Running head: MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

Difference of Mathematical Learning Methods between

Chinese and American High School Students
Yifan Wei
ENGL 106I
Kyongson Park
April 9, 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
Abstract
These paper explored six published journals and article related to mathematical
learning, and two interviews with two college students who were good at learning

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

math in their high school. These papers aim was to figure the difference of
mathematical learning methods between Chinese and American high school students,
and discussed the argument that American high school students mathematical
learning methods were better than that of Chinese high school students.
Key Words: mathematical learning methods, high school, American, Chinese

Difference of Mathematical Learning Methods between

Chinese and American High School Students
As an important implement widely used in commercial trade and scientific
research, mathematics was undoubtedly one of the most important subjects in high
school. To have a good command of mathematics, high school students should
develop approximate ways to help them learn mathematics. These ways were also

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

called mathematical learning methods, which could be doing a lot of exercises or

spending excessive time studying math. In recent years, more and more Chinese high
school students chose to study abroad in America to finish their high school
education. These international high school students found that the mathematical
learning methods that they developed in China were different from the methods used
by American high school students. Many international high school students from
China performed well in math exams so that they thought Chinese high school
students mathematical learning methods were better than that of American high
school students. Through conducting several interviews and reading several articles
related to comparative studies between American and Chinese students, I thought that
American high school students mathematical learning methods were better than that
of Chinese high school students.
I found that Chinese high school students were not creative. One of my
interviewees, Letterhos, said to me when I interviewed him. In China, high school
students were assigned by their teachers to do a lot of similarly mathematical
exercises (Fuligni and Stevenson, 1995, p.834). Doing these exercises aimed to
develop students skills of finding answers of mathematical exercises and help
students respond to mathematical exercises quickly. However, this kind of practice
would restrict students creativity. Students could only deal with same kinds of
exercises that they met before. They could not remain flexible when they were
required to apply mathematics to solve problems in other areas such as physics (Wang
and Lin, 2005, p.8). Furthermore, Chinese high school students tended to obey the
instruction of their teachers and parents, which exacerbated their situation of losing
creativities (Stevenson and Chen, 1995, p.1123-1124). I always tried to found several
approaches to solve same exercises with my classmates. Letterhos said to me when

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he introduced his favorite mathematical learning method. This kind of learning

method could cultivate students creativity because students needed to use their wits
to create solution instead of copying solution. Many American high school students
also used the same strategies when studying new mathematical knowledge. Therefore,
American high school students mathematical learning methods could cultivate
creativity.
However, Cohen (1985) argued that Chinese high school students always
performed better than American high school students in math exams. Dillon (2010)
supported that Chinese high school students proved their better mathematical learning
methods by getting high scores in international math test. But, high scores did not
mean that students had a good command of mathematical knowledge because Chinese
high school students were trained to get high scores in any tests. 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 so
that students always focused on the score instead of the knowledge that they learned.
On the other hand, parents of Chinese high school students always set high standards
in math to their children and parents would be angry if their childrens math scores
fell (Hess, Chang and Mcdevitt, 1987, p.185-186). Due to these factors, it was
impossible for Chinese high school students to get low scores in any math exams.
What they paid was the understanding of the mathematical knowledge that they
learned. By comparison, American high school students did not focus too much on the
scores that they got in math exams. What grabbed their attention was how to get
profound understanding of the knowledge that they learned. I always tried to prove

MATHEMATICAL LEARNING METHODS

the mathematical theories to help me get better understanding to the knowledge that I
learned. Another interviewees, Servass, said to me in the interview.
Mathematics was important for high school students to learn. Approximate
mathematical learning methods could help students learn math well. American high
school students mathematical learning methods focused on cultivating students
creativity and helping students get profound understanding to mathematical
knowledge that they learned. Chinese high school students mathematical learning
methods focused on training students the skills of solving similar mathematical
exercises and helping students respond to exercises rapidly. Though Chinese high
school students could get extremely high scores in math exams, Chinese high school
students had a smattering of the mathematical knowledge that they learned and their
creativities were restricted. Therefore, American high school students mathematical
learning methods were better.

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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
Cohen, L. P. (1985, January 9). The Chinese-A Way with Mathematics. The New York
Times.
Hess, R. D., Chang, C. M., & McDevitt, T. M. (1987). Cultural Variations in Family
Beliefs about Children's Performance in Mathematics: Comparisons among
People's Republic of China, Chinese-American, and Caucasian-American
families. Journal of Educational Psychology, 79(2), 179-188
Dillon, S. (2010, February 11). Top Test Scores From Shanghai Stun Educators. The
New York Times.

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