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Characteristics of teaching and learning single-digit whole number multiplication in china: the case of the nine-times table

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Abstract

This study investigates the teaching and learning of single-digit whole number multiplication in China. Analysis of data from documents, classroom teaching, and semi-structured interviews revealed three salient characteristics of emphasizing oral calculation, calculation speed, and understanding across standards, textbook and classroom practices. It also showed how mathematics teachers enact these features in their teaching practice to help students develop their computational skills. The study particularly elaborates the role played by the nine-times table, or Chengfa Kou Jue Table (CKJ Table) in teaching practices, as well as how teachers treat memorization of CKJ and how understanding of operations contributes to their better understanding the relationship between the two in the teaching process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mathematical Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Shu Zhang & Yiming Cao

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Lidong Wang

  3. School of Mathematics and Statistics, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400700, China

    Xinlian Li

Authors
  1. Shu Zhang
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  2. Yiming Cao
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  3. Lidong Wang
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  4. Xinlian Li
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Correspondence to Yiming Cao.

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Zhang, S., Cao, Y., Wang, L. et al. Characteristics of teaching and learning single-digit whole number multiplication in china: the case of the nine-times table. ZDM Mathematics Education 51, 81–94 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-018-01014-8

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