Improving Mathematics Teaching. 6

ABSTRACT: The TIMSS Video Study 1999 documents typical teaching practices in mathematics classrooms in seven countries: the United States, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, and Switzerland. By collecting and analyzing hundreds of videotapes of classroom process used by random samples of teachers in these countries, the researchers created a picture of what average teaching looks like in the different countries. This article reviews findings from the new video study and the original 1995 video study to arrive at several recommendations for improving mathematics instruction. The video studies showed that teaching methods within each country were strikingly homogeneous, but the differences among countries were equally striking. The researchers discuss two basic categories of math problems: those that call on students to use basic computational skills and procedures, and those that focus on concepts and connections among mathematical ideas. What was important was not just the percentage of each type of problem presented in math classes, but also the way in which teachers and students worked through the problems. Teachers in the United States turned most math problems into procedural exercises-even those problems that were intended to focus on making connections. Student achievement tended to be higher in countries in which making connections problems were implemented as they were intended. 56

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