Multiple Approaches to Cross-Cultural Mathematics Education Studies: Advancing Understanding of Teaching as a Cultural Activity

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

There is growing awareness that to improve teaching mathematics, one needs to understand the cultural context to be able to grasp teaching as a cultural activity. It is also known that cultural scripts are hard to see from inside the culture and that cross-cultural studies might enable researchers to identify and characterize such cultural scripts. This symposium presents three papers, each applying a particular approach to undertaking cross-cultural studies in mathematics education. Two discussants, from different regions of the world, both with extensive experience in cross-cultural research, will add commentaries and prompt discussion. By bringing together different approaches, lenses, and findings, this symposium aims to advance understanding of the complexities and our capabilities to improve teaching mathematics.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Division K - Section 1: Teaching and Teacher Education in the Content Areas

Chair

• Janine Remillard, University of Pennsylvania

Papers

• A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the Voice of Six Teacher's Guides From Three Cultural Contexts - Janine Remillard, University of Pennsylvania; Hendrik Van Steenbrugge, Mälardalen University; Tomas Bergqvist, Umeå University

• Textbooks at the Interface Among Culture, Policy, and Curricular Practice in France and Norway - Birgit Pepin, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven; Ghislaine Gueudet, University of Brest; Luc Trouche, ENS de Lyon

• Methodological Issues in the Use of Videos in Studying Mathematics Teaching in Different Cultures - Frederick Koon Shing Leung, University of Hong Kong

Discussants

• James Hiebert, University of Delaware

• Fien Depaepe, University of Leuven