Revisiting The Chinese Learner (eBook)

Contents 6
List of Tables 8
List of Figures 9
Abbreviations 10
Foreword 11
Preface 14
INTRODUCTION 17
1 Moving Beyond Paradoxes: Understanding Chinese Learners and Their Teachers 18
Introduction 18
Contributions of Earlier Volumes 19
The Chinese Learner 19
Teaching the Chinese Learner 24
Why Revisit the Chinese Learner? 27
Changing Socioeconomic and Global Contexts 29
Changing Paradigms Guiding Learning and Instruction 29
Educational Policy and Reforms 30
New Understandings about Confucian Beliefs 31
Conceptual Framework 32
Where is the Chinese Learner? 32
Understanding Learning in Context 33
Student Learning and Understanding 34
Pedagogical Practice 35
Teacher Learning and Development 36
Overview of the Book 38
REFERENCES 39
Endnotes 47
STUDENT BELIEFS AND APPROACHES TO LEARNING 48
2 Learning to Self-Perfect: Chinese Beliefs about Learning 49
Introduction 49
Comparative Research on Western and Chinese Learners 52
Chinese Learning Beliefs 57
Culture-Level Beliefs 58
Culture-Level Learning Beliefs as a Meaning System 60
Individual-Level Beliefs 71
Development of Learning Beliefs 73
Summary 75
Conclusion 75
REFERENCES 77
3 Motivation and Competition in Hong Kong Secondary Schools: The Students’ Perspective 84
Introduction 84
Motivation in Secondary Schools 86
Study 1 — Motivation 87
The Nature of Competition in Hong Kong Schools 92
Study 2 – Competition 93
Conclusions 97
REFERENCES 98
Acknowledgements 101
4 New Experiences, New Epistemology, and the Pressures of Change: The Chinese Learner in Transition 102
Introduction 102
Learning and Teaching for the Chinese Learner 104
The Chinese Learner: Historical Analysis andChanging Confucian Heritage 104
The Chinese Learner: Psychological and Pedagogical Analyses 108
The Research Setting 110
Results and Analyses 112
The Changing Chinese Learner 113
Preference for Authentic Learning Contexts 113
The Intellectual Challenge of Interacting with Diverse Ideas 118
The Implicit Role of Technology in Supporting New Learning Experiences 123
An Emerging Epistemology for the 21st Century 125
The Changing Chinese Teacher 125
Changing Expectations of the Students 125
The Changing Roles and Aspirations of Teachers 128
Tensions Experienced: To Change or Not to Change 132
What Counts as Significant Learning? 132
Tensions in Setting Priorities 133
An Emerging Epistemology: The Chinese Learner in Transition 135
The Changing Chinese Learner and Teacher 136
Tensions and Reforms: Chinese Learners in the 21st Century 138
REFERENCES 140
Endnotes 142
Acknowledgements 142
TEACHER BELIEFS, CHANGING PEDAGOGY AND TEACHER LEARNING 143
5 The Chinese Learner of Tomorrow 144
Introduction 144
Sociocultural Perspectives on Schema Theory 145
The Variation Framework and Learning by Reading Argumentative Texts 147
The Study 150
Curricular Context of the Study 150
Participants 152
Measures 152
Measuring Text Understanding 152
Views of the Participants 154
Teaching Plan 154
Implementing the Lessons 158
Teaching in the Comparison Class 158
Lessons between the Posttest and Delayed Posttest 160
Results 160
Test on Text Reading 160
Views of the Participants 161
Discussion 166
Curricular Context 166
Immediate and Long-Term Effects 167
The “Chineseness” of the Chinese Learner 170
REFERENCES 173
Appendix 177
Acknowledgements 178
6 Classroom Innovation for the Chinese Learner: Transcending Dichotomies and Transforming Pedagogy 179
Introduction 179
The Paradox of the Chinese Learner 180
The Paradox of the Chinese Teacher 182
Knowledge Building Innovation and 21st Century Education 183
Research Goals and Questions 185
Study One: Knowledge Building and Conceptual Inquiry 186
Participants 186
Transformed Pedagogy and Classroom Implementation 187
Changes in Student Learning and Student Beliefs 190
Student Learning Process and Domain Understanding 190
Student Beliefs about Learning 193
Changes in Teacher Beliefs and Teacher Learning 196
Changing Beliefs about Student Learning 196
Intertwined Beliefs about Constructivist and Didactic Pedagogy 197
Long-Term Impacts and Sustained Practice 198
Study Two: Knowledge Building and Reading to Learn 199
Participants 199
Transformed Pedagogy and Classroom Implementation 200
Changes in Student Beliefs and Student Learning 202
Student Inquiry and Reading to Learn 202
Student Beliefs about Learning 203
