Running head: MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

Difference of Mathematical Learning Methods between

Chinese and American High School Students
Synthesis Paper
Yifan Wei
ENGL 106I
Kyongson Park
March 30, 2015
Purdue University

Author Note
Yifan Wei, freshman, Department of Mathematics, Purdue University
Correspondence of this article should be addressed to Yifan Wei, Department of
Mathematics, West Lafayette, IN 47907.
Contact: wei164@purdue.edu
Difference of Mathematical Learning Methods between
Chinese and American High School Students
Introduction

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

Nowadays, many Chinese high school students chose to study abroad in America
to finish theirs high school education. When they studied mathematics, these
international students from China found that American high school students
mathematical learning methods were different from Chinese high school students
mathematical learning methods. The mathematical learning methods that American
high school students used contained thinking the mathematical knowledge deeply by
proving math theory that they learned, and finding multiple approaches to solve
mathematical problems. The mathematical learning methods that Chinese high school
students used could be developing general ways to solve similar mathematical
exercises. Mathematical learning methods were ways which could help high school
students in both China and America learn mathematics knowledge. Figuring out the
difference of mathematical learning methods between Chinese and American high
school students, and what caused the difference could help those international
students determine which mathematical learning methods they should choose if they
studied in America. I read three published articles discussing the difference of time
use, motivation and cultural background between Chinese and American high school
students. These three articles were about mathematical learning and they developed
their viewpoints respectively.

Synthesis Paper
Andrew J. Fuligni and Harold W. Stevenson conducted a survey about time use
and mathematics achievement among American and Chinese high school students.
Their data clearly showed that Chinese high school students were assigned by their
teachers to spend much more time in school than American high school students with

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

50 hours and 36 hours a week respectively (p.834). Further, Chinese high school
students, as assigned by their parents, attended after-school classes and academic
activities, such as Olympic Mathematics, instead of socializing with their friends in
their leisure time. Conversely, American high school students loved to participate in
sports activities, such as basketball, and entertainments such as watching movies
(p.836-837). Fuligni and Stevenson (1995) said When we asked students specifically
about mathematics, Chinese students reported spending significantly more time
studying mathematics than the Japanese and Americans. When comparing the scores
high school students got in the math exams, Chinese high school students performed
far better than American high school students. Fuligni and Stevenson (1995)
supported that time spending was positively related to the students scores, while the
time spent working, watching television, and being with friends were negatively
related. Summarily, spending excessive time on mathematics was one kind of learning
methods which could help high school students in both American and China perform
well in mathematical learning.
Chinese high school students were assigned to spend a lot of time studying
mathematics. But why did Chinese high school students tend to obey what their
teachers and parents said?
Besides discussing the time use of studying mathematics, Harold W. Stevenson
and his partner Chuansheng Chen also released another article which discussed the
background difference between Chinese and American high school students. In this
article, Stevenson and Chen (1995) pointed out that the background and culture
difference extremely influenced childrens development of mathematical learning
methods. Stevenson and Chen (1995) said Confucian doctrine, which has had a
pervasive influence in East Asia, emphasizes the malleability of human behavior and

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

the importance of effort as the route to accomplishment. Confucian doctrine

represented traditional Chinese values such as obeying their parents and teachers. In
China, children were taught to obey the instruction of their parents and teachers at an
early age. When children grew up and were admitted into high school, they still held
the belief that they should listen to their teachers and parents. Because of this
phenomenon, most Chinese high school students gained most of their mathematical
learning methods from their teachers by practicing obedience to authorities and
expressing few complaints. As already mentioned, Chinese high school students were
assigned by their teacher to spend a lot of time studying mathematics. However,
American high school students, with different backgrounds than Chinese high school
students, did not hold the same belief as Chinese high school students and
experienced freedom to choose their preferred mathematical learning methods while
studying mathematics (p.1123-1124).
Another two researchers, whose name were Jian Wang and Emily Lin, disagreed
with the viewpoints that Confucian doctrine extremely influenced Chinese high
school students mathematical learning methods. Wang and Lin (2005) pointed out
that Chinese high school students had high expectation of scores that they got in the
math exams. In China, if high school students wanted to be admitted into good
university, they were expected to receive high scores in college entrance examination
(CEE). Mathematics score made up a large part of total score of CEE. Chinese math
teachers taught students the mathematical learning methods that could help students
improve their scores in math exams. So students tended to obey what their teachers
said in order to perform well in math exams. Whats more, the number of Chinese
high school students who attended CEE was tremendously quantitative, which was
about 7 million every year. By comparison, the number of American high school

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

students who attended Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) each year was only 1.5
million. With the extremely academic pressure and competition, Chinese high school
students had no choice but to listen to their teacher to remain competitive with their
peers (p.6-7).
On the other hand, the high school teachers in China put more emphases on
teaching students the skills of finding answers of mathematical problems and how to
respond to mathematical exercises rapidly. So Chinese high school students developed
mathematical learning methods which could help them figure out answers of
mathematics exercises quickly instead of helping them get deeper understanding of
the mathematical knowledge that they learned. In America, high school students and
teachers did not focus as much on the score that students got in the exams. Students
could choose their favorite way to learn mathematics. Though American high school
students did not perform better in mathematical exams than Chinese high school
students, American high school students received profound understanding of the
mathematical knowledge that they learned (p.8-10).
Conclusion
These three articles helped show the difference of mathematical learning methods
between Chinese and American high school students, and what caused the difference.
The view of Stevenson and Fuligni about the difference about mathematical learning
methods between Chinese and American high school students was that Chinese high
school students were assigned by their teacher to spend much more time studying
mathematics than American high school students. Stevenson, with his partner Chen,
also held that Confucian doctrine extremely influenced Chinese high school students
mathematical learning methods. That was, Chinese high school students preferred to
listen to their teachers while American high school students preferred to study by

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

themselves. Jian Wang and Emily Lin thought that, though Chinese high school
students preferred to listen to their teachers and parents, Confucian doctrine had little
influence. They supported that Chinese high school students high expectation for
high scores that they got in the math exams, and the number of high school students
who attended the CEE every year were more influential factors. The mathematical
learning methods of Chinese high school students helped them solve mathematical
exercises quickly, while the mathematical learning methods of American high school
students helped them get profound understanding of the mathematical knowledge that
they learned.
From my perspective, Chinese high school students mathematical learning
methods helped them solve the mathematical exercises quickly with few mistakes. To
deal with math exams and assignments, international high school students from China
could remained this kind of mathematical learning methods that they developed in
China. But this kind of methods was not good learning methods to helped high school
students fully understand the mathematical knowledge that they learned. These
international high school students from China should also learn American high school
students mathematical learning methods, such as proving the math theory that they
learned.

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

References
Chen, C., & Stevenson, H. W. (1995). Motivation and mathematics achievement: A
comparative study of AsianAmerican, CaucasianAmerican, and East Asian high
school students. Child Development, 66(4), 1215-1234
Fuligni, A. J., & Stevenson, H. W. (1995). Time use and mathematics achievement
among American, Chinese, and Japanese high school students. Child
Development, 66(3), 830-842
Wang, J., & Lin, E. (2005). Comparative studies on US and Chinese mathematics
learning and the implications for standards-based mathematics teaching reform.
Educational researcher, 34(5), 3-13