Use of Textbooks: Textbooks, which reflects the curriculum, are an important informant to portray the intended curriculum (Johansson, 2003). They are absolutely a valuable source for teachers (Stodolsky, 1999; Remillard, 2005; Tarr et al., 2006). The research on textbooks benefits substantively to the understanding of a curriculum in a particular region (Thaqi & Gimenez, 2016). Outstanding Performance in Some Regions: Mathematics learning in some Asian regions interests many educators, as the students from these regions have outperformed others in several worldwide mathematical assessments. The PISA report highlights that more than a quarter of students from each of the top-performing regions: Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Guangdong (China), Hong Kong (China) and Chinese Taipei could mathematically verbalize complicated problems (Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016). Another renowned international assessment TIMSS also shows that almost half (i.e. 47-49%) of students at Secondary 2 in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong reach the advanced international benchmark (Mullis et al., 2012). The textbooks adopted by these Asian countries or regions are definitely worth referencing. Textbook Content Analysis: This study selected one textbook from each of these Asian regions and their content was decoded according to a proposed framework called Assessment-Background-Content textbook analysis, which was developed from the textbook context analysis of Incikabi & Tjoe (2013), Huntley (2008), Alajmi (2012) and National Research Council (2004). Textbooks were coded according to their lesson components. Pickle (2012) adapted from Jones’s (2004) coding suggested ten lesson components in identifying units in the textbooks. The ten components include description, definition, question, activity, worked example, oral exercise, follow-up practice, highlight, project, and reflection (Pickle, 2012, p.51). Textbooks in Asian Regions: The proposed presentation will compare the

The paper focuses on the evaluation of the present curriculum in Hong Kong. It discusses the analysis of questionnaires collected from 130 primary schools in Hong Kong. Findings regarding the views of mathematics teachers on the goals of curriculum, teaching content and assessment methods are also presented. Besides the paper discusses the learning and teaching strategies in the mathematics classroom, small class teaching (SCT) has been adopted by most of the schools in the first three years of primary education for about ten years. A lot of research has been conducted to study the efficacy of SCT. Most of the studies confirmed the benefits of SCT. The author made a study of this in 4 primary schools. There were classroom observations for 10 lessons. Whether their teaching can enhance children^ higher order thinking skills will also be investigated. In Hong Kong, the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) is an assessment administered at the territory level. It facilitates assessment for learning by providing schools with objective data on students' performances at the end of Key Stages 1-3. This paper examines its efficacy and discusses the public view on it. Teachers are interviewed regarding their views on the mathematics curriculum and their experiences. Children are also interviewed to investigate their interest in mathematics learning. The paper continues to discuss the mathematics curriculum in 3 different countries namely, the United States, the United Kingdom and Mainland China. A brief comparison is made regarding the content of their primary mathematics curricula, the learning and teaching strategies, children^ interest in mathematics learning and the cultural impact on their learning. Moreover, analysis of the cultural differences and contextual factors such as high expectation of parents, keen competition in education may shed light on the design of the mathematics curriculum. Research into comparative studies of the mathematics curricula of major Asian

In response to the Hong Kong government’s call for renewing and enriching “the curricula and learning activities of Science, Technology and Mathematics, and enhance the training of teachers, thereby allowing primary and secondary students to fully unleash their potential in innovation”, the author collaborated with a team of science teacher educators and scientists to develop a new dual major science teacher education programme called Bachelor of Education in Science (BEd(Science)) which prepares competent graduates for teaching two senior secondary science subjects (physics, chemistry or biology) as well as the junior secondary science. Compared with the conventional Bachelor of Science (BSc) programme offered by many other universities, our BEd(Science) has the special programme features of not only offering three kinds of dual majors (physics + chemistry/chemistry + biology/biology + physics) but also deliberately integrating subject knowledge with pedagogical content knowledge in many science courses, practising pedagogy in field experience (to be conducted in school environment) and delivering the programme by a teaching team composed of both scientists and science educators. Apart from five foundation courses in science and science education, there are nine advanced science subject courses plus a subject-specific pedagogy course in each chosen major. Besides, our design of the curriculum content of the BEd(Science) programme is based on a detailed examination of the local school science curricula so that it is ensured to cover all the subject knowledge necessary for the effective teaching of the corresponding school science subject. Hence, those advanced science courses or topics such as advanced quantum mechanics, which are usually required for specific scientific research but are not relevant nor required for the teaching of secondary science, will be replaced by other educational courses or topics which could effectively help school pupils remove their common