Intertwined Views – Cognitive Inquiry and Social-Affective Aspects 204
Changes in Teacher Beliefs and Teacher Learning 205
Changing Beliefs about Student Learning 205
Intertwined View – Cognitive Inquiry and Values Formation 206
Struggles and Tensions and Striking a Balance 207
Long-Term Impacts and Sustained Practice 208
Discussion 208
Knowledge Building for Teaching the Chinese Learner of the 21st Century 209
The Paradox of the Chinese Learner and Transcending Dichotomies 210
The Paradox of the Chinese Teacher and Transforming Pedagogy 212
Conclusion 214
REFERENCES 215
Acknowledgements 220
7 Teaching Mathematics: Observations from Urban and Rural Schools in Mainland China 221
Introduction 221
Sociocontextual Influences on Mathematics Learning 222
Parental Beliefs and Behaviors 222
Number-naming System 223
Characteristics of the Chinese Language 223
Teaching of Mathematics in Primary Schools in Mainland China 223
Promoting Mathematical Understanding 224
Whole-Class Instruction 224
Differences between Urban and Rural Schools 225
The Educational Reform 226
Observations from Urban and Rural Primary Schools in Mainland China 229
Research Site and Schools 229
Method 231
Results 231
Data Management 231
Classroom Observations 232
Lesson Transcripts 234
Similarities and Differences between Urban and Rural Classes 235
Discussion 237
Educational Reform and Classroom Practice 238
REFERENCES 239
8 Teaching English to Chinese-Speaking Children 242
Introduction 242
The History of Immersion Language Teaching 242
Studies on Immersion Education 244
English Immersion in Chinese Settings 244
Hong Kong 244
Singapore 245
Mainland China 246
Language Learning 248
Vocabulary, Syntax and Phonological Awareness 248
The Study – The Xian Immersion Program 249
Method 250
Participants 250
English Measures 251
English Phonological Awareness 252
Chinese Measures (Phonological Awareness) 253
Procedure 254
Results 255
Discussion 258
Conclusion 260
REFERENCES 261
9 Preschool Pedagogy: A Fusion of Traditional Chinese Beliefs and Contemporary Notions of Appropriate Practice 264
Worldwide Change and Early Childhood Pedagogy 264
Factors Influencing Pedagogical Practices in Hong Kong 267
Traditional Cultural Beliefs about Early Learning and Development 272
Current and Emerging Pedagogical Practices in Kindergartens 275
Is There a Distinct Hong Kong Chinese Early Childhood Pedagogy? 280
REFERENCES 284
Endnotes 287
Author’s Note 288
10 In Search of a Third Space: Teacher Development in Mainland China 289
Introduction 289
The Third Space 292
Teachers’ Professional Learning in China 293
The Apprenticeship Model 295
The Virtuoso Model 296
Chinese Philosophies of Education in Models of Teachers’ Professional Development 298
Dialectics of Learning and Doing 298
The Reflexivity of Teaching and Learning and the Centrality of Enactment 300
Expert Guidance and Peer Learning 301
From Case Methods to Enactment-based Teacher Learning 304
Bridging the Theory-Praxis Gap 304
Case Methods in Teacher Education 305
Re-interpreting Case Methods 307
Making Sense of Enactment-based Learning: Perspectives from Teachers 309
Discussion 313
Conclusion 315
REFERENCES 316
Endnotes 319
CONCLUSION 320
11 The Paradoxes Revisited: The Chinese Learner in Changing Educational Contexts 321
Introduction 321
Characterizing the Chinese Learner 322
The Chinese Learner in Retrospect 322
Learner or Learner in Context 323
Revisiting the Paradoxes of the Chinese Learner and the Chinese Teacher 326
Student Beliefs, Student Approaches and Student Learning 326
Traditional Beliefs and Cultural Values: Chinese Conceptualization ofLearning 327
Contemporary Changes: Educational Reform and Student Learning 328
Traditional and Contemporary: Integrating Dichotomies 329
Teacher Beliefs, Changing Pedagogy and Teacher Learning 331
Teacher Beliefs of Cultivating Role and Moral Guidance 331
Changing Pedagogy and Pedagogical Transformation 333
Teacher Professional Development and the Third Space 336
Contributions, Implications and Further Issues 338
Learning and Development – Broadening Western Interpretations 339
Educational Change – Innovation and Education Reform 341
Teaching and Learning in Cross-Cultural Studies 343
Classroom Implications for Teaching the Chinese Learners of the 21st Century 344
Summary and Conclusion 346
REFERENCES 349
Notes on the Authors 356
Index 361