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Background: Past studies clarified the relationship between dimensions of teaching and achievement emotions. However, more information is needed about the underlying process behind this relationship among students with different mathematical abilities., Aims: This study examined the association between students' perceived teaching quality and achievement emotions in Chinese mathematics classrooms, focusing on students with different mathematics achievements., Samples: There are 1045 secondary school students (49.1% girls; M age  = 13.90, SD = .84) from Chinese mathematics classrooms in the present study., Methods: A multi-group structural equation model was adopted to test the relationship between teaching quality and achievement emotions between low- and high-achieving students., Results: Control-value appraisals mediated in teacher support and achievement emotions in both student groups. At the same time, control-value appraisals failed to mediate cognitive activation and achievement emotions in low-achieving students, while the mediating effect of control-value appraisals was identified in high-achieving students. Besides, classroom management was related to achievement emotions via academic value only in low-achieving students. In contrast, it was related to achievement emotions via control-value appraisals in high-achieving students., Conclusions: The results clarified the mediation roles of control-value appraisals in teaching quality and achievement emotions in students with low- and high-achieving achievements. Similarities and differences were also identified between the two student groups. Teacher support was beneficial to students' positive emotions while classroom management helped to lessen students' negative emotions. High-achieving students benefited more from activating teaching compared with low-achieving students., (© 2024 British Psychological Society.)

Interest in socioeconomic differences in academic motivation has been longstanding. However, previous research has often treated both low- and high-SES students as homogenous groups. This study aims to address this gap by investigating the developmental trajectory profiles of mathematics motivation during early adolescence, with a focus on variations within and across SES groups. Multigroup latent class growth analysis was used on a sample of 3718 early adolescents in China (initial M age was 9.40 ± 0.52 years; 48.0% girls) across 2 years from grades 4 through 6. The analysis identified three distinct self-determined mathematics motivation trajectory profiles within each SES group: a good-quality profile (i.e., initially high autonomous but low controlled), a high-quantity profile (i.e., initially high both autonomous and controlled), and a low-quantity profile (i.e., initially low both autonomous and controlled). A greater proportion of low-SES students were observed within the low-quantity profile than within the good-quality profile. The study found that the failure-is-enhancing view was a protective factor against two relatively maladaptive motivational trajectory profiles (i.e., high-quantity profile and low-quantity profile), irrespective of socioeconomic background. These findings emphasize the importance of implementing motivational interventions for early adolescents that consider both structural factors (e.g., socioeconomic backgrounds) and psychological factors (e.g., failure beliefs), to foster students' academic development., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper aims to investigate whether online private supplementary education, also known as shadow education, can alleviate educational inequality and what types of mechanisms can help alleviate it. We investigate this using an online learning platform dataset (3,603 anonymous students from China) with additional data from multiple sources and employ geospatial analyses to measure students' socioeconomic, regional and rural/urban inequalities. We find that taking part in online education narrows the performance gap in mathematics between privileged and unprivileged students in terms of school status and regional disparity in China. Theoretically, two micro-level mechanisms explain the alleviating differences: (1) equal access mechanism: students from lower city tiers and low-status schools show greater score improvement when having equal access to online education; (2) equal quality mechanism: students from rural regions improve their in-class rankings more substantially if they receive equal quality online education with the same tutoring and learning environment alongside urban students. This study comprehensively looks at the different effects of two mechanisms of online education--equal access and equal quality--for alleviating various types of inequality. Thus we speak to both educational inequality and digital inequality theory, finding that equal access to online education is not enough for rural students, as they also need access to classes of equal educational quality with their urban counterparts.

Mathematical modelling has been included in many mathematics curricula worldwide, and China's curricula are no exception. The development of modelling competencies has recently been listed among the Chinese mathematics curriculum's six key objectives. However, the manner in which nationwide learning and teaching of modelling should be conducted presents a key challenge to China's schools, most of which are wholly lacking in experience of this practice. In this study we present a thematic analysis of the conceptions of four mathematicians, five mathematics educators and seven mathematics teachers, with regard to the learning and teaching of modelling. The results show that the participants' views of modelling can be categorised and linked to the following theoretical perspectives of modelling: applied, epistemological, educational, pedagogical and conceptual perspectives. Interestingly, the mathematicians and mathematics educators tended towards the atomistic approach to the learning and teaching of modelling, while the mathematics teachers placed greater emphasis on the holistic approach. The mathematicians and mathematics educators stressed student autonomy, while the teachers emphasised teacher demonstration. All participants considered group work to be an appropriate means of conducting modelling learning and teaching. Additionally, some teachers were concerned that modelling could not be incorporated into mathematical teaching and learning if it could not be included in high-stakes examinations. The paper concludes with a discussion on the rationale behind the existence of the various conceptions and the potential insights that may be drawn from these conceptions.

