Plane Trigonometry In The US And Chinese Textbooks: A Comparative Study

Mathematics curriculum plays an important role in the reform of mathematics education. As a result, various comparative studies on mathematics curriculum appear. This paper reportant a comparative study on the mathematics textbook of Amercian gifted education t and the textbook of new mathematics curriculum published by the People Education Press (Version A) through literature research and interviews with both students and teachers from a senior middle school in Anhui province.Fristly, through cromparation of the both surface, incluing columns, diagrams, exercises, etc., and in-depth structures, including the elements of knowledge, the elements of method, the elements of emotions, some similarities and dissimilarities are found.Secondly, four lessons on trigonometry of the gifted education textbook are examined in detail, and the typic features are identified.Finally, lectures based upon the two textbooks are given respectively, and interviews with both teachers and students are conducted.It is found that the two textbooks have their own characteristics and that the most prominent features of the gifted education textbook is its stress on the culture of mathematics, mathematical investigation, mathematical modeling and application of mathematics, which is also emphasized by the new standards of senior middle school mathematics curriculum. Therefore, the gifted education textbook is a good reference for our curriculum developing, textbook compiling and classroom teaching. Moreover, participants in this research all like the mathematics textbook of gifted education and think that, using such a textbook, teachers will take deght in teaching and students will feel light-hearted in learning.