국제비교문화적 관점에서 한국 초등학교 수학과 수업에 대한 관찰연구

The Characteristics of Mathematics Instruction of Korean Primary Schools Compared to the U. S., Japan, Taiwan, and China.

This IS a replicate study which used the same instrument and classroom observation methods as in previous studies done by Dr. Stevenson's research team. The previous studies compared classroom instructions between the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, and China by making an observation of mathematics lessons in primary schools. They found that American classroom instruction was inferior in many aspects to Asian classrooms. The sample of this study are 40 mathematics lessons out of 20 classrooms (10 first grade and 10 fifth grade) which were randomly selected from 10 primary schools in Pusan metropolitan area. Two kinds of classroom observation were made: one is a quantitative observation called "time-sampled observation" and the other IS a qualitative observation called "narrative description". The findings reported in here is largely based on the "time-sampled observation" data in which a variety of classroom and instructional characteristics were checked in everyone minute. The major findings are as follows. Korean classroom instruction is similar to those 111 Asian countries but different from American classroom instruction in many aspects such as classroom rganization and instructional activities and modes. Korean classroom instruction is, compared to the U. S., more teacher-centered whole-class instruction in which teacher spends more time in academic activities, wastes less time in non-academic and inappropriate classroom activities, provides students with more knowledges and information by using direct instruction, uses more frequently the verbal mode of question/choral response between teacher and students, and uses more frequently the evaluation and feedback at the end of each lesson. Korean teachers in the primary schools guide students to highly engaged learning by giving them a consistent, systematic, and coherent instruction. In addition, Korean teachers are successful in maintaining classroom order and discipline and students' attention to the teacher and their classroom work by using appropriate methods of supervision and control. Nevertheless, the classroom atmosphere of Korean primary schools are hardly coercive, intense, or oppressive. In conclusion, the mathematics instruction of Korean primary schools are, compared to the one of the U. S., more efficient and coherent, and thus more learning. In addition, we need to adopt the instructional practices of Japanese primary schools which tend to be balanced between the individualistic American instruction and the collective Asian instruction.