Mathematics Teaching in the United States Today (and Tomorrow): Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study

This article suggests that teachers in higher-achieving countries taught mathematics in different ways (no single method is necessary for high performance on international tests) but teachers in most higher-achieving countries shared a few features of teaching. Teachers in the United States displayed a unique method of teaching, not because of any particular feature but because of a distinctive constellation of features.

Hiebert, J., Stigler, J., Jacobs, J., Givvin, K. B., Garnier, H., Smith, M., Hollingsworth, H., Manaster, A., Wearne, D., & Gallimore, R. (2005). Mathematics teaching in the United States today (and tomorrow): Results from the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 27, 111-132.