Math and Science Teaching in Northeast Asia: Do They Do It Better?
At a meeting sponsored by the Asia Program, Division of United States Studies Program on Science, Technology, America and the Global Economy, and the Division of the United States Studies, in November of 2007, 4 experts on international education spoke on the subject of teaching math and science in the United States verses Northeast Asia. The meeting was introduced by Mr. Mark Mohr, Asia Program Associate. The podcast of the meeting can be found at:
http://wilsoncenter.org/ondemand/index.cfm?fuseaction=media.play&mediaid=5B039C90-0FBC-3AE3-91CD4F2D9AB55840
Over the next few blogs, I will summarized the presentations of the 4 speakers.
The first speaker was Vivien Steward of the Asia Society. Ms. Steward began her talk by indicating that she did not have a math or science background, but was an expert in K-12 education policy. She, ironically has been assisting Asian educators to better understand the education policies of the United States. She believes that there is a lot that we can learn about each other. Ms. Steward indicated that we are in a science and technology-based educational era. Despite spending a lot of money on science and technology, the United States is not competing with other countries and we do not see big gains in achievement. The following are some bullet points which Ms. Steward indicates is why the US is lagging behind China:
Ø China has a ministry of education that has clear national standards in science and math. China's textbooks all link to the standards, the teachers lesson plans and professional development align to the national standards. In contrast, the United States does not have this distinct alignment between our national standards and textbooks/teaching plans, etc. In the United States, the individual states set the standards.
Ø China’s core curriculum of algebra, geometry, biology, chemistry and physics is mandatory. In the United States students have many more choices, which can exclude the higher level math and science courses. The students can opt out of the “harder classes.”
Ø Most of China’s teachers have math and science backgrounds, even at the elementary school level. Higher standards for professional development education are are required for educators in China as compared to the United States.
Ø Chinese students do much better because if they don’t do well, they cannot go to college.
They have no choice.
Ø Academic focus is more ingrained in the culture of the Chinese people than in the United
States.
Ø There is no social aspect in Chinese schools. There are no extracurricular activities or sports to distract the students, as compared to the United States.
Ø The Chinese students spend more time in school and do more homework than their United
States counterparts.
Ø On, average, Chinese students tend to spend an equivalent of 2 years more in school that the
students in the United States.
Interestingly, China is every bit as interested in teaching methods and curriculum in the United States as the United States is in Chinese education. The Chinese realize that inquiry-based learning is very important in innovation and technology. Rogue memorization and regurgitation of facts does not allow for free thought and invention. Creativity is lacking in Chinese-educated students. Also, not every student may be suited for a 4 year college. Our community college system may be a great model for some Chinese students.
In summary, Ms. Steward indicated in her talk that the Chinese and United States educational systems may be moving toward each other. The United States needs to gain a higher level of national standardization and China needs to foster creativity and inquiry-based learning. China is lacking in technology, and both systems can improve in reaching rural student populations.
Bernadette,
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting piece and I will be curious to hear what the other 3 participants have to say. I agree that each nation can learn from one another, just like teachers can learn from one another. It's disheartening to hear that the US lags behind China, but I think we're doing some good in educating our youth!
This is a very interesting question to persue. It has been brought to my attention numerous times that the United States is behind other countries in Science and Math scores, but I really did not have a good idea why. The points that the first speaker made are very interesting and really show the difference between education in China vs. the United States. I also did not know that China would like their curriculum to resemble the United States in regards to inquiry and creativity. Your research has brought out some good information.
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog. As we get a growing number of states moving towards the national curriculum, it will be interesting how education changes. In one of my courses the professor mentioned that the average US textbook has about 35 chapters while the average Chinese or Japanese textbook have 9. While US textbooks have to try and meet the needs of the different state curriculums, the Asian textbooks can focus on the most effective content and delve deeper into that content. Despite many concerns about moving towards a national curriculum, this is one of the potential advantages.
ReplyDeleteOn the technology side, the buzz out of the technology sector is around education. As we move towards a national curriculum, the technology sector is watching closely because if they can develop technology that can assist in improving learning on a national level, then education can be a huge growth and profit center for technology.
I was against the national curriculum and still do not want government mandated lesson plans or to have my hands tied in the classroom, but if we can move towards a national curriculum in a rational way, there can be some positive improvements for our students.
I have not done a lot of reading comparing the U.S. education system to other countries, so this blog was informative and interesting. I'm surprised by a few of the difference between the U.S. schools and Chinese schools. The first is excluding extra-curricular activities from schools to put more focus on education. I agree that sports is a large focus in a lot of high schools and unfortunately can put learning on the back burner. I'd be interested to see a study focusing on educational achievements of students in sports versus students not in sports.
ReplyDeleteAnother fact I found interesting in Ms. Steward's presentation is that China incorporates their National Standards into every textbook. Here in the U.S. we do have national standards, but all textbooks do not relate to these standards. Unfortunately, textbook production and decisions of what to put in the textbooks is left up to politicians who (almost all the time) know nothing about education. It would be nice to see this changed, so teachers could decide what is appropriate content to teach their students.