A Comparative Study Of The Content Of "Number And Algebra" In Mathematics Textbooks For Junior High Schools Across The Taiwan Straits

With the progress of science and technology and the development of society,technology and talents become the key to every country's progress.Mathematics teaching materials can demonstrate the concept of mathematics curriculums to a certain extent.Therefore,the comparative study of mathematics teaching materials has become a frontier problem in the field of education.There are few comparative analyses between the number and the algebra in the comparative study on the existing mathematics textbooks of cross-strait junior middle schools.This paper focuses on the part of "number and algebra" in the mathematics content of the junior middle schools.The literature research method,the content analysis method and the comparative research method are used to comparatively analyze two different versions of the math textbook of junior middle schools,separately the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version in mainland China and the Han Lin Version in Taiwan from the two points of view of macrocosm and microcosm.The macroscopic perspective involves compilation style and the structure and setting of the content.The microcosmic perspective includes examples,exercises,illustration and mathematical history.The following conclusions are obtained through comparative analysis.(1)There are few differences between the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version and the Han Lin Version in the aspects of compilation style and content setting.In the content structure,the two textbook versions are a little different.For example,the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version has more trigonometric functions than the Han Lin Version,while the Han Lin Version of the sequence is not available in the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version.(2)From the number of the examples and exercises,there is not much difference in the total number of problem sets.However,the total number of after-class exercises in the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version is larger than that in the Han Lin Version,while the total number of class examples in the Han Lin Version is greater than that in the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version.It follows that the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version focuses on the students' ability to learn mathematics by themselves after class,while the Han Lin Version pays attention to the explanation and demonstration effect of mathematics teachers.(3)From the perspectives of the number of knowledge points in the examples and exercises,knowledge background and operational level,the two editions of textbooks contain the most number of examples and exercises of two knowledge points,and most of the examples and exercises have no background.The number of exercises about symbolic operation in the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version is the largest of all exercises,while the Han Lin Version has the largest number of digital arithmetical problems.It follows that the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version has a higher requirement on students' symbolic operation ability,while the Han Lin Version emphasizes the improvement of students' numeracy ability.(4)From the perspective of illustrations in the textbooks,the embellishment illustrations in the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version are far more than that in the Han Lin Version.In terms of references to mathematical history,the number of mathematical history materials in the Han Lin Version is larger than that in the Jiangsu Scientific and Technological Version.In addition,both versions focus on the integration of modern information technology such as calculators,computers and mathematical learning.Based on the above conclusions,the writer puts forward appropriate suggestions to the authors and the users of the textbooks,following are the main points.(1)When textbooks are written,the relation between mathematics knowledge and the real life should be paid attention,new knowledge related to the real life should be created and the background of examples and exercises should be introduced.The transition and connection between the mathematics knowledge of junior middle school and the high school mathematics knowledge should be paid attention so as to pave the way for the mathematics knowledge of junior middle school.At the same time,the mathematical history should be shown in many ways in the textbook in order to enhance the cultivation of students' mathematical literacy.(2)Mathematics teachers should use and integrate teaching materials creatively,so that the advantages of the teaching materials can be optimized.Mathematics teachers should use the examples in the textbook flexibly to select the topic and discuss the details,so as to avoid the problem of getting students into the excessive assignments tactic.At the same time,the teachers should introduce the mathematical history materials provided in mathematics textbooks and the relevant contents of modern information technology into the class.