The level of difficulty of mathematical test items is a critical aspect for evaluating test quality and educational outcomes. Accurately predicting item difficulty during test creation is thus significantly important for producing effective test papers. This study used more than ten years of content and score data from China's Henan Provincial College Entrance Examination in Mathematics as an evaluation criterion for test difficulty, and all data were obtained from the Henan Provincial Department of Education. Based on the framework established by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for test item assessment methodology, this paper proposes a new framework containing eight features considering the uniqueness of mathematics. Next, this paper proposes an XGBoost-based SHAP model for analyzing the difficulty of mathematics tests. By coupling the XGBoost method with the SHAP method, the model not only evaluates the difficulty of mathematics tests but also analyzes the contribution of specific features to item difficulty, thereby increasing transparency and mitigating the "black box" nature of machine learning models. The model has a high prediction accuracy of 0.99 for the training set and 0.806 for the test set. With the model, we found that parameter-level features and reasoning-level features are significant factors influencing the difficulty of subjective items in the exam. In addition, we divided senior secondary mathematics knowledge into nine units based on Chinese curriculum standards and found significant differences in the distribution of the eight features across these different knowledge units, which can help teachers place different emphasis on different units during the teaching process. In summary, our proposed approach significantly improves the accuracy of item difficulty prediction, which is crucial for intelligent educational applications such as knowledge tracking, automatic test item generation, and intelligent paper generation. These results provide tools that are better aligned with and responsive to students' learning needs, thus effectively informing educational practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics anxiety (MA) is a widespread phenomenon that affects an individual's learning of mathematics. MA between different genders has been of great interest to researchers. Meta-analysis was used to examine the relationship between MA and gender in Chinese children, along with the influencing factors. After literature search and screening, 83 papers and 91 independent samples met the inclusion criteria. The results of the main effect test of the random effect model revealed a correlation of significant levels between MA and gender, r = -0.131, 95%CI [-0.158, -0.105], Z = -9.508, and p < 0.001. Girls had higher MA than boys. The outcomes of the moderating effect test indicated that the moderating effect of age, economic region and measurement instrument in the relationship between MA and gender was significant. But the moderating effect of period was not significant. Specifically, gender differences in MA were greater at the middle school compared to the elementary school. And the greatest correlation between children's MA and gender was in the western region. The gender difference of MA measured by different instruments varied., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper aims to trace the origins of dual entry beyond a Eurocentric boundary. The aim can be refined further by asking: did the Chinese use dual entry and how did dual entry appear in Europe. Double entry is more advanced as it includes the location of the account in which the contra entry is made. Dual entry approaches accounting, like mathematics, as a tautology, whereby an equation is constructed from a simple axiom. Defined as such, this paper argues that the concept of dual entry had its earliest origins in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anemia is a global public health problem, especially common among children in developing countries, which affects their physical and mental health development. However, there is currently a lack of research on the relationship between anemia and academic performance. The objective of this study was to explore the association between anemia and academic performance, and the possible factors mediating this association among Chinese children. The data for this study came from the baseline survey of the Chinese Education Panel Survey Elementary School Cohort. The cohort was conducted from September 2018 to June 2019 in 160 elementary schools, covering 20 provinces and 40 counties/districts throughout China. Paper-based questionnaires were used, completed by 4th grade students, parents, head teachers, main teachers, and principals. The data used included questionnaire responses, physical measurements, and academic performance of 17,695 students. Based on students' hemoglobin levels and school altitude data, we grouped them into anemia and nonanemia categories using WHO criteria. The anemia group had 1,154 individuals, while the nonanemia group had 16,541 individuals. An ordinary least squares regression and mediation effect analysis were conducted. Our findings found the prevalence of anemia was 6.52% among Chinese Grade 4 students. Students without anemia had a higher average test score for three academic subjects than students with anemia (P < 0.001); their test scores for Chinese, Mathematics, and English were also higher (P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed a negative association between anemia and average test scores as well as individual test scores for the three subjects. Mediation analysis found that anemia affected academic performance directly (P < 0.05), and indirectly by decreasing the cognition score (P < 0.05). The indirect effect was 19.9% of the total effect. Findings highlighted anemia affected academic performance both directly and indirectly. Nutrition-related interventions should be implemented to prevent a decrease in academic performance among students with anemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education emphasizes solving problems in authentic contexts and developing 21st-century skills. It also helps to cultivate individuals possessing scientific curiosity and innovative abilities. These capacities align with China's core literacy training. Recent years have seen K-12 STEM cases flourish nationally. However, little attention has been paid to the shared characteristics of these practices, and suggestions for implementing STEM in primary and secondary schools are scarce. This paper presents commonalities in STEM practices within China from a curriculum perspective and offers recommendations for implementation based on these attributes. Specifically, this study first constructed analytical metrics via the Delphi method to assess STEM cases. Next, 51 typical STEM teaching cases in different regions of China were analyzed using these metrics. Based upon the statistical results, five characteristics of STEM cases were summarized: China's STEM education has an unbalanced geographical distribution; current practices benchmark the need for innovative talent training; most instructional content is drawn from real-world problems, but interdisciplinary integration deserves closer focus; the cases featured rich teaching activities and were conducted in a project-based learning fashion with insufficient emphasis on mathematical applications; and China seems to be holistically promoting STEM education, especially through new technologies and supplementary materials. Findings should allow instructors to better understand the intricacies of STEM implementation and to promote successful STEM cases. Recommendations are also provided to optimize the localization of STEM education in China in order to cultivate innovative and interdisciplinary talent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study looks into how students' perceived teacher support is linked to achievement emotions in mathematics via academic control and value. The data was gathered from 602 secondary students (13-16-year-olds) in 16 mathematics classrooms from three public schools in Jiangsu province, China. Participants were asked to respond to the paper-pencil questionnaire assessing students' perceived teacher support, cognitive appraisals, and achievement emotions in mathematics. Findings showed that cognitive appraisals played complete mediation roles in teacher support and achievement emotions. Intrinsic value and mathematics