Does teacher-centered teaching contribute to students’ performance in primary school? A video analysis in Mainland China

Abstract

The present study explores the nature and quality of the social interaction and the questioning approach during mathematics lessons in Chinese primary schools. A sample of 601 students and 9 teachers participated in the study. A multilevel analysis of mathematics performance reveals that: (1) the interactions raised by teacher contribute to the mathematics performance, and the interactions between student-student in public and interactions between teacher and one student have significantly positive impact on students’ mathematics performance; (2) for the teacher questioning approaches, the evaluation and problem-solving play important roles on mathematics performance. The results suggest that the teacher-dominant interaction or student-dominant interaction have their own conditions under which they might have a positive impact. Questioning of the teachers should be focused on the cognitive thinking on the mathematics problems.