A Comparative Study Of The Physical Experimental Contents Of Chinese And American Primary School Science Textbooks

Textbooks are the direct carriers of teachers’ teaching and students’ learning.At present,science textbooks of Chinese elementary school are in a critical period which connects and develops people’s core qualities.With the update and revision of the elementary science curriculum standards,science textbooks are constantly required to advance with the times and innovate appropriateness.As the foundation of elementary school science curriculum,it is very important for science experimentation to adapt and perfect the physical experiment part of science textbooks in order to cultivate students’ core literacy.America is in a leading position in world science education.We have conducted comparative research on the experimental parts of science textbooks both in Chinese and American elementary school(taking the experiments in the "Electricity and Magnetism" module as an example)and have drawn on the valuable writing experience of American science textbooks.Exploring the characteristics and advantages of Chinese and American science textbooks in the experimental part is beneficial for optimizing the compilation of experimental content in our country’s elementary school science textbooks and improving the quality of teachers’ teaching and students’ learning.According to the textbook analysis structure theory,this article has used the literature research method,comparative analysis method,and case research method to construct a textbook comparison framework based on the comparative study of the scientific curriculum standards of China and America.And it mainly focuses on the comparison of the "electricity and magnetism" sections in the two editions of the textbook in terms of the surface structure module and the deep structure module.Among them,the surface structure module chiefly research into science experiment system structure,experiment quantity,experiment type,experiment illustrations,and experimental equipment;while the deep structure module mainly compares the difficulty of experiments as well as the typical physics experiments in the textbooks of the two countries and explore the reasons for the differences in teaching materials from a cultural perspective.The conclusions of this study are as follows:1.Both China and America have put forward clear requirements for the elements of inquiry,but they are different in certain aspects:(1)Educational audiences are different.Chinese target groups aim at primary school students,while America targets students from kindergarten to 12 th grade.(2)The requirements for scientific inquiry standards are different.China emphasize the specific description of behavioral verbs such as "know,experience,and understand".America pays attention to the advanced division of scientific inquiry elements into grades.(3)The content of the "electricity and magnetism" module is different.China emphasizes the specificity and clarity of the text,and there are few connections among the knowledge points of "electricity","magnetism" and "energy",while America pays attention to the integration of knowledge.2.In terms of the physics experimental system structure,the structure of the two editions of elementary school science textbooks in China and America belongs to the unitary arrangement;as for the "electricity and magnetism" module,America has many chapters in elementary school science textbooks and the organization of experimental content is spiral.Primary school science textbooks use linear organization of experimental content;the two editions of Chinese and American primary school science textbooks have rich columns,and both focus on the development of physics experiment activities and the application of knowledge.3.According to the number of physical experiments,it can be concluded that the physics experiments on “electricity and magnetism” in the two editions of primary school science textbooks in China and America are concentrated on the themes of“electricity” and “magnetic”,and least on the theme of “energy”;And from the concept content of the physics experiment,the science experiments with the same concept content appear in different orders and the corresponding number of experiments are also different.4.Concerning the type of physical experiment,both Chinese and American editions of elementary science textbooks have the largest number of exploratory experiments.Second,America has more confirmatory experiments than China;while China has more applied experiments than America.5.With regard to the physics experiment illustration,both Chinese and American editions of elementary science textbook illustrations abound with pictures and texts,and experimental interpretation maps make up a large part.American elementary school science textbooks pay more attention to standardizing students’ experimental operations and experimental recording habits,while Chinese elementary school science textbooks attach greater importance to creating interesting and authentic experimental situations.6.Regarding the physics experiment equipment,the experimental equipment selected in the two editions are characterized by accessibility,economy and convenience,and the equipment of daily necessities accounts for the largest proportion;as for the selection of laboratory equipment,it can be found that American elementary school science textbooks are more standardized for the operation of object experiments,while Chinese elementary school science textbooks are more inclined to physics experience the process of inquiry.7.As regards the difficulty of the physics experiment,overall,the difficulty of American primary school science teaching materials is greater than Chinese primary school science textbooks.Among them,the experimental equipment and inquiry elements of the two editions of the textbooks are similar in difficulty.But the experimental procedures and the expansion of American elementary science textbooks are more difficult than that of China.And the experimental types of Chinese science textbooks are more challenging than that of America.8.From the perspective of cultural difference,American elementary school science textbooks are compiled in the form of subjects,but the links between knowledge points are relatively close and the integrity of knowledge learning is emphasized to facilitate students’ self-learning;the form of comprehensive subjects are compiled in the Chinese primary school science textbooks,which lead to the lack of knowledge connection and integration,and the students’ subjective consciousness.