self-concept were shown to serve a positive role in teacher support and achievement emotions, whereas extrinsic value was found to play a negative one. Besides, teacher support showed the greatest indirect effect on achievement emotions through mathematics self-concept. Lastly, findings indicated the great relevance of teacher support to students' anger, boredom, enjoyment and relaxation in mathematics classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small data global well-posedness of the 3D incompressible Navier--Stokes equations in R³ with only one-directional dissipation remains an outstanding open problem. The dissipation in just one direction, say, 2 1u is simply insufficient in controlling the nonlinearity in the whole space R³. The beautiful work of Paicu and Zhang [Sci. China Math., 62 (2019), pp. 1175-1204] solved the case when the spatial domain is bounded in the x1-direction by observing a crucial Poincaré-type inequality. Motivated by this Navier-Stokes open problem and by experimental observations on the stabilizing effects of background magnetic fields, this paper intends to understand the global well-posedness and stability of a special 3D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) system near a background magnetic field. The spatial domain is R³, and the velocity in this MHD system obeys the 3D Navier-Stokes with only one-directional dissipation. With no Poincaré-type inequality, this problem appears to be impossible. By discovering the mathematical mechanism of the experimentally observed stabilizing effect and introducing several innovative techniques to deal with the derivative loss difficulties, we are able to bound the Navier-Stokes nonlinearity and solve the desired global well-posedness and stability problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to supplement and improve the landscape evaluation system of traditional villages and play a positive guiding role in the specific protection and development of village landscape, this paper proposes the ecological landscape environment evaluation of traditional villages in Guanzhong from the perspective of rural revitalization. First of all, the relevant national and provincial evaluation standards are deeply studied, and the comprehensive evaluation system of the traditional village landscape in the Guanzhong region is constructed by using expert scoring and an analytic hierarchy process, which includes 6 criteria and 25 indicators. Three typical villages of different types and different development stages, namely, village A, village B, and Village C, were selected for landscape investigation and comprehensive evaluation. The results show that the weight of village location and landscape pattern is the largest, that is, the most important. The second is architectural landscape, with a weight of 0.236, accounting for a high proportion. Then, it is the natural landscape and street landscape, with a weight of 0.1-0.2. Finally, it is the intangible cultural landscape and landscape style protection, with a weight of less than 0.1. The alpha value of the comprehensive evaluation questionnaire of the village A is 0.984. The alpha value of the comprehensive evaluation questionnaire of village B is 0.941. The alpha value of the comprehensive evaluation questionnaire for the landscape of village C is 0.986, which is greater than 0.8. Conclusion. This study makes a comprehensive evaluation of the landscape of typical traditional villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Study: The effects of the flipped classroom (FC) on students' academic performance remain ambiguous, and the use of pre‐class videos may be one of the main factors hindering students' progress. A software package called GeoGebra has been proposed as a substitute for pre‐class videos to aid students' learning. Objective: This study investigates the effect of the FC using GeoGebra (FCG) on mathematical performance and memory among senior secondary students. Methods: One hundred and sixty students of a senior high school in China were selected. A quasi‐experimental design was implemented in which the classes were split into the intervention group (FCG), control group A (FCV) and control group B (TL) by random assignment. Pretest, Post‐test 1 and Post‐test 2 were introduced. Results and Conclusion: The results indicate that both the FCG and the FC with pre‐class videos (FCV) were more effective than traditional lectures in enhancing students' academic test scores, and that the effect of the FCG was comparable to its video counterpart, F(2, 136) = 3.752, ρ = 0.026, η2 = 0.052. Although their effects were similar, the qualitative results revealed some hidden benefits associated with the replacement of pre‐class video with GeoGebra. Furthermore, although they were equally effective in promoting students' performance in the short‐term, the long‐term effects on academic performance of both forms of FC were non‐significant when compared with traditional lectures. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Flipped classroom is an effective strategy in teaching mathematics.Among those challenges, video may be one of the main factors hindering the effect of flipped classroom. What this paper adds: GeoGebra could be an effective alternative to video.Effect between the flipped classroom using GeoGebra and the flipped classroom using video were similar.Both the flipped classroom with GeoGebra and the flipped classroom with videos were more effective than traditional lectures. Implications for practice and/or policy: Students' short‐term performance could be enhanced by visualisation provided by flipped classroom.To enhance students' long‐term performance, an appropriate amount of homework is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematics courses in higher education (advanced mathematics, linear algebra, etc.) are characterized by abstract concepts, many easily confused concepts, many nature theorems, and large amount of calculation of many difficulties. In most cases, due to the knowledge level, knowledge structure, and requirements of the teaching process, the traditional mathematics teaching adopts the straight-to-point approach to the introduction of mathematical concepts, and the explanation of property theorems mostly adopts the method of giving the theorems first and then analyzing and proving them for the calculation problems are mostly manual calculation. Educators are mainly concerned with how to organize teaching so that the trainees can acquire more knowledge, while ignoring the subject status of the trainees, and it is often related to the talents of higher education. The training goals are consistent. The traditional mathematics teaching only reflects a function of knowledge inheritance, but lacks the function of knowledge innovation. The lack of concept generation process in teaching makes the abstraction stronger; the lack of case analysis process makes the applicability weaken; and the serious separation of engineering problem solving and computer operation makes it lack of practicability. The current mathematics knowledge and curriculum make students in a passive position in the process of mastering basic knowledge. From the study about the present condition of the math education and the real requirement, the thesis will talk about content, characteristics, and the relationships for the practical education along with interactive teaching process. What is more, the ways of education and online education is able to be presented. At the same time, this paper also obtains the maximum weight value of each teaching quality evaluation index through analytic hierarchy process, introduces the quadratic fuzzy comprehensive calculation method of fuzzy operator, and determines the maximum component of the evaluation level as the final evaluation level according to the most subordinate degree criterion of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. Especially in the formulation of teaching quality evaluation model in China, the qualitative description is processed quantitatively by the method of fuzzy mathematics and statistics, so that the qualitative index and the quantitative index are organically combined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitions and related activities are an essential part of mathematics education for gifted students. China has been one of the most successful countries in recent decades in the International Mathematical Olympiad. To illustrate the Chinese experience of mathematics competitions, in this paper