Session Information
24 SES 10, Algebra Teaching Around the World: Exploring Mathematics Classrooms in China, Japan, Norway and Sweden
Symposium
Contribution
This presentation reports on the description and interpretation of a sequence of ten Japanese 8th grade mathematics lessons on simultaneous equations. One specific feature of Japanese classrooms is the explicit connection and coherence between lessons (Shimizu, 2007). In Japanese class, several lessons have a common theme, even lessons on different theme have crucial connections, and thus a unit as a whole is well-structured. This study investigated factors that affect student awareness of the explicit connections among lessons. The paper analyses didactical situations purposefully constituted by the teacher in order to elicit and benefit from students’ contributions and promote their progressive understanding of new mathematical concept of simultaneous equations. According to socio-cultural tradition, the author designates such a didactical situation as “Construction Zone” (Newman et al, 1982) in which students with different levels of understanding can interact with each other and have a learning opportunity for deeper understanding. “Constitutive ethnography" (Mehan, 1979) is adopted to identify patterns of the teacher’s strategy for establishing the construction zone. This study illustrates the teacher’s strategy of setting up the construction zone by taking advantage of students’ multiple contributions noticed whilst walking between desks (Kikan-Shido), and in order to develop deeper understandings of simultaneous equations.
Method
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