not puzzling, and not a paradox, either

Barry spotted this Thursday session (pdf file) at the NCTM's upcoming 2011 Annual Meeting:

The Chinese Paradox: How Traditional China Trumps U.S. Reform Attempts
(General Interest) Session

Using video of urban Chinese math classes and professional development, the speaker will explain the puzzling paradox for how seemingly traditional Chinese educational methods—large, teacher-centered, lecture-based classes; exam-driven curricula; and so on—produce students who excel over their U.S. peers, despite the United States’s recent reform attempts initiated by NCTM.

Thomas Ricks
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

The success of large, teacher-centered, lecture-based classes where students learn exam-driven curricula is not a puzzling paradox to me.


seemingly?

I'm wondering about that word seemingly.

seemingly traditional Chinese educational methods

I'm wondering whether Thomas Ricks is going to resolve the paradox by arguing that Chinese educational methods are only seemingly traditional.

I hope not.



Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers' Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States (Studies in Mathematical Thinking and Learning Series)