Mathematics Learning: The Chinese Way ?

Ngai-Ying Wong [, www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/staff/c&i/nywong.html]

Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The brilliant academic performance among Asian students in international comparisons has initiated an abundance of research on the “Confucian Heritage Culture” Learning Phenomenon (Wong, 1998a). While some relied on empirical data, others tried to attribute the academic success to Confucianism in general, and words of Confucius and Mencius in particular (Bond, 1996; Cai, 1995; Lau, 1996; Leung, 1999; Watkins & Biggs, 1996). However there has been a call for safeguarding from “over-Confucianisation” in the discussion (Wong, 1998b; Wong, 2000; Wong & Wong, in press). New directions of investigation were suggested to identify good practices in the learning and teaching of mathematics in Chinese, to see what lessons we can learn from it. While some have already worked with ancient Chinese mathematics (Siu, 1995, 1999; Siu & Volkov, 1999), the synthesis of memorisation and repetitive learning for the discernment of underlying concepts were also explored (Dahlin & Watkins, 2000; Marton, Watkins & Tang, 1997). Quality rather than quantity of problems confronting learners, with variations systematically introduced, could be another key to effective mathematics learning (Runesson, 1999).

References

Bond, M.H. (Ed.) (1996). The Handbook of Chinese Psychology. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.

Cai, J. (1995). A Cognitive Analysis of U.S. and Chinese Students’ Mathematical Performance on Tasks Involving Computation, Simple Problem Solving, and Complex Problem Solving: Monograph 7 of Journal of Research in Mathematics Education. Reston, Virginia: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Dahlin, B., & Watkins, D. (2000). The role of repetition in the processes of memorisng and understanding: A comparison of the views of Western and Chinese school students in Hong Kong. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 65-84.

Lau, S. (Ed.) (1996). Growing Up the Chinese Way. Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.

Leung, F.K.S. (1999). The traditional Chinese views of mathematics and education: Implications for mathematics education in the new millennium. In C. Hoyles, C. Morgan, & G. Woodhouse (Eds). Mathematics Education in the 21st Century, 240-247. London: Falmer Press Ltd.

Marton, F., Watkins, D., & Tang, C. (1997). Discontinuities and continuities in the experience of learning: An interview study of high-school students in Hong Kong. Learning and Instruction, 7, 21-48.

Runesson, U. (1999). The Pedagogy of Variation: Different Ways of Handling a Mathematics Topic (in Swedish). Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Göteborg. English Summary: http://www.ped.gu.se/ biorn/phgraph/civial/graphica/diss.su/runesson.html.

Siu, M.K. (1995). Mathematics education in ancient China: What lesson do we learn from it ?. Historia Scientiarum, 4, 223-232.

Siu, M.K. (1999). How did candidates pass the state examination in mathematics in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) ? --- Myth of the “Confucian-heritage-culture” classroom. Paper presented at the Third European Summer University in History and Epistemology in Mathematics Education. July. Louvain-la-Neuve/Leuven, Belgium.

Siu, M.K., & Volkov, A. (1999). Official curriculum in traditional Chinese mathematics: How did candidates pass the examinations ? Historia Scientiarum, 9, 85-99.

Watkins, D.A. & Biggs, J.B. (Eds.) (1996). The Chinese Learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research Centre and Victoria, Australia: The Australian Council for the Educational Research.

Wong, N.Y. (1998a). In Search of the “CHC” Learner: Smarter, Works Harder or Something More ?. Plenary lecture. In H.S. Park, Y.H. Choe, H. Shin, & S.H. Kim (Eds.). Proceedings of the ICMI-East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematical Education, 1, 85-98.

Wong, N.Y. (1998b). The gradual and sudden paths of Tibetan and Chan Buddhism: A pedagogical perspective. Journal of Thought, 33(2). 9-23.

Wong, N.Y. (2000). Mathematics Education and Culture: the “CHC” Learner phenomenon. Paper presented at Topic Study Group 22, The Ninth International Congress on Mathematics Education, 31 July – 6 August, Japan. [http://www.math.admu.edu.ph/sg22/TSG%2022.html]

Wong, N.Y., & Wong, W.Y. (in press). Reflections on research on the “Confucian Heritage Culture” Learning Phenomenon (in Chinese). Curriculum Forum.

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