we first present a historical sketch of Chinese mathematics competitions, then provide a comprehensive description of its pyramidal selection and training systems, including the introduction of main competitions for high school students, some examples of competition problems, and the training of students and tutors. Furthermore, to investigate the influence of mathematics competitions on contestants, an empirical study of 372 former contestants was conducted and is reported. The results showed that most of the contestants majored in mathematics or areas closely related to mathematics. Nearly half of the contestants intended to do mathematics research or work highly related to mathematics. A majority of the contestants held positive attitudes toward their mathematics competition experiences and affirmed the value of these experiences in cultivating personal interests and developing mathematics abilities. Some negative influences of competition experiences on contestants are also identified. Finally, problems existing in the development of Chinese mathematics competitions and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For any n\in \mathbb {N}=\{0,1,2,\ldots \} and b,c\in \mathbb {Z}, the generalized central trinomial coefficient T_n(b,c) denotes the coefficient of x^n in the expansion of (x^2+bx+c)^n. Let p be an odd prime. In this paper, we determine the summations \sum _{k=0}^{p-1}T_k(b,c)^2/m^k modulo p^2 for integers m with certain restrictions. As applications, we confirm some conjectural congruences of Sun [Sci. China Math. 57 (2014), pp. 1375–1400]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the educational potential of social media has been widely acknowledged, it remains unclear whether social media use might present opportunities for the development of math identity. This study drew on the socialization framework of math identity to examine the relationships between social media use for math learning, bicultural identity integration, ethnic‐math beliefs and math identity among ethnic minority high school students in China. Structural equation modelling results showed that (a) social media use was positively related to math identity; (b) high bicultural identity integration was positively associated with math identity, while biased ethnic‐math beliefs were negatively related to math identity and (c) social media use suppressed the socialization process of math identity, weakening the maladaptive roles of low bicultural identity integration and biased ethnic‐math beliefs in shaping math identity. Our findings highlight the beneficial role of social media use in student math learning. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicSocial media use for learning is associated with students' academic motivation, engagement and academic achievement.Social media use may have affordances for identity development, especially for ethnic minorities.The formation of ethnic minority students' math identity is intertwined with their math and ethnic socialization.What this paper addsSocial media use for math learning was directly and positively related to ethnic minorities' math identity.This study quantitatively confirmed the associations of bicultural identity integration and ethnic‐math beliefs with math identity.Social media use suppressed the relations of bicultural identity integration and ethnic‐math beliefs with math identity.Implications for practice and/or policyPromoting social media use for math learning benefits ethnic minority students' math identity.Social media use for math learning could alleviate the maladaptive role of low bicultural identity integration and biased ethnic‐math beliefs in math identity development.Ethnic minority students' math identity socialization processes merit attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have emphasised that play can promote children's learning of mathematics. However, little research has been directed towards understanding how collective imaginary play motivates children's mathematical learning. Informed by the cultural-historical conception of play and motives, this paper examines how Conceptual PlayWorld (CPW) creates conditions for Chinese children's meaningful mathematical learning using the concept of repeating patterns as an example. Video observations of teachers interacting with children (4–5 years) during the CPW implementation (8.54 h), as well as children's interviews (5.75 h), were gathered and analysed. Following the focus child Zeng's motives and intentions but all children's experiences in the CPW, the findings show CPW appears to create mathematical conditions that promote thinking, imagining and play. Zeng's motives for mathematical learning are stimulated by his play motives which are amplified through his active participation and problem-solving in a CPW, and this creates conditions for his personally meaningful learning of mathematics in the Chinese kindergarten context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematical modelling has been included in many mathematics curricula worldwide, and China's curricula are no exception. The development of modelling competencies has recently been listed among the Chinese mathematics curriculum's six key objectives. However, the manner in which nationwide learning and teaching of modelling should be conducted presents a key challenge to China's schools, most of which are wholly lacking in experience of this practice. In this study we present a thematic analysis of the conceptions of four mathematicians, five mathematics educators and seven mathematics teachers, with regard to the learning and teaching of modelling. The results show that the participants' views of modelling can be categorised and linked to the following theoretical perspectives of modelling: applied, epistemological, educational, pedagogical and conceptual perspectives. Interestingly, the mathematicians and mathematics educators tended towards the atomistic approach to the learning and teaching of modelling, while the mathematics teachers placed greater emphasis on the holistic approach. The mathematicians and mathematics educators stressed student autonomy, while the teachers emphasised teacher demonstration. All participants considered group work to be an appropriate means of conducting modelling learning and teaching. Additionally, some teachers were concerned that modelling could not be incorporated into mathematical teaching and learning if it could not be included in high-stakes examinations. The paper concludes with a discussion on the rationale behind the existence of the various conceptions and the potential insights that may be drawn from these conceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual exam questions in China National College Entrance Examination (CNCEE, commonly known as Gaokao) have attracted wide attention from the entire society in China. This paper analyzes an important math exam question related to always holding inequalities with an unknown parameter from the 2020 CNCEE and builds different solutions via parameter separation or classified discussion, and then gives a systematic and effective design framework for questions related to problems of always holding inequalities and zeros of functions with an unknown parameter for the CNCEE. The framework reveals the internal mechanism of designing the math exam questions in the CNCEE. According to the design framework, two simulated math exam questions with reference solutions will be proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modelling competencies are currently included in numerous curricula worldwide and are generally accepted as a complex, process-oriented construct. Therefore, effective measurement should include multiple dimensions, like the sub-competencies required throughout the modelling process. Departing from the characteristics of modelling problems as open and often underdetermined real-world problems, we propose to enrich the current conceptualisation of mathematical modelling competencies by including creativity, which plays an important role in numerous phases of the mathematical modelling process but has scarcely been considered in modelling discourse. In the study described in this paper, a new instrument for the evaluation of this enriched construct has been developed and implemented. The modelling competencies incorporating creativity of the students were evaluated based on the adequacy of the models and the modelling processes proposed, and the appropriateness and completeness of the approaches were