5th and 8th grade pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of the relationships between teaching methods, classroom ethos, and positive affective attitudes towards learning mathematics in Japan

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1.6: What teaching methods are adopted in mathematics classes in Japan?

Whole-class teaching

Japan has a long tradition of whole-class teaching. The UK inspectorate (DFE, 1992b)
reported that the most ∞mmon organisational strategy in the Japanese classroom was
whole-class teaching in mixed-ability classes, usually of between 35 to 40 pupils. Much
of the teaching was directed from the front, with pupils sitting in rows facing the board,
although teachers sometimes moved around the room to provide individual support.
Whitburn (1995) observed that 86% of the time in mathematics lessons was spent in
whole-class teaching, compared with 11% working with individual pupils.

Three main advantages and one disadvantage of adopting whole-class teaching in
mathematics emerge from the literature. Firstly, whole-class teaching is conceived to be
effective for time and resource management (Whitburn, 1995; Edwards et al., 1996;
Stevenson, et al. 1992a; Stigler, 1987, Reynolds, 1996). Teachers can maintain less
complexity of classroom activity than when other organisational strategies are used
(Creemers et al. 1988), and provide coherent, clear and practical demonstrations
(Stigler, 1987; Mortimore, 1988; Lee et al. 1998). In short, teachers are more likely to
have a sense of efficacy when deploying whole class teaching. Sugiyama (1987) in a
questionnaire survey, showed that Japanese teachers believed that listening to teacher
explanation was a more effective teaching method than reading a textbook, because it
promoted pupils’ understanding by managing class time effectively. Effective time and
resource management by whole-class teaching is seen to promote pupils’ intent
concentration on work (Stevenson, 1995; Whitburn, 1995; Lee, et al., 1998; Alexander,
1992). Concentration on work is encouraged as part of Japanese educational culture,
and children are trained to concentrate from the early years (Peak. 1991). Japanese
mothers believe that children’s poor attention to a task is a problem (Crystal et al, 1991).
This is one of the reasons for the domination of whole-class teaching methods in
mathematics classes.

Secondly, whole-class teaching is considered to develop pupils’ mathematical thinking
through interaction. For instance, The Ministry of Education in Japan (1999) claims that
whole-class teaching can provide pupils with opportunities to learn from each other

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