An analysis of geometry in the junior secondary school (grade 7-9) mathematics textbooks from England, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei

Abstract

This dissertation is intented to explore the similarities and differences of pedagogical characteristics in geometry though analyzing the contents of the junior Secondary school (grade 7-9) mathematics textbooks of England, Hong Kong and Taipei.

By studying the topic of “Relationships for angles at a point, angles on a line, vertically opposite angles, angles associated with a transversal cutting parallel lines and perpendicularity” of the textbooks, the textbooks of the three places have demonstrated how they organize the contents to achieve the various aims with different means and different emphasis. For English textbooks, their contents are characterized by using geometric intuition for verifying the properties of geometric objects and the theorems. On the contrary, for Taipei textbook, their contents are characterized by the extensive use of deductive reasoning and proof for verifying the properties of geometric objects and the theorems. Lastly, for Hong Kong textbooks, their contents are characterized by encouraging conjecturing through various explorative activities.

For developing students’ cognitive thinking in geometry, the progress of developing students’ level of sophistication in deductive reasoning is depended upon their age for England while Hong Kong and Taipei do not. Process of visualization is commonly used in the three countries for enhancing the reasoning process and various apprehensions of geometric objects. On the other hand, Hong Kong and Taipei textbooks tend to apply more on the process of reasoning in the teaching activities while English textbooks apply more on the process of construction.