Liping Ma

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people who have any combination of the following:
- learned elementary mathematics
- like to think about teaching
- like to think about math

Though it is a fleshed-out dissertation it's quite approachable. I have no formal training in education and found it productive to read.

It was very interesting to think about what my own answers to the interview questions would be and compare and contrast to the Chinese and American teachers. I didn't show more expect to learn things about elementary mathematics in the process, but I did, which was a pleasant surprise. It also lends a lot of weight to the point that even "elementary" mathematics rewards repeated study.

I do wonder how different schools in both China and America are now, twenty years later. Have the two countries diverged more as the various feedback loops discussed in the book have continued? show less