Rongjin Huang

Developing mathematics teachers’ competence through parallel lesson study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine practicing mathematics teachers’ learning through parallel lesson study in China. Lesson study in China has been practiced for decades. Parallel lesson is an enriched mode of lesson study to address the implementation of new curriculum. Design/methodology/approach – The expansive learning perspective has been used to explore the ways practicing teachers learned to improve teaching through the transformation of learning objects and boundary crossing. Findings – Two cases are illustrated and compared to highlight features of teachers’ learning through parallel lesson study. The practicing teachers developed their competence in transforming instructional objectives and task selection and implementation. In addition, they also developed professional vision in alignment with the reform-oriented curriculum. Originality/value – This study makes significant contribution to understanding teachers’ learning through lesson study in China. Meanwhile, it also demonstra...

Prospective Secondary Mathematics Teacher Preparation and Technology

A systematic literature review suggests three positive conclusions. First, engagement with technologies could enhance PSMTs’ understanding of subject knowledge and develop their positive attitudes toward using technologies. Second, incorporation of mathematics technology and practice-based video cases in teaching methods courses could help PSMTs develop their pedagogical knowledge and knowledge about student learning. Moreover, incorporating technologies in mathematics and methods courses and connecting courses with field experiences could promote PSMTs’ awareness of implementing student-centered mathematics instruction and help them identify as technology innovators. Third, PSMTs’ progress in facilitating student thinking, reasoning, and problem solving seemed elusive. Preparing PSMTs to teach secondary mathematics with technology remains an important endeavor and an emerging research area in need of systematic studies and a global effort to develop a cohesive body of literature.

Does Classroom Instruction Stick to Textbooks? A Case Study of Fraction Division

In this chapter, we examined the consistency between textbook and its implementation in classrooms. By investigating how two selected Chinese teachers taught fraction division over four consecutive lessons, and making use of an existing study on the treatments of the same content unit in textbooks, it was found that the sample teachers essentially adopted their textbooks. The teachers put great effort into developing students’ understanding of the meaning of fraction division and justifying why the algorithm of fraction division works by employing a problem-based approach and using multiple representations. They followed the textbooks regarding the conceptualization of concepts and algorithms, the topic coverage, the sequence of content presentation, the approach to developing the concepts and algorithms, and the selection of problems and exercises. Meanwhile, the teachers also demonstrated certain flexibility in constructing their own problems for introducing new knowledge and consolidating the learned knowledge. Finally, the authors argued that the Chinese strategies of adopting textbooks might be attributed to their teaching culture and professional development practice.

Perceived professional knowledge and competence of mathematics specialists and its development in China

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore what professional knowledge and competence (PKC) that knowledgeable others, namely, mathematics teaching research specialists (MTRS) in China, need to know, and how they may develop their PKC. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts mixed methods. A survey on PKC with 549 MTRS is utilized to examine MTRS’ perceived held and ideal PKC and perceived effective ways of developing their PKC. The responses to the open-ended questions on the survey were used to identify additional dimensions of PKC and ways of developing PKC. Multiple techniques of quantitative data analysis were employed to feature the characteristics of PKC and structure of the survey, and the relationship between background variables and perception of PKC. Collectively, this study paints a rich and comprehensive picture about Chinese knowledgeable others’ knowledge and competence, and its development. Findings The data analysis reveals that the participants appreciated the six-dimension model of MTRS’ PKC. They were confident with their PKC in general, but varied in different aspects. The factor analysis showed the six-dimension model could be further clustered into two components: knowledge about mathematics teaching and learning and competence in mentoring and educational leadership, and knowledge about content, assessing student learning, and use of technology. The participants perceived their learning through multiple ways including: learning through reading, attending specific training programs, attending and mentoring teaching research activities both school-based and across regions, observing and debriefing lessons, sharing within online learning communities. All these venues jointly contribute to developing MTRS’ PKC. Originality/value This is the first empirical study on MTRS’ PKC and its development in China based on such a large sample. The findings of this study not only contribute to an understanding of knowledgeable others in Chinese lesson study and providing suggestions for support of their development, but also provide implications for studies of practice-based mathematics teacher-educators globally.

