Mathematical thinking in Japan and Denmark – a small scale comparative study

Contents of the seminar:

At this seminar I invite you to observe approx. 20 minutes of video recording from a Japanese 2 grade mathematics lesson. I have used this material, together with Masami Isoda, as a case to exemplify teaching with the potential to develop mathematical thinking. Then from the postulate:  “this kind of teaching would be very rare in a Danish context”, we have made a comparison of the institutional conditions in each country using the scale of didactic co-determination. The analysis supported the postulate that the institutional ecology in Denmark does not favor teaching of mathematical thinking, whereas it clearly does so in Japan.  We have written a paper concerning this, which is on the very brink of being submitted to the journal: “Mathematical thinking and Learning”.   At this seminar I will present the paper, and although you cannot participate in the comparative analysis itself, I would be grateful if you will help me check what we see in the video material!

Best regards

Klaus Rasmussen