The trend to extend science education to include STEM education in the US in the recent decade also takes place in many other countries in the world. In Hong Kong, the future development in education proposed in the Policy Address 2015 included: “The Education Bureau will renew and enrich the curricula and learning activities of Science, Technology and Mathematics, and enhance the training of teachers, thereby allowing primary and secondary pupils to fully unleash their potential in innovation (item 152).” However, the integration of science with technology, mathematics and engineering is still to be established and further research along this line is necessary. Therefore, this study attempts to analyze the written reports in an inquiry project event for a better understanding of STEM activities demonstrated by the primary students. The primary students’ inquiry project reports were chosen from those 140 teams (with 4-5 members in a team) with 1000 primary students who were aged 10-12 participated in the 2015 “Innovations in Science and Environment Studies” event in Hong Kong. Under the main theme of “Go Green at Home”, the participating teams had to present the processes and results of their inquiry projects and to submit a written report which recorded their ideas, methodology and inquiry processes and results. 10 project reports were randomly chosen from each group of outstanding, merit and consolation projects with a total of 30 projects being analyzed. Content analysis was first conducted to code STEM activities demonstrated in each project report. The coded data were then changed into numerical data for quantitative analysis. The results showed that more engineering and science activities were adopted than technology and mathematics activities in the inquiry projects. Outstanding group conducted more STEM activities than the merit and consolation groups and significant group differences existed in science and mathematics activities. Furthermore, science activities

Flipping the classroom is a current pedagogical innovation in many schools and universities. Although interest in flipped classroom (or Inverted Classroom) continues to grow, its implementation so far has been driven more by teachers' intuitive beliefs, rather than empirically-based principles. Many studies merely replace in-class instructions with videos and use class time for group discussions. But what instructional design framework should we use in planning the overall flipped classroom approach? This paper attempts to answer this question through two exploratory studies conducted in a Hong Kong secondary school. In Study 1, a flipped classroom Mathematics remedial approach was offered for underperforming students (n = 13) in Form 6 (Grade 12). In Study 2, high ability students (n = 24) in Form 6 participated in another flipped classroom Mathematics training approach. Both flipped classroom approaches utilized the First Principles of Instruction design theory. Paired t-test results indicated significant learning gains in both groups of students. Based on the suggestions of students and teacher as well as the existing literature, several recommendations for course planning, out-of-class learning, and in-class learning of flipped classroom are proposed.

The Hong Kong Education Bureau recommends that primary school pupils' mathematical achievement be enhanced via collaborative discussions engendered by group work. This pedagogic change may be hindered by Confucian heritage classroom practices and Western-dominated group work approaches that predominate in Hong Kong. To overcome these obstacles, we introduced a relational approach to group work in a quasi-experimental study. Our sample included 20 teachers randomly allocated to experimental (12) and control (8) conditions and their 504 mathematics pupils (aged 9-10). The relational approach focused on the development of peer relationships in a culturally appropriate manner and was implemented over 7 months. Pupils were pre-/post-tested for mathematical achievement and systematically observed, and the teachers were assessed for subject knowledge and pre-/post-tested for pedagogic efficacy. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) results show enhanced mathematical achievement, supported by improved peer-based communication skills and time-on-task for the experimental pupils. Experimental teachers raised their pedagogic efficacy. Results indicate the potential of the relational approach for boosting academic achievement via enhanced child-peer-teacher interaction and the need to reassess the role of peer-based latent collectivist learning in Confucian heritage classrooms.

