"An Asian approach to math"

[Perd Hapley]

A local private school touts, among other things, its "Asian approach to math." I don't have me no kids, but I'm just curious to know if you folk have heard of this, and what you think of the Asian approach.

[AJ Dual]

I thought it was just an issue of using lots of guilt, yelling, and pushing the kids harder in math than what the nominal level for a given grade is in U.S. Schools... 

[Tallpine]

Are you against youth in asia ?

 

[brimic]

I thought it was just an issue of using lots of guilt, yelling, and pushing the kids harder in math than what the nominal level for a given grade is in U.S. Schools... 

Asian Approach = Catholic Nun?

[Chuck Dye]

Single data points do not make for stats or even very valid opinions, but my exposure as a high school student in Thailand in '69 suggests tin pot tyrants cracking the whip over the drudgery of rote learning, quashing any signs of the thought process.  Our calculus text was a pirate printing from Taiwan rife with typos, including in the answer keys. The teacher instructor tin pot at the blackboard demanded we arrive at the answers in the text, did not back down even when confronted with an authorized original edition of the text with correct answers.  If that's the Asian model, no thanks.

[Hawkmoon]

The teacher instructor tin pot at the blackboard demanded we arrive at the answers in the text, did not back down even when confronted with an authorized original edition of the text with correct answers.  If that's the Asian model, no thanks.

Sounds like my drafting instructor in my first year technical drawing class. He made the statement that it is impossible to construct a circle in an isometric view, so the only way to draw it is to project a series of points on the circumference and use a French curve to connect the points. Which, of course, would result in a very irregular-appearing circle.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I had taken a good course in descriptive geometry a couple of years before and I still had the textbook. So I brought it in and showed him that the accepted method is extremely simple -- draw the square that the circle would fit in, connect the four corners, and use two corners and the intersections of the diagonals as centers to draw four arcs. Done.

He refused to speak to me or recognize me for the duration of the academic year. Thank goodness we were on a pass-fail system.

[ArfinGreebly]

From my brief exposure to one version of an Asian learning system, there is (was) heavy emphasis on straight memorization for the basics, followed by drills for scenario-based applicatIons.  Only after this was mastered was the "how does this work" body of concepts addressed.

In other words, first came rote memory (stuff like multiplication tables, simple add & subtract, etc.), then canned exercises, then abstractions.

I can't speak to  effectiveness.  It wasn't the approach I used when I was teaching.

[Tallpine]

From my brief exposure to one version of an Asian learning system, there is (was) heavy emphasis on straight memorization for the basics, followed by drills for scenario-based applicatIons.  Only after this was mastered was the "how does this work" body of concepts addressed.

In other words, first came rote memory (stuff like multiplication tables, simple add & subtract, etc.), then canned exercises, then abstractions.

I can't speak to  effectiveness.  It wasn't the approach I used when I was teaching.

If this also applies to "South Asia" then it would explain a lot 

I fear that they mostly never get to the third phase 

[zahc]

For the 2 years that I attended grade school, the private school that I attended used the Kumon program, which I assume is Japanese, which is basically repetitive drilling. I'm of the opinion that the only real way to learn basic arithmetic skills is by drilling, so I think it was a good program. If I had to critique it, it's that everyone's progress in the program was very public and the program relied on the honor system to prevent cheating, so it was hard to avoid the temptation to cheat and put oneself even farther behind.

[Tallpine]

Pretty big difference between "basic arithmetic" and math.

Sorta like the difference between being able to write cursive, and writing a book.

[zahc]

I agree. However, I do think that arithmetic skills are important, and nobody magically learns their multiplication tables through intuition or osmosis. Arithmetic techniques are at least as important, throughout ones' lifetime, as advanced mathematical skills.

[roo_ster]

A local private school touts, among other things, its "Asian approach to math." I don't have me no kids, but I'm just curious to know if you folk have heard of this, and what you think of the Asian approach.

When my wife taught in China, the Asian approach included rampant cheating to help the laggards, so the group looked good.

[Tallpine]

I agree. However, I do think that arithmetic skills are important, and nobody magically learns their multiplication tables through intuition or osmosis. Arithmetic techniques are at least as important, throughout ones' lifetime, as advanced mathematical skills.

It's helpful to be able to add/subtract/multiply/divide numbers, and it's also helpful to be able to figure out when to do which and with what numbers. 

[grampster]

Math is certain to be learned very well using the Sister's of Mercy (who had absolutely no mercy whatsoever) method.  Rote memorization, beatings with rulers and shoes, more memorization.  In fact that methodology was used for every subject.  I did 8 years enveloped in their tender Mercy.

As a result, when I went to public high school I was able to maintain a B average without having to do any hard work or pay much attention in class.  We came out of Catholic elementary school with basically a public high school edumacation.

I never heard of the Asian method.