The Comparison On Mathematical Modeling In High School Mathematics Textbooks Between China And The USA

Mathematical modeling is listed as one of the six core competences of mathematics in the High School Mathematics Curriculum Standard(2017 Edition)issued by China’s Ministry of Education,which further highlights its important position in mathematics curriculum.According to the requirements for mathematical modeling in the curriculum standard,the new Chinese high school mathematics textbooks have significantly adjusted its modeling content.Currently,there are few international comparative studies on mathematical modeling courses and textbooks.Based on the above background,this study seeks to find the similarities and differences of the content of mathematical modeling through the international comparison of textbooks.There are two research questions:What are the characteristics,similarities and differences in the presentation of mathematical modeling content in Chinese and American high school mathematics textbooks?What are the characteristics,similarities and differences in the adjustment of the content of mathematical modeling in Chinese and American high school mathematics textbooks?This study selects the old and new four editions of high school mathematics textbooks that are representative of China and the United States as the research object.By combing and summarizing the relevant literature,the definition and requirements of mathematical modeling in the Chinese and American high school mathematics curriculum standards are sorted out,which characteristics are clarified.The analytical framework is established as "knowledge domain,problem situation,modeling process" and refined.Afterwards,the content of mathematical modeling in the textbooks of the two countries is coded and counted.With the help of SPSS software,the obtained data are analyzed,and finally conclusions are drawn,and suggestions are made for the use and compilation of textbooks.Through the comparative analysis of the mathematical modeling content in the four editions of textbooks,this study mainly draws the following two conclusions.From the perspective of presentation,in the part of function,probability and statistics,both Chinese and American textbooks focus on social situations,and prefer quasi-real situations,while in the part of geometry and algebra,the scientific situations are the first choice of Chinese and American textbooks,and the constructive situations get more attention.In terms of representational features,SEP textbooks tend to enrich function parts,while Glencoe textbooks emphasize the simplicity of language.Both Chinese and American textbook writers give priority to setting composite representations in geometry and algebra parts,and single-type representations in the probability and statistics part,supplemented by composite representations.There is no comprehensive representation modeling problem.In the three knowledge domains,the modeling process of SEP textbooks is more difficult than that of Glencoe textbooks.From the perspective of adjustment,the Chinese and American textbooks pay more attention to social situations in the function,probability and statistics sections,put the emphasis on the design of constructive situations,and tend to visualize the description of problems.In the part of geometry and algebra sections,the SEP textbooks pay more attention to social situations,while the Glencoe textbooks downplay professional situations,both of which tend to reduce the authenticity level of situations,and basically maintain the compound representation characteristics of the problem description.In the three knowledge domains,the SEP textbooks increase the difficulty of the mathematical modeling process more than the Glencoe textbooks.Overall,both SEP textbooks and Glencoe textbooks focus on the close connection between the real world and the mathematical world,and downplay the use of information technology.SEP textbooks focus on the application of knowledge within the mathematical world,and the focus on the mathematical modeling process is gradually shifting back.The compilation of the mathematical modeling problems in the Glencoe textbooks highlights the discovery of problems in the real world,and the focus on the mathematical modeling process is gradually moving forward.In view of the above situation,this study puts forward the following suggestions for the setting and use of mathematical modeling content in high school mathematics textbooks:enrich the situational description of mathematical modeling problems;increase the integrity of the mathematical modeling process;improve the operability of teaching and evaluation.