The aims of the present study are two-fold. The first aim is to reveal the cultural and linguistic issues that need to be considered in the development of curricular content and sequencing for teaching mathematical proof in secondary schools in Japan. The second aim is to elaborate an epistemological perspective that may allow us to understand…

Discusses a class on subtraction or difference-finding, problems such as "There are eight white flowers and five red flowers, how many more white flowers are there than red flowers?" used in the teaching of Japanese first grade children. Describes three instances of introductory teaching of "difference-finding" problems in the…

Discusses reflections on a videotaped geometry lesson from a Japanese classroom. Contrasts the lesson with the work of a group of teachers on a B.Ed. program who were given the same problem-solving task as the Japanese pupils. (MM)

Draws on a range of Japanese work and unifies it under an integrating theme of 'surprise' to help gain insight into a characteristic of mathematics lessons which make students interested in mathematical ideas. (MM)