Why are Soviet math textbooks so hardcore in comparison to US textbooks? (2017)

Re:Why are Soviet math textbooks so hardcore in comparison t... by jhrmnn on Wednesday April 22, 2020 @05:24AM (#22943700)

This is one school of education. The other is the Finnish model, with no separation. I am yet to see some comprehensive multinational study that would suggest which is better. (Better for the students, or society as a whole?) It’s probably impossible to do objectively. I also feel there is probably quite a difference between these two systems in the effects on the, say, top 0.2%, 2%, and 20% of the students.

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Re:Why are Soviet math textbooks so hardcore in comparison t... by Viliam1234 on Wednesday April 22, 2020 @04:09PM (#22949651)

Seems to me that the Finnish model is better for an average student (guessing by their PISA test results) and worse for a talented student (guessing by their math olympiad results).

Anecdotally, a Finnish friend told me that if you excel at one subject, you are encouraged by teachers to stop doing it, and instead spend more time learning the other subjects.

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Re:Why are Soviet math textbooks so hardcore in comparison t... by type0 on Wednesday April 22, 2020 @06:14AM (#22944023)

Finland is an outlier in that regard, not sure if that model can be applicable anywhere else because it's so culturally specific.

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