Opportunities for the development of geometrical reasoning in current textbooks in the UK and Japan
Opportunities for the development of geometrical reasoning in current textbooks in the UK and Japan
Developing a good model of the school geometry curriculum continues to be one of the most important tasks in curricular design in mathematics. This paper reports on an initial analysis of current best-selling textbooks used in lower secondary schools in Japan and the UK (specifically England and Scotland). The analysis indicates that, following the specification of the mathematics curriculum in these countries, Japanese textbooks set out to develop students’ deductive reasoning skills through the explicit teaching of proof in geometry, whereas comparative UK textbooks tend, at this level, to concentrate on finding angles, measurement, drawing, and so on, coupled with a modicum of opportunities for conjecturing and inductive reasoning. The available research suggests that each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses. Finding ways of capitalising on the strengths and mitigating the weaknesses could prove helpful in formulating new curricular models and designing new student textbooks.
pedagogy, curriculum, teaching, learning, geometry, mathematics, Japan, Japanese, England, geometric, geometrical, textbook, deductive reasoning, proof, conjecturing, inductive reasoning, school
79-84
Fujita, Taro
8a05b8fc-a1ce-4a7b-9399-3fb00639a3cc
Jones, Keith
ea790452-883e-419b-87c1-cffad17f868f
2002
Fujita, Taro
8a05b8fc-a1ce-4a7b-9399-3fb00639a3cc
Jones, Keith
ea790452-883e-419b-87c1-cffad17f868f
Fujita, Taro and Jones, Keith
(2002)
Opportunities for the development of geometrical reasoning in current textbooks in the UK and Japan.
Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics, 22 (3), .
Abstract
Developing a good model of the school geometry curriculum continues to be one of the most important tasks in curricular design in mathematics. This paper reports on an initial analysis of current best-selling textbooks used in lower secondary schools in Japan and the UK (specifically England and Scotland). The analysis indicates that, following the specification of the mathematics curriculum in these countries, Japanese textbooks set out to develop students’ deductive reasoning skills through the explicit teaching of proof in geometry, whereas comparative UK textbooks tend, at this level, to concentrate on finding angles, measurement, drawing, and so on, coupled with a modicum of opportunities for conjecturing and inductive reasoning. The available research suggests that each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses. Finding ways of capitalising on the strengths and mitigating the weaknesses could prove helpful in formulating new curricular models and designing new student textbooks.
Text
Fujita_Jones_BSRLM_22-3_2002.pdf
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More information
Published date: 2002
Keywords:
pedagogy, curriculum, teaching, learning, geometry, mathematics, Japan, Japanese, England, geometric, geometrical, textbook, deductive reasoning, proof, conjecturing, inductive reasoning, school
Organisations:
Mathematics, Science & Health Education
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 14684
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/14684
ISSN: 1463-6840
PURE UUID: 5278efe1-a214-4d07-81e6-6351bb96a295
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Date deposited: 21 Feb 2005
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:30
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Author:
Taro Fujita
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