Teacher poses complex thought-provoking problem. Students struggle with the problem. Various students present ideas or solutions to the class. Class discusses the various solution methods. The teacher summarizes the class' conclusions.
Students practice similar problems.
The expectations in our lessons differ from those in both Japan and Germany. But many Japanese students practice skills in paid tutoring sessions after school. This finding was bolstered by the analysis of lesson summaries done by a group of mathematics professors in which they found little mathematical reasoning expected in the U.S. lessons. Most U.S. mathematics teachers are aware of the NCTM Standards , but the little evidence we have so far suggests that changes in their teaching practice are proving difficult to accomplish. Japanese rather than U.S. or German lessons more often resembled the recommendations of experts and the U.S. reform movement.