evaluated in detail. Adapting measurement approaches for creativity that have been developed in the problem-solving discourse, certain criteria of creativity were selected to evaluate the creativity of the students' approaches in tackling modelling problems—namely, usefulness, fluency, and originality. The empirical study was conducted among 107 Chinese students at the upper secondary school level, who attended a modelling camp and independently solved three complex modelling problems. The results reveal significant correlations between fluency and originality in students' performances across all tasks; however, the relationships between usefulness and the other two creativity aspects were not consistent. Overall, the results of the study support the importance of the inclusion of creativity in the construct of modelling competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement concepts are an essential foundation for more advanced mathematical concepts. To address the challenges of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in learning measurement concepts, this study investigated the effects of using a combination of explicit instruction and virtual manipulatives (VMs) to teach measurement concepts to students with ASD in China. Using a single-case multiple-probe across skills design, researchers examined whether the intervention could support the acquisition and maintenance of measurement concepts in students with ASD. Based on visual analysis, a functional relation was found between the independent variable (i.e., explicit instruction with VMs) and student performance on solving measurement concepts problems. Implications for practice and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: Driven by Innovation 2.0 (the information age, the innovation form of the knowledge society), the form evolved by the Internet development, giving rise to economic and social development ("Internet +"). With this background, a novel approach is presented for fostering excellence in physicians, aligning with the contemporary demands of our era. Methods: Self-administered questionnaire was used to facilitate the collection of data on medical advanced mathematics course offerings, distribution of teaching hours of each major and the perception of the course teaching system in 11 medical universities in China. The distribution of course offerings in each major was analyzed, and one-sample t-test was conducted on the perspectives of course offerings, content settings (theoretical & practical), educational objectives, teaching reforms, and Synthetical Sensation (SS) of the curriculum system and educational model. Results: The study included various specialties such as clinical medicine, pharmacy, public health, health management, and life sciences, all of which offered advanced mathematics course. The content of medical mathematics textbooks was designed to meet the practical needs of relevant professions, and encompass online laboratory classes and social practice. However, a noticeable misalignment was observed between the content of medical mathematics courses and the realistic requirements of professions (t = -3.614~-3.018, P < 0.05). The perceived difference in the completeness of curriculum systems was not significantly apparent. There was a difference in the perception of the effectiveness of teaching reforms (t = -4.485, P < 0.05), and there was a difference in the perception of the synthesis of the educational model in all cases (t = -5.067, P < 0.05). Conclusion: There are localized differences in curricula, and the number of course hours is basically reasonable; course content needs to be updated; the implementation of course objectives is not in place; the curriculum system can meet the needs of talent training; the innovation of the education model needs to be put into practice; and there are obvious differences in the comprehensive cognition of the teaching system and the education model. Based on the analysis of the problems, we build a new STC teaching mode with smart classroom based on "professional needs, practical needs and requirements for cultivating excellent physician talents". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two studies examined in this paper compare the different mathematical opportunities provided in preschool classrooms in China, Japan, and the United States, with an emphasis on mathematical-themed books in classroom libraries. Study one presents the results of an online survey to examining the content of preschool classroom libraries in China (N = 134), Japan (N = 168), and the United States (N = 291). Study two presents data obtained from semi-structured interviews of teachers in China (N = 8), Japan (N = 8), and the United States (N = 8). The interviews examined teacher perceptions of how they teach mathematics, the importance of teaching mathematics, and the use of the classroom library as a venue for mathematics. Study one results indicated that teachers from all three countries encourage classroom library use; however, teachers from China reported more mathematics storybooks than their Japanese or United States counterparts. Study two results indicated that teachers from all three countries viewed mathematics as important and provided various mathematics learning opportunities to children throughout the school day. Chinese teachers reported providing the most mathematics learning opportunities using whole group instruction, mathematics centers, and free play. Japanese teachers reported few whole group forms of instruction other than circle time but reported providing opportunities for using mathematics during free play and other embedded activities. United States teachers indicated that mathematics learning occurred using whole group instruction and mathematics centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both reading difficulties (RD) and mathematics difficulties (MD) are common neurodevelopmental disorders. The co-occurrence of RD and MD, known as comorbid RDMD, is estimated to range between 21% and 45% of children with learning disabilities. Deficits in working memory have been reported in both RD and MD groups, as well as among comorbid RDMD. However, previous comorbidity studies have only examined the role of some components of working memory, and they do not strictly match their groups on relevant reading and mathematics tasks. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the nature of working memory deficits in comorbid RDMD after matching groups based on reading and mathematics tasks. We assessed four groups of children (RD [n = 21, Mage = 10.96 years], MD [n = 24, Mage = 11.04 years], comorbid RDMD [n = 26, Mage = 10.90 years], and chronological-age controls [n = 27, Mage = 10.96 years]) on measures of the phonological loop (word span and digit span forward tasks), central executive (complex word and digit span), and updating tasks (word and digit 2-back). The results of ANCOVA (covarying for gender and non-verbal IQ) showed first that the RD and RDMD groups performed significantly worse than the MD and control groups in both measures of the phonological loop. For the central executive and updating tasks, we found an effect based on stimulus type. For word-related tasks, the RD and comorbid RDMD groups performed worse than the MD and control groups, and for number-related tasks, the MD and comorbid RDMD groups performed worse than the RD and control groups. Taken together, our findings provide support for the correlated liability model of comorbidity, which indicates that working memory deficits experienced by the RDMD group are an additive combination of deficits observed in the RD and MD groups, suggesting that working memory tasks used to examine underlying deficits in reading and/or mathematics difficulties may dictate whether or not significant group differences are found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is evidence showing that the triarchic model of grit and its dimensions (i.e., perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations) predict engagement and well-being outcomes in high school and undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. However, there has been limited research on how this model of grit relates to engagement and optimal psychological outcomes in primary school students. This research investigates the association of grit's dimensions with academic engagement in math and science as well as well-being outcomes (i.e., positive emotions, negative emotions, and flourishing) in primary school students. Participants were primary school students (Mage = 10.42; SDage = 1.26) from Hong Kong (n = 279) and Macau (n = 124). Results showed that perseverance of effort positively predicted cognitive and behavioral engagement in math as well as positive emotions even after controlling for demographic covariates (i.e., age, gender, setting, and year level), conscientiousness, and achievement goal orientations. Adaptability to situations positively predicted cognitive and social engagement in math and flourishing. Consistency of interests negatively predicted both cognitive engagement in science and negative emotions. Indeed, this study indicates that perseverance and adaptability may facilitate children's positive academic and psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major objectives of our study were (a) to identify student profiles according to five homework characteristics (homework time, frequency, quality, interest, and favorability) and (b) to examine their relationship with three critical variables in the homework process—homework effort, completion, and math achievement. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to examine a data set with 3018 8th graders in China. Based on these characteristics, five distinct profiles were identified: Profile 1 (Low), Profile 2 (Moderate Time/High With Others), Profile 3 (Low Frequency/Moderate With Others), Profile 4 (Moderate Time/High Frequency/Low With Others), and Profile 5 (High Time and Frequency/Moderate With Others). Parent education was positively associated with the two healthiest profiles (Profile 2 and Profile 5). Finally, profile membership was a significant predictor of homework effort, completion, and math achievement. Specifically, our study suggests that students can work about 30 min on math homework and achieve the same results, if they work often, with high quality, fueled by interest and favorability (compared with students who spend about 110 min on math homework). Taken together, our study provided novel insights into the combination of homework characteristics that could have significant implications for homework practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this article was to understand the current situation and challenges of the integration of mathematics and science (IMS) in Chinese primary schools. We used a questionnaire responded to by 453 primary school mathematics/science teachers and interviewed 7 teachers among them. Research showed that Chinese primary school teachers had a positive attitude toward IMS, but their beliefs about IMS were not high. Most teachers ever integrated mathematics/science in their class, but they did not have a complete understanding of the form of IMS in their minds. Results revealed that IMS in Chinese primary schools faced some challenges, such as teachers' incomplete perceptions of IMS, lack of resources, and insufficient school support and time. Finally, we proposed some recommendations for better implementation of IMS. This research would help policymakers, curriculum developers, educators, and primary teachers in China have an overall picture of IMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the effects of the social-emotional classroom climate on academic achievement in mathematics and literature for elementary students in grades 3 through 6. The research specifically focuses on the indirect role of creative thinking (convergent and divergent thinking). Structural equation modeling techniques were used to examine data collected from 1365 Chinese elementary students. The results indicate that in mathematics and literature classrooms, (1) the social-emotional climate had a positive effect on school achievement, and (2) divergent and convergent thinking play indirect roles between social-emotional climate and academic achievement. The findings suggest that elementary students' positive perception of social-emotional classroom climate, including the perceptions of teacher support and student cohesiveness, can promote divergent and convergent thinking and ultimately contribute to the output of academic achievement in mathematics and literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past studies of the relation between teacher-student relationship (TSR) and students' academic achievement (SAA) yielded mixed results, so this study determined the overall link between TSR and SAA, along with their moderators. This three-level meta-analysis of 90 independent effect sizes in 74 empirical studies of 233,961 students showed an overall positive link between TSR and SAA in China (r =.259, 95% CI = [.227;.290]). This relationship was higher in: (a) China's central region (.305) than its eastern (.238) or western regions (.166); (b) senior high school (.345), followed by junior high school (.251), then primary school (.221); (c) English (.302), followed by math (.272), Chinese (.269), and science (.202); and (d) females (B =.507) than males. These results suggest the value of improving teacher-student relationships in policies and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study commemorates this event by presenting a retrospective of the publications related to the use of mathematical tools for the analysis of economic, ecological, and environmental phenomena. We analyzed 1257 scientific publications using bibliometric techniques to examine the most productive and influential authors and their contributions in the economic, ecological, and environmental fields. Co-authorship among the top authors and countries, co-occurrence of the keywords, bibliographic coupling of the documents and authors, and author co-citation were analyzed by applying network analysis techniques using VOSviewer software, identifying the intellectual structure of the research and the collaborative networks in the fields. The results show that mathematics has grown impressively in terms of publication and citation. The contributions come from all over the world, but the majority are from the People's Republic of China and Spain. The results also show themes and trends in the economic, environmental, and ecological fields and a predominant use of mathematical tools in optimization processes in order to rigorously substantiate the decisions of investors and policymakers. Thus, our study offers support for any researcher to understand the current state of the art and develop a comprehensive understanding of journal publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of previous studies have identified cognitive deficits in developmental dyscalculia (DD). Yet, most of these studies were in alphabetic languages, whereas few of them examined Chinese DD. Here, we conducted a study aiming to determine the cognitive factors associated with DD in Chinese children. Five candidate cognitive factors of DD—phonological retrieval, phonological awareness, visual–spatial attention, spatial thinking, and pattern understanding—were examined in the present study. A total of 904 Chinese children ages 8 to 11 years participated in this study. From the sample, 97 children were identified with DD through tests of arithmetic ability, and 93 age- and IQ-matched typically developing children were selected as controls. Logistic regression analysis revealed that phonological retrieval, pattern understanding, visual–spatial attention, and phonological awareness significantly predicted DD, whereas spatial thinking failed to do so. Results of logistic relative weights analysis showed that all five factors explained statistically significant amounts of variance in arithmetic scores. Phonological retrieval had the most influence on DD, followed by pattern understanding, visual–spatial attention, phonological awareness, and spatial thinking. These findings have important clinical implications for diagnosis and intervention of Chinese DD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral strengths and difficulties among children and adolescents may be significantly associated with their academic performance; however, the evidence on this issue for rural youth in developing contexts is limited. This study explored the prevalence and correlates of mental health from three specific dimensions—internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and prosocial behavior—measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and the association of these dimensions with academic performance in math among a sample of 1500 students in rural China. Our findings indicated that students in rural China had worse behavioral difficulties