Elite And Novice Mathematics Teachers' Cognitive Structure Of A Comparative Study

The specialization of mathematics teachers is the demand of the times and that of the new reform in mathematics as well as one of the major tasks of the teachers' reeducating, while the quality of the teachers' cognitive structure should also be focused on.The cognitive structure of a mathematics teacher is the one stored in the teachers' mind, which includes the knowledge specialized in the major itself, in education, in the devotion, in the meta-cognition and so on. The comparative study on the cognitive structure of mathematics teachers shows its value as follows: 1.Helping to adapt china's mathematics teaching to the new advances at home and abroad; 2.Acting as an aid to building a theory of mathematics teacher education with our own characteristics; 3.Promoting the students' abilities; 4.Improving the teachers' quality and exploring the function of the teachers' direction in class.Our study also identified the differences in cognitive structure between green hands and experienced teachers are as follows: 1.The difference lies in the view of mathematics, in the view of teaching, that is to say, good teachers can comparatively hold a general understanding of the subjects which is deeper than the new ones' However, some of them still lack an idea of the results of theirs teaching process; 2.Qulified mathematics teachers are richer in general knowledge and the knowledge of mathematics than new ones but both are week in education and psychology, which need adding to in time;3.Outstanding mathematics teachers devote more to their career, especially to the teaching;4.Outstanding mathematics teachers are more capable in mathematics teaching and the subjects itself, which suggests the experienced have more practical experience than the new ones;5.The cognitive structure of outstanding mathematics teachers can be better developed because of its features of identification and steadibility.Therefore, the following should be done to better the teachers' cognitive structure: 1.A good preparation for pre-employment; 2.A good training for those after they have worked as mathematics teachers; 3.Emphasis should be laid on classroom practice and the check-out after each period during the training so as to enable the teachers to advance.