical learning methods focused on getting high scores in math exams.
Students could solve similarly mathematical exercises quickly. Though Chinese high
school students could get extremely high scores in math exams, Chinese high school
students had a smattering of the mathematical knowledge that they learned and their
creativities were restricted (Wang & Lin, 2005, p.10). While American high school
students could understand mathematical knowledge in depth, thus having a better
command of mathematical knowledge than Chinese high school students. Therefore,
in terms of learning mathematical knowledge, American high school students
mathematical learning methods were more beneficial to help high school students
learning mathematics.
References
Chen, C., & Stevenson, H. W. (1995). Motivation and mathematics achievement: A
comparative study of AsianAmerican, CaucasianAmerican, and East Asian high
school students. Child Development, 66(4), 1215-1234
Cohen, L. P. (1985, January 9). The Chinese-A Way with Mathematics. The New York
Times.
Dillon, S. (2010, February 11). Top Test Scores From Shanghai Stun Educators. The
New York Times.
Fuligni, A. J., & Stevenson, H. W. (1995). Time use and mathematics achievement
among American, Chinese, and Japanese high school students. Child
Development, 66(3), 830-842
Hess, R. D., Chang, C. M., & McDevitt, T. M. (1987). Cultural Variations in Family
Beliefs about Children's Performance in Mathematics: Comparisons among
People's Republic of China, Chinese-American, and Caucasian-American
families. Journal of Educational Psychology, 79(2), 179-188
Letterhos, Z. (2015, February 27). Personal interview.
Servass, C. (2015, February 28). Personal interview.
Wang, J., & Lin, E. (2005). Comparative studies on US and Chinese mathematics