Do the Math: the Difference Between Chinese and American Teachers

 

This is disturbing -- but not surprising in light of the ever-decreasing caliber of people going into teaching.  For example, I just found out that the average combined SAT scores of college students who are education majors is 961 -- 4th lowest among 23 possible majors.

A new study finds that while American teachers know more about theories of teaching, Chinese teachers can do the math

For the past 20 years, studies of math achievement have shown that Chinese (and other East Asian) children consistently outperform their American counterparts in almost every area.  Explanations have focused on differences ranging number-word systems and parental expectations to student motivation and curriculum content. 

Now a study published in Contemporary Educational Psychology by Teachers College Professor Stephen Peverly and former TC students Zheng Zhou of St. John's University and Tao Xin of Beijing Normal University suggests that Asian teachers simply know more about math. In a comparison of 162 third-grade mathematics teachers in the US and the People's Republic of China, the researchers found that while American teachers were more knowledgeable about general educational theories and classroom skills, Chinese teachers had stronger knowledge of the subject matter they were teaching, as well as a better understanding of the overall elementary curriculum that their students had covered and would cover in later years. 

The difference was partly attributed to the fact that most U.S. teacher preparation programs focus on how to teach mathematics rather than on mathematics itself -- and that once U.S. teachers become certified they do not often have the opportunity to improve their knowledge of the subject.  The study's authors also suggest that many U.S. math teachers are not adequately prepared to teach their subject because they, themselves, were poorly educated in math in elementary and secondary school.

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Do the Math: the Difference Between Chinese and American Teachers

By Diane Dobry

Published: 12/12/2006

A new study finds that while American teachers know more about theories of teaching, Chinese teachers can do the math

For the past 20 years, studies of math achievement have shown that Chinese (and other East Asian) children consistently outperform their American counterparts in almost every area.  Explanations have focused on differences ranging number-word systems and parental expectations to student motivation and curriculum content.