The Development of Teaching Expertise from an International Perspective

This book provides an insightful view of effective teaching practices in China from an internationalperspective by examining the grades 7-12 mathematics teacher preparation in the Shandong province ofChina. It is an excellent reference book for teacher educators, researchers, reformers, and teachingpractitioners. A qualitative research approach, involving in-depth interviews with purposive sampling often grades 7-12 award-winning mathematics teachers, was chosen to conduct the study. The participantsare from the Shandong province and have been awarded recognition for his/her achievements in teachinggrades 7-12 mathematics by the different levels: school, district, city, province, or nation; and his/herstudents have achieved high average scores in college entrance exams or in high school entrance examsamong the classes at the same grade level.Data analysis revealed the following findings: first, grades 7-12 mathematics teachers from the Shandong province of China were prepared to teachthrough pre-service training, in-service training, and informal learning. The pre-service training can be characterized as emphasizing formalmathematics training at advanced level. The in-service training is integrated with teacher collaboration and teaching research, and has thecharacteristics of diversity, continuity, and orientation toward teaching practice. The in-service training also stimulates teachers to conduct selfdirectedlearning. Second, the award-winning grades 7-12 mathematics teachers are identified by the following characteristics: they are passionateabout mathematics and share their passion through teaching; they actively take part in teaching research through application of teaching research in theclassroom, collaboration with peers, and systematic lesson preparation; they apply technology into teaching; and they take an active role in teachingresearch in order to expand their professional opportunities.Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions were reached: pre-service training and in-service training are both necessary processesfor mathematics teachers to build up their knowledge base for effective teaching. Pre-service training is just a starting point for the teaching profession.In-service training, integrated with teacher collaboration and teaching research should be a continuous activity that is a part of a teacher’s everydaylife.