Improving core instructional practice in mathematics teaching through lesson study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how teachers improve core instructional practices in teaching mathematics for problem solving through lesson study (LS). The core practices included launching a task, implementing a task, and orchestrating students’ solutions. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted multiple case study and survey methodologies. Each of three LS groups developed a research lesson on problem solving in algebra through Chinese LS, which includes collaborative planning and repeated teachings/debriefings of the research lesson with support from experts. The data collected included lesson plans, videotaped research lessons and debriefing meetings, and an end-of-project survey. Case studies supported by survey data were utilized to describe how research lessons were improved and what teachers learned from LS. Findings A fine-grained analysis of the data revealed that the participants improved their strategies for teaching for problem solving, which included effectively launching tasks, strategically implementing tasks, and productively orchestrating students’ solutions to the tasks. Further, analyses revealed that the feedback from experts during debriefing meetings played crucial roles in making these changes. Moreover, participants learned how to implement these core instructional practices and changed their views about students’ learning. Originality/value The study uncovers the mechanisms about how teachers improve teaching and their expertise in teaching through Chinese LS. The importance of the dynamic between repeated teaching and immediate feedback from knowledgeable others is highlighted.

Summary and Looking Ahead

Throughout the survey one can see that there is a steady growth in the research around prospective secondary mathematics teacher education. Also several of the studies were repeated in at least two of the sections due to the nature of the factors that were studied. It is difficult to write about teacher knowledge without some acknowledgment of how knowledge or lack of knowledge can impact teachers’ mathematics identities. Furthermore, field experiences are contexts in which PSMTs’ knowledge and identities are impacted and shaped. In addition, the survey revealed that mathematics education researchers are thinking more deeply about how to foster the growth of effective mathematics teachers in a myriad of ways.

Professional Development of Secondary Mathematics Teachers in Mainland China

This chapter examines major practices of the professional development (PD) of mathematics teachers and relevant supporting infrastructures in Mainland China. The first section provides an overview of the teacher education system in China including teacher preparation, teacher licensure, ranking system, and continuing education. The second section focuses on the main practices of PD programs and their latest developments, which include apprenticeships, hierarchical teaching research, lesson studies and lesson contests, and master teacher development programs. Finally, the authors synthesize a model depicting the system of PD in Mainland China, and discuss what could be learned from Chinese practices.

Teaching and Learning Mathematics through Variation in Lesson Study

Since The Teaching Gap, authored by Stigler and Hiebert, was published in 1999, Japanese lesson study as a form of teacher development has been adapted by many teachers and school districts around the world (Huang & Shimizu, 2016). Lesson study challenged the traditional way of teacher professional development, most of which were snapshot workshops to tell teachers what to do on some designated days during a school year.

Strategies for Using Variation Tasks in Selected Mathematics Textbooks in China

In China, mathematics textbooks based on unified national “mathematics curriculum standards” (MOE, 2011) are major and core resources for teachers’ teaching and students’ learning. Mathematics textbooks in China generally emphasize the following aspects: making use of learning situations for which students are familiar; arranging mathematical tasks with variations step by step; guiding students to explore mathematics activities progressively; making contrast, analogy, induction, and generalization with varying learning situations to discover similarities and differences of learning objects and derive the mathematical essence of concrete instances; and finally developing profound understandings of mathematical knowledge.

Teaching Geometrical Concepts through Variation

Chinese students’ superior performance in mathematics in various international comparative studies (Fan & Zhu, 2004; OECD, 2010, 2014) has led to an increasing interest in exploring the characteristics of mathematics instruction in China (Fan, Wong, Cai, & Li, 2015; Li & Huang, 2013).