Mathematics classroom studies: Multiple lenses and perspectives

Abstract

In some ways, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Video Studies of 1995 and 1999 may be said to be the impetus for classroom studies in many countries. These studies created an awareness of how vast video data and how endless the possibilities of rich analysis were. They also stimulated thought and academic discourse about the conceptual framework and methodology, which led to subsequent video studies such as the Learner’s Perspective Study (LPS). This paper recounts how mathematics classroom studies have developed over the past decades in Singapore. It shows that the use of particular types of lenses does have an impact on images of mathematics teaching that emerge from the analysis. It also examines the stereotype of East Asian mathematics classroom instruction and suggests that instructional practices for mathematics classrooms cannot be considered Eastern or Western but a coherent combination of both.