and poorer prosocial skills when compared to most past studies conducted inside and outside of China. In addition, total difficulties and prosocial scores on the SDQ were significantly associated with student math test scores, as students whose externalizing, internalizing, and prosocial scores were in the abnormal range scored lower in math by 0.35 SD, 0.23 SD, and 0.33 SD, respectively. The results add to the growing body of empirical evidence related to the links between social environment, mental health, and academic performance in developing countries, highlighting the importance of students' mental health for their academic performance, and of understanding risk factors in the social environment among rural youth in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on an action research study conducted by two mathematics teacher educators in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The project consisted of three phases, the first two taking place in our respective teacher education courses and a final phase in which prospective mathematics teachers from both locations engaged in dialogue through a speculative fiction task. Our aim was to explore how our prospective mathematics teachers can be supported in becoming mathematics teachers for sustainable futures by innovating our own mathematics teacher education curricula. This study suggests that generative methods which support teachers in speculating on paths to potential futures as teachers of mathematics, can provide access to how prospective teachers negotiate issues in relation to the climate crisis and ways in which they conceive of related changes in their practices. By identifying the aspects of mathematics teaching that are viewed by the prospective teachers as contingent, and through offering tasks that support an expansion of this view, teacher educators are better placed to support the development of teaching practices needed for sustainable futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial ability has been shown the positive correlations with the mathematics achievement of typically developing children. However, whether there is a relationship between spatial ability and mathematics achievement in deaf children and the mechanisms that underlie the relationship remain unknown. 256 deaf children in Grades 3 to 9 in two special education schools in China performed a series of cognitive and mathematical tests. After controlling for age and gender, we found that spatial ability, processing speed (both accuracy and reaction time), and intelligence were significantly related to mathematics achievement. Moreover, processing speed and intelligence were found to mediate the relationship between spatial ability and mathematics achievement in deaf children. The mediating effect of intelligence was significantly greater than the serial mediating effect of processing speed (accuracy) and then intelligence; both the mediating effect of processing speed (reaction time) and the mediating effect of intelligence were significantly greater than the serial mediating effect of processing speed (reaction time) and then intelligence. These findings suggest a process through which processing speed can decrease intelligence and identify the mediating effects of processing speed (both accuracy and reaction time) and intelligence in the relationship between spatial ability and mathematics achievement in deaf children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study the research was focused on the mechanisms of how Chinese in-service teachers' beliefs about mathematics, together with their professional knowledge, affect their teaching approaches. With a quantitative survey study involving 92 in-service teachers, it identified six types of teachers with three different categories of beliefs (i.e., Instrumentalist, Platonist, and Problem-solving oriented) and two different levels (i.e., strong and limited) of subject knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge on the topic of functions. Six teachers were subsequently selected, for a detailed analysis of how the teachers' beliefs and knowledge influenced their teaching practices. The case study results showed that teachers with different professional knowledge levels about functions and beliefs about mathematics had different teaching focuses and showed different teaching approaches. Three teaching approaches were identified, including the performance-focused content-centered approach, the understanding-focused content-centered approach, and the thinking-focused student-centered approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest is vital for students' learning in mathematics. Over the course of the Chinese mathematics curriculum reform in the past 30 years, cultivating students' positive emotions, attitudes, and values has gained growing attention. In the current study we examined the trajectory of Chinese mathematics textbook development by analyzing textbook content that stimulated students' mathematics learning interest through the curriculum reform in the past three decades. First, we selected textbooks that represent each phase of the curriculum reform (the Incubation Phase, the Reform Phase, and the Conditioning Phase). Then, taking eighth grade as an example, we used Hidi and Renninger's model to identify content that focus on stimulating students' learning interest. Finally, we explored the trajectory of textbook development in this aspect within the scope of curriculum reform. Results show that attention to strategies developing positive emotions and values towards mathematics has been emerging in recent times. Interest-stimulating strategies directed toward the triggering and maintaining of situational interest have been integrated more frequently into textbooks since the Reform Phase, while text content employing strategies that may lead to rote memorization is generally decreasing. Using Chinese curriculum reform as a context, this study demonstrates how mathematics textbooks have been revisioned and revised with a focus on stimulating students' learning interest. The reform of mathematics education has been successfully implemented in more than thirty provinces in China, despite significant differences in geographical, cultural, and economic development. It is hoped that this study can provide practical evidence of interest stimulation in mathematics for the international education community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we aimed to capture the characteristics of Chinese high-quality lessons from a lesson structure perspective, specifically addressing the elements of teaching activity and their sequence. Sixteen videotaped middle school mathematics lessons were selected from 224 daily lessons collected from urban districts in five cities located in the east, north, west, south, and center of China, approved by three independent parties (based on the scores of an instruction quality assessment and ratings by two experts). We found the following five common features among most mathematics lessons: (a) most lessons began with a review; (b) pure learning of mathematical knowledge was emphasized; (c) recurrent teaching activities related to mathematics problems ran throughout the lesson; (d) highlighting and summarizing important points during the lesson and summarizing the entire lesson at the end of the class were frequently used; and (e) teaching activities were dense and large in volume. The research findings paint a broad picture of high quality instruction (deepening our understanding of high-quality teaching in different cultures) and provide multiple choices for teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Hattori–Lagha established the global existence and asymptotic behavior of the solutions for a three-dimensional compressible chemotaxis system with chemoattractant and repellent (Hattori and Lagha in Discrete Contin. Dyn. Syst. 41(11):5141–5164, 2021). Motivated by Hattori–Lagha's work, we further investigated the optimal time-decay rates of strong solutions with small perturbation to the three-dimensional Keller–Segel system coupled to the compressible Navier–Stokes equations, which models for the motion of swimming bacteria in a compressible viscous fluid. First, we reformulate the system into a perturbation form. Then we establish a prior estimates of solutions and prove the existence of the global-in-time solutions based on the local existence of unique solutions. Finally, we will establish the optimal time-decay rates of the