A Comparative Study Of Mathematical Ability And Approaches Towards Learning Between Chinese And Japanese Students Of Grade Six

PurposeThe study aims to compare the mathematical ability and approaches towards learning approaches of learning between Chinese and Japanese six grade students, and discusses the relationship between student’s approaches towards learning and mathematical ability.Approaches1.Research method: The study utilizes the Japanese national professional qualification questionnaire(sixth grade math A, math B) to investigate the differences of mathematical abilities between Chinese and Japanese elementary students. Japanese data is chosen from Japanese national professional qualification survey in 2015; Chinese data was collected from 209 six grade students from two schools located in Taiyuan city and the countryside surrounded.2.Qualitative research: The study uses investigations of students’ both study time and game time, as well as observation of student’s class situation and teachers’ interview to discover the difference of approaches towards learning and reasons. Grounded theory was used to code and analyze research findings. The study took place at one elementary school in Saitama Koshigaya Japan, together with one in Taiyuan city center, and one in the countryside around Taiyuan. Six mathematics teachers from those three schools were chosen to took interviews about approaches towards learning. A class interaction tracking was also taken in this study.Results1.Regarding to chi-square test, the results of six grade students’ mathematical abilities in two countries have statistical significant(P<0.05). Chinese students’ fundamental ability is better than Japanese students, while flexibility is lower than Japanese students. The differences are not significant between students from the city and the countryside in China.2.Regarding to chi-square test, the results of six grade students’ learning qualities in two countries have statistical significant(P<0.05). Chinese students’ curiosity and interest,insistence and focusing ability, reflection and problem solving, planning, and ability to resist setback are better than Japanese students, while innovation ability and exploration ability are lower than Japanese students.3.In the study of the time of learning and games, the Chinese primary school students have fewer games time, learning, reading time, persistence and concentration is relatively superior to the Japanese students.4.The observation of classroom situation in elementary school and middle school shows that the Japanese school classroom atmosphere is more relaxed, in the face of difficulties, can always ask the teacher to ask questions, although interrupt the teacher’s teaching, but the teacher still patiently answer. Chinese school traditional classroom teaching, the classroom focus is high, encountered do not understand the place often after class to solve.5.In Chinese and Japanese primary teacher interview results suggest, teaching,primary school teachers attaches great importance to the attention degree, initiative,learning interest, influence of plan, independence, creativity and desire to explore and study quality of mathematical ability. But Chinese teachers pay more attention to the planning and knowledge of teaching and learning. Japanese teachers pay more attention to the ability of students to work, to cultivate and explore the desire to develop and use avariety of ways to solve the problem of the ability.ConclusionsChinese six grade students’ fundamental mathematical ability is better than Japanese students, while flexibility is lower than Japanese students; Chinese six grade students’ curiosity and interest, insistence and focusing ability, reflection and problem solving,planning, and ability to resist setback are better than Japanese students, while innovation ability and exploration ability are lower than Japanese students.