The 1995 TIMSS Video Study found differences in the ways that teachers in different countries (Germany, Japan, and the United States) used technology in the classroom. In The Teaching Gap (which draws on the TIMSS Video Study), Stigler and Hiebert (1999) illustrate some of these differences.
Stigler and Hiebert note that visual aids are used very differently in different teaching systems. For example, they discuss use of overhead projectors vs. chalkboards (pp. 73–75, 88, 92–93, 97): “Most teachers in the United States use visual devices to focus students’ attention. They use both overhead projectors and chalkboards to display information in written or graphic form while they are describing it orally. As they finish each part of their oral presentation, they often erase that part of the written material and move to the next item” (p. 74). See for example, US2. For examples of projector use in other countries, see “technology” under Lessons by Topic.
Japanese teachers, however, “use visual aids for a very different purpose: to provide a record of the problems and solution methods and principles that are discussed in class” (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999, p. 74). See for example, the use of the blackboard in J3.
Stigler and Hiebert explain these differences in use of technology in terms of cultural beliefs about teaching (pp. 88–97). In brief, U.S. teachers want to control students’ attention, whereas Japanese teachers want to create a cumulative record of the lesson that is available to students. These practices are intertwined with beliefs about the nature of mathematics, how students learn it, and the role of the teacher. Differences in beliefs may also be expressed by differences in language patterns, see language.
In addition to revealing how Japanese teachers organize the blackboard, these videos also highlight differences in the structure of blackboards. For example, N2 (6:59–7:30) illustrates the flexibility of the blackboards, which the teacher can fold to reveal previously recorded material that she had not yet wanted to make available to the students. The teacher can also raise the board, so students can see what is written at the bottom. In C2 (17:25–19:17) this folding blackboard allows students to put solutions on the board without being seen while other students continue to work on the problem.
These 28 public release lessons demonstrate limited use of calculators and computers. The following clips identify lessons that include calculators: A1 (41:14–41:38); A3 (15:01, 21:15, 34:31–41:00); A4 (1:03:09); C1 (4:48–5:45, 10:14–10:55, 12:03–12:59); C2 (19:49–22:28, 26:44–27:46); S3 (from 2:59 throughout remainder of lesson); US3 (46:19). The A3 lesson illustrates a teacher’s instruction and students’ use of graphing calculators for their work; in the other classes, students use calculators for computation.
In four lessons—A4 (15:07, 1:04:24), H4 (10:12), S4 (8:10), US3 (02:39)—the teachers talk about why it is not appropriate to use calculators for the particular tasks in the lessons. Students use computers for classwork in A1 and the teacher uses a computer at the beginning and end of the lesson in J2.
References
Stigler, J. & Hiebert, J. (1999). The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world’s teachers for improving education in the classroom. New York: Free Press.
U. S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. (1999). The TIMSS videotape classroom study: Methods and findings from an exploratory research project on eighth-grade mathematics instruction in Germany, Japan, and the United States, NCES 99-074, by P. Gonzales, T. Kawanaka, S. Knoll, A. Serrano, and J. Stigler. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.