A Comparison Of The Junior High School Mathematics Textbooks Of The Beijing Normal University Edition,the People’s Education Edition And Jiangsu Education Edition

The Basic Education Curriculum Reform Programme(for Trial Implementation)marked a shift from the unitary nature of "one programme,one book" to the diversity of "one standard,many books" for secondary school mathematics textbooks across the country.As each region has its own characteristics in the development of textbooks,cross-sectional comparisons of mathematics textbooks have been favoured by many researchers.By comparing the similarities and differences between different versions of textbooks,we can provide insights into the development of a new round of textbooks in China.The Real Numbers is an extremely important content in the field of number and algebra,in which students experience a second expansion of the number system at the junior secondary level,and is an important foundation for their future learning.Thus,this article compares various versions of junior secondary mathematics textbooks,taking the Real Numbers as an example.The author found that there are roughly three types of arrangements,with the differences mainly focusing on the three editions of junior secondary mathematics textbooks written under the guidance of the Compulsory Education Mathematics Curriculum Standards(2011)Edition,Beijing Normal University Press,People’s Education Press and Jiangsu Phoenix Education Press(hereinafter referred to as the Beijing Normal University Edition,the People’s Education Edition and the Jiangsu Education Edition respectively).In this paper,the three editions of the section on Real Numbers are examined in detail.Through the literature research method and comparative research method,this paper will conduct a comparative study of Real Numbers in the following three aspects: the structure of the system,the specific content,and the design of the exercises.Through the comparative study of the three versions of mathematics textbooks,it is expected to provide a reference for textbook writers and,at the same time,to provide useful reference for teachers in teaching Real Numbers.The following conclusions were reached after comparing the three textbook editions.(1)In terms of the system’s structure,the Beijing Normal University Edition and Jiangsu Education Edition of the textbook follow the same ordering for "The Pythagorean Theorem" and "Real Numbers," whereas the People’s Education Edition differs significantly and introduces knowledge points in different ways.The chapter division of the Beijing Normal University Edition is meticulous,with the largest number of chapters,compact content arrangement,and coherent knowledge.The "irrational numbers" settings in the three textbook editions vary,and the Beijing Normal University Edition’s organization is more consistent with historical evolution.(2)In terms of specific content,the three versions of the textbook introduce irrational numbers in roughly the same way,but the Beijing Normal University Edition and the People’s Education Edition give students the opportunity to explore and do hands-on work,while the Jiangsu Education Edition directly informs students of the results,reflecting the different philosophies of the textbook.The order in which the irrational numbers are arranged and the way in which they are presented in the People’s Education Edition lead students to believe that "a number with a radical is an irrational number".Both Beijing Normal University Edition and the People’s Education Edition teach "Arithmetic Square Roots" first and then "Square Roots" in the section on "Square Roots,".The order of these two knowledge items is reversed in the Jiangsu Education Edition,whereas the textbook is organized in a manner more relevant to the nature of knowledge and in line with students’ psychological characteristics.The People’s Education Edition places emphasis on students’ comprehension of the knowledge points and offers in-depth explanations for the frequently asked questions.(3)In terms of the total number of exercises,the Beijing Normal University Edition has the greatest,followed by the People’s Education Edition,and the Jiangsu Education Edition has the fewest.For the four factors of "inquiry","arithmetic","reasoning" and "knowledge" the difficulty of the People’s Education Edition and Jiangsu Education Edition is similar,while the difficulty of the Beijing Normal University Edition is better than both of them in these four factors.The Jiangsu Education Edition dominates in the contextual factors,and the Beijing Normal University Edition and the People’s Education Edition’ difficulty is comparable.The "arithmetic" aspect is highlighted in all three editions due to the knowledge features of this chapter.Based on the above conclusions,the author offers a little personal opinion on the writing of secondary school mathematics textbooks:(1)In order to establish effective integration of the history of mathematics with related information,highlight the educational value of the history of mathematics,and improve students’ mathematical literacy,the history of mathematics can also be incorporated into the introduction of knowledge.(2)Focus on sequencing of knowledge,not only in the order in which it was produced and the context in which it developed as far as possible,but also with reference to the psychological characteristics of students’ learning,as well as their learning situation and mastery of knowledge in the context of the current teaching of the textbook.(3)Increasing communication between textbook authors and front-line educators can both help authors of textbooks better understand the context of front-line instruction and teachers’ attitudes toward using the textbooks as well as front-line educators better comprehend the textbooks and increase the effectiveness of their instruction.