A Comparative Study Of "Number And Algebra" In The First Period Of Primary School Mathematics In China And The United States

The United States,a global economic powerhouse,plays a leading role in both its mathematical education and modern mathematics research.It is conducive to the further improvement of primary school mathematics curriculum in China,if we compares similarities and differences between Chinese and American primary school mathematics courses,and uncover the advantages of the latter.As the core of mathematics course,"Number and Algebra" is an important foundation for mathematics learning,used more widely in all aspects of social production and daily life.As a result,it is particularly important to master the basic knowledge and skills of it.Based on textbooks,the most explicit vehicle,we select the Beijing Normal University edition and the California edition of each country as research subject in order to discuss similarities and divergences of "Number and Algebra" in the first period of the two editions.In the study,literature review has been firstly introduced to understand the background of the compilation of Chinese and American textbooks,including the curriculum reform,standards and the overview of Chinese and American primary school mathematics textbooks.Secondly,comparative analysis and content analysis are used to study the "Number and Algebra" in the two textbooks in terms of both knowledge content and presentation.The former includes the width and depth of the knowledge content,and the latter consists of problem situation and compiling style.The study demonstrates that the Beijing Normal University edition and California edition of primary school mathematics textbooks have similarities in "Number and Algebra",but the differences are significant.In terms of the width of knowledge content,the California edition outperforms its counterpart;In the depth,the Beijing Normal University edition is better;In the problem situation,it can be seen that the situation structure of the Beijing Normal University edition has the advantage against the California edition,but fewer material forms,using an example of “cognition of addition and subtraction”.In the aspect of mathematical relationships,representation methods,and thinking methods,the two textbooks exhibit their own features with little difference.In regard to the compiling style,there is not much difference between the two editions.In the compilation of the "chapter",the two textbooks differ greatly with the California edition being richer in detail.Based on the above study conclusions,this article proposes the following improvements to the field of "Number and Algebra" in the first period textbook of primary school mathematics in China: Add lessons and refine the knowledge points properly;Integrate disciplines organically to expand knowledge coverage;Focus on the material diversification of problem situations to expand students' thinking ability;enrich the columns in each unit and section to diversify the writing style.The conclusions and suggestions of this study may provide reference for the compilation of primary school mathematics textbooks in China.In the meanwhile,it is beneficial to the curriculum implementation of primary school mathematics teachers.