nonhomogeneous system by the decomposition technique of both low and high frequencies of solutions as in (Wang and Wen in Sci. China Math., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11425-020-1779-7). Moreover, the decay rate is optimal since it agrees with the solutions of the linearized system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the executive function and planning features of students with different types of learning difficulties. Students with mathematics difficulty (MD; n = 17), reading difficulty (RD; n = 12), and their commonalities (MDRD; n = 22), along with typically academically developing peers (TD; n = 22), were evaluated on an array of cognitive measures (working memory, inhibition, and planning) individually. Results revealed significant differences among groups on various cognitive measures. Students in the MD, RD, and MDRD groups showed poorer performance compared to the TD group on all of the working memory, inhibition, and planning tasks. The MDRD group showed an overall weakness when compared to other groups, indicating severe cognitive deficits in students with MDRD. The RD group showed deficits in inhibition and planning on tasks requiring verbal skills; MD students showed deficits in inhibition and planning on digit-related tasks. However, no salient difference was found among the MD, RD, and TD groups on working memory. Results have implications for understanding the cognitive features of MD, RD, and MDRD. Intervention programs targeting inhibition and planning may be beneficial for improving reading and mathematics achievement in students with learning difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the mediating roles of mathematics anxiety and learning interest between problematic smartphone use and mathematics achievement. After two-stage stratified sampling, 30,601 Chinese fourth-graders participated by completing a paper-based test on mathematics achievement and an online questionnaire that included questions on demographic information as well as the problematic smartphone use, mathematics anxiety, and mathematics learning interest scales. The results showed that (1) smartphone use was more problematic among boys than among girls, and students with a low SES tended to be more problematic smartphone users, (2) problematic smartphone use was negatively correlated with mathematics achievement, (3) mathematics anxiety and learning interest partially mediated the relationship between problematic smartphone use and mathematics achievement, and (4) the relationship between problematic smartphone use and mathematics achievement was serially mediated by mathematics anxiety and then mathematics learning interest. The implications of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed. • This study examines the relation between PSU by pupils and math achievement. • The mediating roles of math anxiety and learning interest are also investigated. • PSU was negatively correlated with mathematics achievement. • Math anxiety and learning interest played partially mediating roles respectively. • Math anxiety and then learning interest also played serially mediating roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China plays an important role in the global basic education of mathematics. Moreover, China has a lot of educational experience and methods and trains many excellent talents in the field of mathematics. However, there are still various disadvantages in the process of mathematics teaching. The traditional exam-oriented education makes the talent thought of mathematics education lack openness. Teachers also focus on difficult problems, partial questions, and exam questions during teaching. When teaching, teachers cannot contact students' daily life, which has low value. Mathematics teaching methods are too rigid and lack attraction. Most teachers focus on contents in textbooks while students cannot understand the value of mathematics in learning. This results in the decline of most students' interest in mathematics courses. To solve this problem, mathematical modeling teaching is put forward. China has a short application time in this field, and mathematical modeling is complex and systematic. When dealing with mathematical modeling problems, we must be able to skillfully use the basic knowledge learned and also involve the knowledge of other disciplines, so we must realize the integration of the knowledge of various disciplines. In addition, mathematical modeling teaching attaches great importance to students' communication ability, mathematical interpretation ability, and teamwork ability. Teachers can improve students' ability; however, our teachers' abilities in mathematical modeling teaching are uneven and there are no relevant standards. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an evaluation index system to accurately judge teachers' abilities. Based on this, this study uses the Delphi AHP method to construct the evaluation index system and selects four criteria level indexes and 12 index level indexes to judge teachers' mathematical modeling teaching ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, online education in China has made considerable achievements. But there are also some problems: the teaching quality of online education is unsatisfactory; students' online learning effects are frustrating, and students' autonomous learning ability is poor. Based on analysis, teachers' literacy and Internet technology are important factors restricting the online teaching reform, and online teaching easily falls into the dilemma of "shallow learning." Digital twins can effectively realize the intelligent interconnection and interaction of the physical world and the information world, optimize the remote teaching process, and provide high-quality remote learning experience for learners. Based on this, the technology is used to the teaching of space geometry to help students understand it and improve their performance. First, the principle and advantages of digital twins are expounded. Second, the platform system based on digital twins is constructed. Then, the corresponding digital model is drawn by using the drawing function of MATLAB software, and the system based on virtual reality (VR) is established. Finally, the students of four classes of the same major are selected as the research subjects to test the teaching effect of advanced mathematics on the digital platform. The results show that students' scores in the traditional classrooms are form 2.5 to 5.5 and their average score is 4.049, while the scores of the students in the digital twin classrooms are between 5.5 and 9.5 and their average score goes up to 7.986. This shows that students' performance in the digital twin classrooms is 97.2%, higher than that in the traditional classrooms. A fully digitized spatial geometric model is implemented by using digital twins, and it can help students understand the mathematical theory of spatial analytic geometry, and their learning effect is greatly improved. This study provides a new direction for the application of new technologies in mathematics teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

General cognitive and specific numerical abilities that underlay mathematical performance have been heavily investigated among hearing students; however, the inquiry has rarely been applied to students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (d/Dhh). We examined whether general cognitive abilities (i.e. nonverbal IQ, processing speed, and spatial ability) and specific numerical abilities (i.e. symbolic and non-symbolic numerical magnitude processing) are related to mathematics achievement in 198 d/Dhh students in Grades 3 to 9. The results of our regression models indicated that, the three general cognitive abilities independently explained the variance in mathematics achievement when entered in one step; and spatial ability and processing speed had an independent contribution to mathematics achievement in the presence of the specific numerical abilities. The specific numerical abilities independently explained the variance in mathematics achievement when entered in one step; however, none of them had an independent contribution to mathematics achievement in the presence of the general cognitive abilities. These findings suggested that mathematics achievement in d/Dhh students depended more on general cognitive abilities, such as spatial ability and processing speed, than on specific numerical abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]