Japanese perspective of American Teaching

On December 18, 2013 I invited two Japanese teachers to my school. One was a math teacher and one was a "society" teacher. The math teacher and I watched three math classes and talked about American teaching styles. I was very intrigued by what he found interesting. These things highlight differences between Japanese and American education.

1. Similarities

The thing that this math teacher found the most interesting was how similar American school and Japanese schools were. He had the perception that in every American classroom, everyday, students sat in groups and had discussions. I believe that there are classes like this in America, but it isn't the common method of instruction. He was surprised that he saw many teachers in the front of the class delivering content and the students were listening to (or in Japanese receiving the) lesson just like as is common in Japanese classes.

2. Technology

The math teacher that I talked to also taught a few technology classes, so he was very interested in the technology that was used. My school, like many American schools, has worked very hard at increasing the amount of technology in the classroom. My school is a one-to-one laptop school and every classroom has a SmartBoard. In every class that we visited there were students using the laptops appropriately and 2 of the 3 classes had teachers using a SmartBoard for instruction. I think it would surprise most American educators to learn that the most high tech device in a Japanese classroom is a chalk eraser vacuum.

This teacher was surprised that all of the students that he observed were using their laptop appropriately. He said that in Japanese schools they would be afraid that students would be looking at other things during class. I didn't want to tell him that this is a constant struggle. He attributed this to the high expectations of American students. We had this discussion in a Flipped Mastery classroom, where students were expected to watch videos, complete notes and practice problems, and then take quizzes. I feel that these expectations are high for typical America classes, but especially when compared to Japanese classes. In many Japanese classes there is no homework, no quizzes, and a few tests. In the American paradigm this would be seen as having low expectations. But to balance this, Japanese schools have very rigorous entrance exams. Students study hard to pass entrance exams so they can go to a good junior high school, then to a good high school, then to a good college, and then have a good career. I think there are pros and cons to both systems.

Previously we had talked about the fact that I use video to deliver my instruction. During our lunch break, we went to my classroom and I showed him how I use my SmartBoard and a laptop to record lessons of me teaching and then upload it to the internet. This seemed hard for him to grasp. I am sure it is a stretch for a teacher who usually uses colored chalk, erasers, and a cardboard roll as a pointer.

3. American Classrooms - Desk Configurations

In Japanese schools the students stay in the same room and the teachers move. Teacher's prepare their lessons in shared work spaces, so I was interested in what he would say about American classrooms. The thing that surprised him the most about American classrooms is desk configurations. Since Japanese teachers share teaching space, the desks in every class are the same. Columns of individual desks. He was very surprised that in all three of the classes that he visited the students were in clusters of four. I explained that this was to encourage students to help each other and work together. He said that he was interested in trying different desk configurations.

He also commented about the walls of classrooms. Again, since teachers share teaching space, the walls in Japanese classrooms are bare. He liked that there were posters and student work posted on all the walls. I was surprised that he didn't say more about the differences between American classrooms and Japanese classrooms.

4. American Math Textbooks

The last topic that we discussed in detail was American Textbooks. Japanese mathematics instruction is very textbook driven. The textbook is approved by the Ministry of Education and you don't deviate from the textbook. At first this teacher was trying to follow along with the teacher in the textbook, but I had to explain that the examples that the teacher was using are different from the printed textbook. This is never done in Japan.

He was surprised that he didn't see American students reading and studying the textbook and asked if students did this at home. I had to explain that most American students don't read the textbook unless they can't do a homework problem. He commented on the colored pictures and the detailed step by step examples with explanations. He kept saying that it was a waste that American students don't use their textbooks more because they are so good.

Another thing he commented about American math textbooks is that there are problems that are based outside of mathematics. I never realized that every problem in a math textbook in Japan was pure math, there were never word problems about two students, or problems related to science. He thought that this was very good.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed talking with this teacher and American education and noticing what he found to be interesting. Many things that were surprising to him were things that are emphasized in American teacher training and professional development like technology use and student desk configurations. Even though we complain about professional development, it does shape our education system for the better.