This study is the part of a larger study on investigating Hong Kong (HK) prospective teachers’ (PTs) Subject Matter Knowledge (SMK) and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). In this paper, five HK PTs’ SMK and PCK on teaching one topic regarding square root were investigated. The results suggest that insufficient understanding on the concept of algebraic operation is the major obstacle to limit those student teachers from teaching students with mathematical understanding. The results further echo with the viewpoint that SMK and PCK are two interrelated constructs and rich SMK leads to high quality of PCK.

Background: This study was part of a large-scale quasi-experiment on the causal relations among feedback, self-directed learning, and mathematics achievement of primary students in Hong Kong. The larger study was sponsored by a General Research Grant awarded by Research Grants Council of UGC, Hong Kong (Project Number 844011). Aims and Keywords: The study aimed to develop and validate, using a Rasch approach, of an instrument for measuring mathematics achievement of Primary five students. Sample: The sample comprised 1,368 Primary 5 students from 16 Hong Kong schools who participated voluntarily. Methods: A pre-test/post-test design was used for the larger study. Data for this study were collected at the pre-test in form of a mathematics test completed during class-time. A 35-item mathematics test was developed after careful analysis of the local curriculum, and in consultation with teachers on the suitability of the test for students by the end of Semester One of Primary 5. Rasch analysis with the Winsteps software (version 3.70) was then used to validate the instrument. Results: The results showed that: (1) item-fit was between 0.5 and 1.5 for all items except one; (2) Eigen value of the first contrast of the Rasch PCA of Residuals was below 2.0; (3) Rasch person and item reliabilities were 0.80 and 1.00 respectively; (4) there was good alignment between item difficulty and student ability; (5) no gender-DIF was found in the items. Conclusions: Measurement validity is one of the most crucial factors for the overall validity of any research study. This study developed a valid and reliable instrument for measuring mathematics achievement of Primary 5 students.

在2012及2015年學生能力國際評估計劃（PISA）考試中，亞洲地區包括上海、香港、新加坡及台灣的學生（平均15歲）的數學能力名列首五名，美國、英格蘭等歐美國家則處於中游位置。從這項考試數據顯示，美、英兩地學生的數學能力不及亞洲地方。硏究顯示，不同地方學生的數學運用差異與身處的學習環境有一定關係；此外，他們如何學習數學、應用數學邏輯亦會影響評估表現（OECD, 2012）。課堂上，教科書是輔助老師教學的主要工具。Nciol & Crepo（2006）指出，教科書對學生數學學習表現有重要影響，亦在教師教授數學時扮演關鍵角色。Stein、Remillard與Smith（2007）研究進一步發現，教科書内容中的排序、組織、焦點會影響數學老師的教學及學生如何學習數學。 因此，本文對照香港、新加坡、美國及英格蘭的初中數學教科書，探討當中異同。透過20多篇探討四地初中數學教科書的文章，檢視學生數學成績差異與教科書編撰的關係。全文將從教科書的課程目的、課題內容、練習題目及使用等四方面分析問題。

本文旨在匯報在香港中學數學科創新教學法的探索性研究結果。“翻轉課堂”，即學生在家中觀看相關概念視頻資料後，然後在課堂上解題，可以讓學生提高學習解決問題的能力和相關知識；而創新教學法與“翻轉課堂”的方式恰恰相反，學生首先在課堂中盡力解決問題並分享結果，再通過家中觀看相關概念與步驟的視頻來鞏固概念和解題步驟。同時整個教，學過程利用移動裝置支援學生學習。這種創新教學方法名為“流動翻轉課堂”。中學一年級的兩個班級參與了本次兩個星期的研究，其中一個使用“翻轉課堂”而另一個使用“移動翻轉課堂”。研究結果表明儘管兩個班級學習成績均取得提高，但使用翻轉課堂的班級有更好的表現。但是，在解決問題技巧方面，學生使用新的教學方式展示出更好的結果。這表明新的教學方式有助於提升學生解決問題的能力。