A Comparative Study Of The Content Of "Graphs And Geometry" In The China’s Shanghai Education Edition And The UK CCM Edition

In 2022,China recently promulgated the "Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education in Mathematics(2022 Edition)",in which "Graphs and Geometry" is one of the four major areas of the junior high school mathematics curriculum in China.The construction of mathematics textbooks is an important part of the new curriculum reform in China,and the mathematics curriculum standards are an important basis for the preparation and reform of teaching materials.Therefore,with the promulgation of the latest version of the mathematics curriculum standards,it is necessary to study the textbooks.Through a review of the literature,the 2019 edition of the Shanghai Education Publishing House’s Mathematics textbook(hereinafter referred to as the Shanghai Education Edition)and the 2013 edition of Cambridge Checkpoint Mathematics(hereinafter referred to as the CCM Edition)from Cambridge University Press in the United Kingdom were selected as a comparative sample to examine the content of "Graphs and Geometry" was compared,and the characteristics and shortcomings of the content of "Graphs and Geometry" in China’s junior high school mathematics textbooks were analyzed.The following questions were identified:(1)What are the similarities and differences in the organizational structure of "Graphs and Geometry" in the junior high school mathematics textbooks of China and the United Kingdom?(2)What are the similarities and differences in the difficulty level of the "Graphs and Geometry" in the junior high school mathematics textbooks in China and the UK?(3)What are the implications of the difficulty level of the British mathematics textbook "Graphs and Geometry" for the development of Chinese textbooks?The research methods are used: literature analysis,content analysis,comparative research,and quantitative research to investigate the above research questions.The comparative framework of this paper is built based on Haralambos’ textbook analysis framework and the textbook difficulty model developed by Professor Yiming Cao to conduct a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis to achieve a horizontal and vertical comparison of textbooks.Conclusions of the study are drawn:(1)In terms of organization,firstly,in terms of overall structure,the CCM Edition of the textbook is more carefully organized than the Shanghai Education Edition of the textbook,and the role of relevant symbols,columns and characters is clear.Secondly,in terms of column setting,the Shanghai Education Edition is more flexible and rich in column arrangement,which is suitable for the actual teaching content,while the CCM Edition is relatively fixed.Again,in terms of presentation,both editions introduce the chapter in the form of illustrations and text,with the difference that the CCM Edition sets keywords to condense important knowledge points;in terms of the number and type of examples,both editions have more exercises than examples,and the types of exercises are the same,with short-answer questions and calculation questions to test students’ ability to use knowledge and master basic knowledge and skills.In terms of the types of examples,the Shanghai Education Edition emphasizes proof questions,which allow students to emulate the learning process through the rigorous logical reasoning of the examples,while the CCM Edition focuses on the examination of comprehensive ability;in terms of the number and types of illustrations in the textbook,the number of illustrations in the CCM Edition gradually decreases as the grade level rises,which is in line with the developmental pattern of students,and both versions have relatively few illustrations in the history of mathematics and science and technology-related diagrams;in terms of the extension section,the Shanghai Education Edition attracts students’ attention through the setting of different types of sections to enhance their interest in learning mathematics and cultivate curiosity and imagination,while the CCM Edition is mainly in the form of exercises;in chapter summaries,the Shanghai Education Edition uses the knowledge structure framework for review and consolidation,while the CCM Edition helps students consolidate the knowledge points through exercises.Finally,in terms of core concepts,the Shanghai Education Edition incorporates different types of contexts in each stage of core concept teaching design,and adopts a definitional concept presentation;the CCM Edition teaches core concepts in an open-ended manner and adopts a descriptive concept.(2)In terms of the difficulty of the materials,the Shanghai Education Edition version is higher than the CCM Edition in terms of content breadth,content depth,difficulty of the examples and exercises,and overall difficulty.Based on the findings of the study,the following suggestions are made for the preparation of "Graphs and Geometry" in junior high school mathematics textbooks in China:(1)Arranging chapter contents in a gradient,focusing on the systematization of knowledge points;(2)Filling chapter review questions appropriately to help students consolidate their knowledge;(3)Adding mathematical history and technology-related diagrams to bring into play the moral value;(4)Enriching the different backgrounds of sample problems to stimulate students’ interest in learning;and enriching the different backgrounds of sample problems;(5)Appropriately increase the difficulty of the exercises,focusing on the students’ recent development zone.