The Teaching Gap: Best Ideas from the World's Teachers for Improving Education in the Classroom

A Serious Analyses of TIMMS

Anyone serious about understanding the results of the TIMMS report and how it relates to us as math teachers, or teachers in general, should read this book. The section discussing lesson study is very interesting. Lesson study is currently popping up all over the country and is starting a grassroots teacher centered professional development process that holds much promise. Bottom line, if you only read one book on teaching math it should be this one.

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Excellent read for educators

The Teaching Gap by James W. Stigler and James Hiebert is a book focused on where the U.S. educational system is currently in comparison with other countries. These authors set out to study the differences in teaching methods by videoing eighth grade math classes in Japan, Germany, and the United States. To try to ensure the study was unbiased they also facilitated scientists from Japan, Germany and the United States. Over the course of several months they analyzed hundreds of videotapes of actual classrooms which consisted of 100 in Germany, 50 in Japan, and 81 in the United States, all of whom were chosen randomly.

Based on their observations they characterize international eighth grade math teaching as follows: Germany: "Developing Advanced Procedures"; Japan: "Structured problem solving" and the United States: "Learning terms and practicing procedures". Repeatedly stated throughout the book was that American teachers appear to focus more on theorems and repetitious drills, however; in Germany and Japan the students are encouraged, if not required, to use active thinking and problem solving.

The importance of this book stands for teachers in the United States is the realization that not only can you teach students so that they will have the basis to pass the standardized exams, but that it can be done in such a way that they will grow their knowledge base. A coherent lesson plan that challenges and encourages students to increase their problem-solving skills is imperative in today's society and mindless drills and busy work will not accomplish this task. Education is always changing and educators need to change with it.

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