February 2017: Exploring cross-national changes in instructional practices: evidence from four cycles of TIMSS

TIMSS trends reveal there is mixed evidence for global “mega-trends” in education. Constructivist pedagogy (working in groups, applying mathematical content to daily life) was boosted on a large scale during the mid-2000s. There is only limited support for a rise in assessment-based instruction and a shift from computational practice to problem-solving in mathematics. Teaching practices seem to be shaped by national educational cultures or policies.