COMPARISON OF CULTURAL TEACHING STRATEGIES

NANCY YAN

My literature review was on overseas teachers and the roles they play in international schools. My placement is in an international school, observing and working alongside overseas and national teachers. My final product is this Web site, designed to compare teaching strategies (mainly in math classes) between Asian and American teachers, compiled from various resources and observations from my placement. Please note that the opinions expressed here are very general, i.e. the teaching strategies I have listed are those that Asian and American teachers tend to frequently display in classrooms through various studies.

An Asian teacher plays the role of a well-informed guide. Their lessons are usually oriented towards problem solving and are executed in a thoughtful, relaxed and non-authoritative way. The lesson begins with an introduction whereby the teacher poses a practical problem to the class. The teacher then explains details when necessary and asks students to generate their own solutions to the problem. Students are seen as a source of information and thus, there is frequent verbal interaction. When there are alternative solutions to a problem, Asian teachers tend to call on the students themselves to evaluate the accuracy of answers. This method maintains students’ attention and interest for they may be called on to give a solution or to evaluate another student’s work. In addition, this teaching technique increases student motivation as pupils participate in the group learning process.

I did not have any opportunities to see any Chinese teachers carry out a math lesson as all the math lessons were conducted in English by the overseas teachers. At the international school, the Chinese teachers were responsible for teaching the Chinese Culture classes which were held once a week for students. I was able to observe the teaching techniques of one particular host teacher. I found her lesson on ancient Chinese architecture was coherent and presented in a very relaxed manner. There were issues of classroom control at work in the room. Students were yelling out answers and not very respectful when the teacher was talking. This lack of respect may be due to the teacher’s personality of being very friendly with the students and not very authoritative at all.

The role of an American teacher is usually that of a lecturer who assumes responsibility for making judgements on whether or not what students are learning is correct or wrong. They are not very willing to transfer responsibility to their students, losing a powerful source of motivation: peer acceptance/disapproval. Their lessons usually consist of various activities, where they fail to explain the purpose of those activities or the relationship between the activities. Approximately 50% of class time consist of solitary work. Students are assigned a lot of math questions during class time and they are encouraged to do rather than think. When students work alone for a long time without guidance, they begin to lose focus or forget the purpose of the lesson.

I believe that I have the best of both worlds. Since the beginning of this year at the Faculty of Education, my teaching philosophy has slowly developed through the research that I have done and the teaching experiences that I have had here at home and overseas. I think that I am able to see the great strengths and capabilities of two cultures that work together in society. I am excited to use what I have learned over this year and apply it to a multicultural classroom.