Mathematics Instruction in Japan

The mathematics session was very interesting for a number of reasons. First, it was neat to hear about the way mathematics instruction has changed throughout the last few years. There has been quite a bit of reform towards helping Japanese students enjoy math because although Japanese students still do well in math comparisons with other countries, they do not like math as the Japanese government feels they should. This is a concern for the Japanese society. Also, the Japanese education officials keep an eye on American trends and do mimic some of the changes (such as textbooks becoming thicker and fuller of pictures and colors). We in America tend to believe that Japanese students are far ahead of American students, particularly in math. This is probably not as true as we may believe, although certainly Japanese students do out-perform American students on international tests. When I looked at a second grade Japanese math book, it was only slightly ahead of an American second grade textbook. For instance, Japanese students learn subtraction with borrowing in second grade, whereas American students tend to learn this in third grade. So, the Japanese students do learn things slightly earlier. Also, I think that more Japanese students take advanced subjects like calculus in high school than do American students. I have included a picture of the mathematics session presenter, Mr. Nagasaki. He is a very well respected and influential person in mathematics instruction in Japan.