Wen Ma

East Meets West in Teacher Preparation: Crossing Chinese and American Boundaries Wen Ma

Brief Description: The teacher-training profession is searching for new ideas to prepare the next generation of teachers who can successfully educate 21st century students. At the same time, there is an increase in foreign-born professors, with one of the most significant groups originating from China. East Meets West in Teacher Preparation gives voice to teacher educators from Chinese backgrounds who are now teaching in Americas colleges. With this unique book, the field can learn about Chinese educational thinking and practices directly from educators who have personal and professional knowledge of both the United States and Chinese systems. Readers will come to understand how these bilingual educators view and speak about their lived experiences and perspectives across the Pacific shores; how they reflect on and articulate the similarities and differences between educational systems in the United States and China; what strategies they use to navigate through complex sociocultural boundaries; as well as what possibilities exist for the two systems to learn from each other. This important book will help educators prepare for the intersection already developing between Chinese and American teaching approaches and practices. Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; East Meets West in Teacher Preparation gives voice to an increasing number of teacher educators from China teaching in America's universities. With this unique book, American educators can learn about Chinese educational thinking and practices directly from those who have personal and professional knowledge of and experience in both the United States and Chinese systems. Drawing on their lived experiences and perspectives, contributors discuss how they view the similarities and differences between educational systems in the United States and China, what strategies they use to navigate through complex sociocultural boundaries, and what possibilities exist for the American and Chinese educational communities to learn from each other. This important book offers educators an in-depth exploration and understanding of the growing relationship between Chinese and American pedagogical approaches and practices.--Publisher description. Table of Contents: Foreword / Allan Luke -- Acknowledgments -- Part I. Mapping Out Similarities and Differences in Teaching in China and the United States -- 1. Caring About the Chinese Educators' Experiences and Perspectives: Negotiating Toward the Middle Ground / Wen Ma -- 2. Learning About the Challenges of Teaching in Two Worlds: Ideologies and Beliefs in China and the United States / Ran Hu -- Part II. Drawing on Chinese Educators' Perspectives to Reflect on the Middle Ground -- 3. Being Culturally Relevant in Teaching / Binyao Zheng -- 4. Becoming a Chinese Teacher Educator in the Southeastern United States / Ye He -- 5. Identities, Values, and Beliefs: Listening to a Chinese Teacher's Narratives / Ko-Yin Sung -- 6. Integration and Transformation: The Teaching Experiences and Pedagogical Journeys of Four Chinese Professors / Wen Ma -- Part III. Studying Chinese Educators' Professional Practices to Establish the Middle Ground -- 7. Learning to Write in Chinese in Community-Based Chinese Heritage Language Classrooms / Chang Pu -- 8. Indirect vs. Direct Instructional Approaches to Teaching Research Methodology / Chuang Wang, Wanying Wang -- 9. Using Collaborative Action Research for Science Teachers' Professional Development / Meilan Zhang -- Part IV. Comparing and Contrasting Science and Mathematics Education in China and the United States to Reach for the Middle Ground -- 10. Paradigm Contrast: Reflection on Preservice Science Teacher Education in China and North America / Xiufeng Liu -- 11. Family and School Influences on Students' Math Achievement: United States vs. China / Ming Ming Chiu -- 12. Demystifying the Math Myth: Analyzing the Contributing Factors for the Achievement Gap Between Chinese and U. S. Students / Guili Zhang, Miguel A. Padilla -- Conclusion: How Educators from China and the United States May Learn About and from One Another to Arrive at the Middle Ground / Wen Ma -- About the Contributors -- Index.

Contributor Bio:  Luke, Allan Allan Luke is Professor of Education at the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.