American vs. Japanese Teaching Tendencies

I enjoyed reading about the differences in the teaching practices between America and Japan. The American structure is very similar to much of what I have experienced as a student. Review old stuff, introduce new stuff with examples followed by assigning homework: the standard format of one of my high school math class. I never have experienced schooling in any other country but I had the impression that mathematics education in east asian countries involved many drills which I am glad to hear is not exactly the case.

The main difference between standard American structure appears to be how teachers handle what Hewitt calls necessary information. The structure in Japan provides the evidence that students tend to learn better when they are given the opportunity to develop their own understanding rather than being simply given the steps required to solve a problem. A statistic that I found a little disconcerting is that U.S teachers gave twice as many definitions and procedures as Japanese teachers. I believe we should try our best to reduce the amount of stating processes which students have the ability to come to understand themselves. Instead, we should provide the activities and environment that enables students to establish their own methods of solving problems. If students struggle, its not a bad thing - it’s an important part of learning that both students and teachers must remember.