This study used data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to determine trends in calculator use among Population 2 (13-year-olds) students in Japan, the United States, and Portugal. While relatively high levels of calculator use were observed for the U.S. and Portugal, virtually no calculator use was found in the…

Developed for the Carroll County Public Schools, this Learning Activity Package (LAP) for grade 8 offers a way to provide individualized learning about the modernization and industrialization of Japan. The unit focuses on comparison of the traditional and the new modern Japan and shows how Japan has developed in the areas of agriculture,…

Comparisons are given for data from the Second International Study for both eighth- and eleventh-grade students in the United States and Japan. U.S. students were closer to Japanese students at the eighth-grade level than at the twelfth-grade level; differences have increased since the First International Study. (MNS)

Mathematics teachers from 3 school districts watched a 50-minute mathematics lesson video taped in Japan. Participants were asked to compare this lesson against the vision of improved practice promoted by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Use of the video as a concrete referent clarified participants' interpretations of…

This manual provides suggestions and materials for teaching about Japan. Designed as a supplement to typical textbook treatments, the lessons provide a range of readings, visuals, and activities to enrich and deepen student learning about Japan. Organized around topics dealing with history, geography, government, economics, and culture, the…

Examines the similarities and differences in beliefs about the effective teaching of mathematics held by teachers from two different sociocultural backgrounds. Data were collected using a part of the Teacher General Classroom Process Questionnaire of the second IEA Mathematics Study. (Author)

Individualistic and competitive striving and group dynamics were compared for 42 fifth grade and 42 eighth grade Japanese boys in central Tokyo using a card-stacking procedure. Results are discussed in terms of social loafing versus social striving and behavior patterns of Japanese adults. (SLD)

In order to improve teaching, it is important to understand why teaching looks the way that it now does and how its general form can be explained. One way to address this question is at the classroom level. This approach has been found in the ethnographic work of anthropologists and has been skillfully applied in the recent work of such…

The importance of homework activities for student achievement has been extensively discussed. Research has indicated that, in general, students who spend more time on homework tend to show higher levels of academic achievement. For instance, results from the Third International Mathematics Study (TIMSS) indicated that adolescent students in Japan…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest, most comprehensive, and most rigorous international comparison of education ever undertaken. TIMSS findings show similarities and differences in the processes and outcomes of schooling between the United States and East Asian countries, particularly Japan. This report…

This book is an action plan for improving education in the U.S, focusing on the key role of teachers in this improvement. It offers a detailed comparison of the educational methods of Germany, Japan, and the United States. The analysis begins with an international study of mathematics teaching in the three countries that was conducted as part of…

As part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), videotapes of classroom instruction were collected from 231 eighth-grade mathematics classrooms in Germany, the United States, and Japan. Findings suggest that written reports about teaching disseminated to teachers may have little effect on classroom practices. (SLD)

The fastest-growing sector of the American school population is the limited English proficient (LEP) students, those students whose native language is not English. When mainstreamed they are usually enrolled in physical education, art, and music classes first. The students then enter mathematics classes under the assumption that mathematics is…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of self-concept and anxiety in Japanese early adolescents who participated in an eight-day adventure camp, conducted in 1982 and 1983. The study used 155 sixth- through eighth-grade volunteers, ages 11 to 14. The paper describes the camp program and training for the main activity, a three-day…

Describes two studies that examined the nature of Japanese elementary and junior high school students' perceptions of different media, the effect of teachers on these perceptions, and the relationship between perceptions and student learning. The studies of fifth graders and eighth graders also addressed gender and class differences. (Contains…