• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.655-679
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• 2010

This study was created with the intent of improving the teaching quality of the teachers responsible for instructing higher level math programs. Additionally, this research study was designed to analyze the instruction of mathematically gifted students by using "The Flanders Category System" and "TIMSS video analysis". The results of this study will provide opportunities for a deeper understanding of ways to improve the quality of gifted instruction in mathematics and furthermore will increase the expertise of teachers in the realm of gifted education in mathematics.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.9 no.3 s.23
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• pp.203-231
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• 2005

Students in East Asia have consistently out-performed their counterparts in the West in recent international studies of mathematics achievement. But some studies also show that East Asian students are more rigid in thought, and lack originality and creativity. While different theories have been proposed to account for these student performances, relatively few research studies have been done on classroom practices, potentially a major variable for explaining student performances. This paper will report on the results of two classroom studies: the TIMSS 1999 Video Study and the Learners' Perspective Study (LPS). Results the quantitative analysis of the TlMSS 1999 Video Study data show that the East Asian classrooms were dominated by teacher talk, and the mathematics content learned was abstract and unrelated to the real life. On the other hand, the characteristics of the instructional practices in Hong Kong as judged by an expert panel are that student learned relatively advanced mathematics content; the components of the lessons were more coherent, and the presentation of the lessons was more fully developed. Hong Kong students seemed to be more engaged in the mathematics lessons, and the. overall quality of the lessons was judged to be high. Results of the analysis of the LPS data also show that the classrooms in the East Asian city of Seoul were in general teacher dominated, but students were usually actively engaged in the mathematics learning. Emphasis on exploration of mathematics and practicing exercises with variation was common. It is argued that the quality teaching in the East Asian classrooms laid a firm foundation in mathematics for students, and that constitutes a necessary condition for the development of students' creativity. In order to fully develop the creativity of East Asian students, they need to be given the right environment and encouragement.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.127-145
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• 2007

There have been several international lesson studies such as TIMSS Video Study and Learner's Perspective Study. According to the TIMSS Video Study report, within differences found in the lessons in each country is much less than the between differences found in the lessons across countries. This means that each country has its own way of teaching, so called 'national script'. On the contrary, LPS researchers are skeptical about the existence of 'national script' since significant differences are identified within the lessons conducted by the same teacher. The purpose of this study is to analyze the LPS Korean data in terms of class organization and teacher's approach and activities. The categories of class organization are classwork, small group seatwork, and individual seatwork, and the those of teacher's approach and activities are exploratory, directive, summarization, exercises and practice, and assigning homework. Ten lessons were videotaped from two Korean schools respectively, thus altogether twenty lessons were recorded and analyzed. Each lesson shows unique class approach and teacher's approach and activities, however the average of each category in class organization and teacher's approach and activities for the two schools are very similar. This result supports the TIMSS Video Study in the regard that there is a commonality among the lessons within the country, but also confirms the LPS result that it is difficult to assume 'national script'. This study is a preliminary investigation into the LPS Korean data, and the further in-depth interpretation of LPS lessons will be followed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.597-625
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• 2013

This study explored how teachers and students in different countries discursively interact to build 'Classroom Science Knowledge' (CSK) - the knowledge generated situatedly in the context of the science classroom. Data came from publicly released $8^{th}$ grade science classroom videos of five nations who participated in the Third TIMSS (Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study) video study. A total of ten video-recorded science lessons and their verbatim transcripts were selected and analyzed using a framework developed by the researchers of the study. It was revealed that a range of discourse modes were utilized and these modes were often sequentially connected to build CSK in the science classrooms. Although dominant discourse modes and their sequences varied among different lessons or different countries, the study identified three salient patterns of science classroom discourse: teacher-guided negotiation and the sequences of exploring - building on the shared and retrieving - elaborating. These patterns were found to be different from the discursive features commonly witnessed in the community of professional scientists and interpreted as implying the existence of unique epistemic cultures shared in science classrooms of different countries. Further studies are suggested to reveal detailed characteristics of these epistemic cultures of science classrooms, as well as to confirm whether any cultural traits inherently shape the differences in science classroom discourse among different nations.