Tara L. Van Schaack
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/vanschaack.356/home
TEACHING AND
TEACHING STRATEGIES (US AND CHINA)
In China:
To Become a Teacher:
In order to become a teacher in Mainland
China, it is necessary for senior-middle-school teachers to be graduates with
two additional years of training in a professional institution [2]. Primary-school
teachers need to be graduates of secondary schools [2].
Teaching Strategies:
Different teaching strategies are
employed in China as compared to the United States. In
China, if a student is having
difficulty grasping concepts in math class, the teacher may ask the student to
come in front of the class to try to solve a problem so that the teacher and
other students can help the student to correct his or her mistakes. If the
student needs additional help, he will stay after school and work one-on-one
with the teacher. The student's parents will also be involved and will help him
with his math homework when he gets home from school, and on the weekends as
well.
Data shows that students in Chinese
schools, students perceive their classroom environments to be competitive and
teacher-controlled. Students feel that this is a productive route to learning
[3]. Students enjoy a friendly learning atmosphere where students and teachers
work together in interesting and challenging class activities [3]. Chinese
students feel that a collaborative learning environment promotes deeper and
achievement-oriented approach to learning, which they prefer to other
approaches to learning [3].
In the U.S.:
To Become a Teacher:
To become a teacher at an American
elementary, middle or high school, it is necessary for all teachers to complete
a four-year undergraduate higher education program. Undergraduate education
programs exist, where after four years the student has a degree in education
and only needs to take a teaching certification exam in the state that they
want to teach in to become a teacher. For other students, post undergraduate
education, future teachers need to complete a thirteen-month to two-year
teaching certification degree (depending on the speed of the courses taken).
These future teachers as well will need to take a certification examination in
the state in which they want to teach and pass it to become a teacher. Many
elementary, middle and high school teachers go on to get their Master’s degree
in education, which is an additional two years of education. A Masters degree
(MA) can allow a teacher to be paid a higher salary than they would otherwise
receive. In addition, it may make them a more attractive candidate when
applying for a job in a school located in a higher SES area. In order to become
a college or University professor, most students will need to complete an
undergraduate education, as well as get their Masters degree. Depending on the
University, it may be wise to go on for an additional two years to get a
Doctorate degree (Dr.). In more prestigious universities, professors are
usually doctors (have a doctorate degree).
Group vs. Individual (China & U.S)
Teachers in China focus on the group as
opposed to on the individual. If one student is lagging behind, the class will
stop and help the student, and bring him as quickly as possible to the level of
the rest of the group. It is believed that every student has the ability to
achieve in every subject, although some students will need to work harder than
others to achieve the same results. Teachers and parents seem willing to help
students who are not "naturals" at a subject to learn the tools that
they need to succeed in that particular subject, even if it means working
outside of school and on the weekends.
In Contrast, in America, being called
in front of a class and being critiqued by not only your teacher, but also by
other peers, could be downright damaging to a student's psyche. In the U.S.,
education focuses on the individual, and maintaining students' self-esteem is
considered critical.
Further, if a U.S. student is lagging
in his or her math class, we have the tendency to attribute the student's
failure to him simply not being good at math. Students in this situation will
often move into a lower level math class (different math levels are usually
associated with middle school or high school).
Implications for Success:
Because Chinese teachers and parents
expect that all students have the ability to succeed in all subjects, students
themselves tend to believe that they can succeed as well. This is a sort of
self-fulfilling prophecy, as when adults believe in a child's ability to do
well, the child in turn is likely to believe in himself as well, and therefore
work to succeed. Because Chinese teachers and parents expect more from their
students, students succeed more.
