Abstract
Problem solving has been a major theme in Japanese mathematics curricula for nearly 50 years. Numerous teacher reference books and lesson plans using problem solving have been published since the 1960s. Government-authorized mathematics textbooks for elementary grades, published by six private companies, have had more and more problem solving over the years. As a result, almost every chapter in Japanese mathematics textbooks for elementary grades begins with problem solving as a way to introduce students to new concepts and to introduce new procedures. But a large wave of teacher retirement in recent years has left newly hired teachers without the collegial support they need to develop the expertise to teach through problem solving. In order to overcome this challenge, the latest edition of a major mathematics textbook series in Japan includes more resources to help teachers teach through problem solving and to help students learn through problem solving. The book contains more alternative approaches to a problem, provides diagrams meant to help students solve problems independently, and includes pages that teach students how to take notes effectively. By comparing the latest two editions of this textbook series, the author will highlight how the text has increased its support of problem solving, and will relate the changes to recent trends of Japanese mathematics textbook designs.
Highlights
Problem solving has been a major focus in Japanese mathematics curricula for nearly half a century
By early 1990s approaches for teaching mathematics using problem solving had been established among Japanese elementary school teachers
Watanabe [1] examined some of the pages from 1958, 1968, 1977, 1989, 1999, and 2008 editions of Japanese elementary mathematics textbooks and found that the editions after 1989 shared some similarities that are distinct from the previous three editions. These similarities include: The opening problems in the units appear on the right-hand page of the book and only the problem is on the initial page, and the following page includes multiple approaches to the problem solution and Recent Trends in Japanese Mathematics Textbooks for Elementary Grades: Supporting
Summary
Problem solving has been a major focus in Japanese mathematics curricula for nearly half a century. Teachers to Teach Mathematics through Problem Solving designed to support discussion of a variety of approaches to the solution, and Inclusion of more open-ended questions and suggestions by cartoonlike characters, moving away from providing clear explanations of the concepts and procedures to expecting the students to investigate mathematics using their own reasoning based on their prior learning. These differences before and after 1989 editions appear to be in alignment with the implementation of teaching through problem solving approach. The classroom instruction of Japanese mathematics classrooms at least in elementary grades have gradually shifted to teaching through problem solving decades ago and the government authorized textbooks shifted to support teachers and students to use problem solving as a major approach for teaching and learning mathematics
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