Survey On Math Independent Reading Abilityof High School Students

With the introduction of the "Ordinary High School Curriculum Program(Experimental)" in 2003, the country began an experimental reform on high school curriculum, in which students’ independent reading are emphasized. Sichuan Province started using a new series of textbooks in 2010. Inevitably, some teachers, in the actual teaching process, often feel discomfited. Meanwhile, copying others’ teaching methods isn’t in line with the actual situation of the school. The lack of independent reading ability exemplifies the frequent situation where students can’t work out problems although they are technically capable. Consequently, relevant study is placed in front of educators as a new topic.In the review of the relevant literature at home and abroad, we found that research in this area is still relatively limited. This paper will take students in Luzhou Senior High School in Sichuan Province(the Luzhou high school) as samples, through the investigation and analysis of math independent reading ability of high school students, to explore how to improve the independent reading ability in high school. Four aspects researched in this study are as follows: frequency of mathematics independent reading, content of independent reading, method of independent reading, and factors affecting independent reading ability, on which questionnaires are set. The survey is conducted among 450 students(150 per grade) in Luzhou High School, with two math reading materials attached to the back of the questionnaire. Meanwhile, the study also consists of the investigation of some students, individual interviews of in-service mathematics teachers and several in-depth case study on mathematics teaching. The researcher strives for present characteristics and affecting factors of independent reading ability in Luzhou High School. According to the survey and interview results, affecting factors are listed below: lack of students’ interest in reading math, lack of students’ language skills, lack of teachers’ guidance on reading, lack of time for reading caused by the tight school curriculum schedule. Thus, the present study proposes the following countermeasures to train students’ independent reading ability in math: firstly, teachers employ interesting introduction to arouse students’ interest; the second is the cultivation of mathematical language ability during the usual teaching; in addition, teachers should adopt appropriate reading materials and emphasize its application in the teaching of reading; lastly, schools need arrange some time for students independent reading.Only by improving students’ independent reading ability can students become the subject of mathematics learning and improve their own ability to learn math.