Attitudes About Mathematics Teaching and Learning in Canada and China

• In Event: 41.021 - Approaches to Cross-Cultural Reciprocal Learning Between Mathematics Educators: Collaborations Between Districts, Schools, and Teachers

Abstract

This presentation describes the attitudes about mathematics teaching and learning from the teacher and student perspective.
Theoretical framework
Successful mathematics programs are often challenging and complex and are more pronounced once we add other countries and different cultural philosophies about teaching and learning. This knowledge-across-cultures literature focuses on the different cultural philosophies of Chinese and Western educational theory and practice (Hall & Ames, 1999; Hayhoe & Pan, 2001). This literature makes it clear that it is not easy to identify good teaching practices and expect them to work in other cultures and countries.
These changes will also be seen in subject areas as well. This presentation will describe the attitudes that have been observed in the teachers and students across the two cultures and how these attitudes may lend to successes and obstacles in mathematics teaching and learning.
Data sources
Our study has followed the collaborative learning relationships between five pairs of elementary mathematics teachers for two academic years. All teachers participated in interviews that focused on attitudes and practices in mathematics teaching and their attitudes towards reciprocal learning. Data was gathered through informal interactions during school visits, emails and text message communications and from interactions between teacher partners that occurred over skype, wechat, and PeppeR online community program.
Students perspectives on mathematics were collected from eight out of the 10 classes via pen pal letters and classroom observations. Each classroom pair traded letters three times during the school year. Classroom observations were done two to five times per classroom.
Results
Chinese and Canadian teachers had very different backgrounds and attitudes regarding their own mathematics abilities and education. In Canada, the majority of teachers voiced that they were not math specialists so they were looking for ways to improve their mathematics content and pedagogical knowledge. The Chinese teachers majored in mathematics education and were confident about their mathematics abilities. Much of their focus was on making pedagogical improvements to improve students learning and to make math more exciting for their students.
Canadian and Chinese students shared about many aspects of their school and social lives within their letters to their pen pals. On both sides, students were emmensly curious about the others culture, school environment and learning habits. The Chinese students were prone to sharing about their overall experience in math class. Some students who shared the difficulties they had with math wrote that they have been “trying to improve”, and offered solutions such as “being less careless” and “practicing more”.
In the Canadian context, the students talked more specifically about the content topics and their opinions about the subject. The students often voiced that they found the subject to be difficult but understood that it is very important and that it “will take them far in life”.
Significance
The primary benefits for teachers and researchers include the degree to which attitudes have changed in teachers and students. Students and teachers had different attitudes towards mathematics at the beginning of the study but, through their interactions, their attitudes changed.

Authors

• Douglas E. McDougall, University of Toronto

• Sijia Cynthia Zhu, University of Toronto