• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.147-162
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• 2007

This paper reports an analysis of 19 Chinese and Korean middles school mathematics teachers' understanding of division by fractions. The study analyzes the teachers' responses to the teaching task of generating a real-world situation representing the meaning of division by fractions. The findings of this study suggests that the teachers' conceptual models of division are dominated by the partitive model of division with whole numbers as equal sharing. The dominance of partitive model of division constraints the teachers' ability to generate real-world representations of the meaning of division by fractions, such that they are able to teach only the rule-based algorithm (invert-and-multiply) for handling division by fractions.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.431-455
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• 2013

In this thesis, I classified various meanings of fraction into two categories, i.e concept(rate, operator, division) and model(whole-part, measurement, allotment), and surveyed appearances which is shown in Korea elementary mathematics textbook. Based on this results, I derived several implications on learning-teaching of fraction in elementary education. Firstly, we have to pursuit a unified formation of fraction concept through a complementary advantage of various concepts and models Secondly, by clarifying the time which concepts and models of fraction are imported, we have to overcome a ambiguity or tacit usage of that. Thirdly, the present Korea's textbook need to be improved in usage of measurement model. It must be defined more explicitly and must be used in explanation of multiplication and division algorithm of fraction.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.19-30
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• 2016

This study examined pre-service teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of fraction division in a context where they were asked to write a story problem for a symbolic expression illustrating a whole number divided by a proper fraction. Problem-posing is an important instructional strategy with the potential to create meaningful contexts for learning mathematical concepts, especially when real-world applications are intended. In this study, story problems written by 135 elementary pre-service teachers were analyzed with respect to mathematical correctness. error types, and division models. Patterns and tendencies in elementary pre-service teachers' knowledge of fraction division were identified. Implicaitons for teaching and teacher education are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.151-170
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• 2009

The purpose of the study is to analyze the sixth graders' understanding of concepts and operation about fraction. The test was administered and analyzed to 707 sixth graders' performance on fractions after the fraction instructions in elementary schools in Seoul, Korea. The participants are asked to answer two sets of questions for 40 minutes. First, they are asked to answer to 16 problems about the concepts of fraction with respect to part-whole, ratio, operator, measure, quotient, equivalent, and operations. Second, specially, to investigate sixth graders' ability of drawing and describing the situation of division including fraction, the descriptive problem asked students (1) to describe $3\;{\div}\;\frac{1}{2}$ into pictorial representation and (2) to write the solving process. The participants of this study didn't show deep understandings about the concepts and operation of fraction. The degree of understanding of subconstructs of fraction shows that their knowledge of ratio concept with respect to fraction was highest while their understanding of measure with respect to fraction was lowest. Considering their wrong answers, about 59% of participants showed misconception to the question of naming one fraction that appears between $\frac{1}{5}$ and $\frac{1}{6}$. Further, they didn't explain their understanding with drawing about the division of fraction ($3\;{\div}\;\frac{1}{2}$).

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.251-278
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to obtain implications for mathematical education by analyzing how the multiplication and division of decimal numbers are presented in the elementary mathematics textbooks in Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Finland. Compared to the fact that students often have misconceptions about multiplication and division of decimal numbers, there have been not many comparative studies in recent elementary mathematics textbooks. For this study, we selected elementary mathematics textbooks those are widely used in Japan, Singapore, and Finland along with Korean elementary mathematics textbooks. We chose the textbooks because the students in the selected countries have scored high in international achievement studies such as TIMSS and PISA. The analysis was examined in terms of elementary mathematics curriculum related to multiplication and division of decimal numbers, introduction and content, real-life situations, use of visual models, and formalization methods of algorithms. As a result of the study, the mathematics curricula related to multiplication and division of decimal numbers includes estimation in Korea and Finland, while Japan and Singapore emphasize real-life connections more, and Finland completes the operations in secondary schools. The introduction and content are intensively provided in a short period of time or distributed in various grades and semesters. The real-life situations are presented in a simple sentence format in all countries, and the use of visual models or formalization of algorithms is linked to the operations of natural numbers in unit conversions. Suggestions were made for textbook development and teacher training programs.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.445-458
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• 2010

This study intends to investigate the process of the development of quantity concept and how to deal with the quantity calculus in elementary school, and to find out the implication for improving the curriculum and mathematics textbooks of Korea. There had been the binary Greek categories of discrete number and continuous magnitude in quantity concept, but by the Stevin's introduction of decimal, the unification of these notions became complete. As a result of analyzing of the curriculum and mathematics textbooks of Korea, there is a tendency to disregard the teaching of quantity and its calculus compared to the other countries. Especially multiplication and division of quantity is seldom treated in elementary mathematics textbooks. So these should be reconsidered in order to seek the direction for improvement of mathematic teaching. And Korea's textbooks need the emphasis on the quantity calculus and on constructing quantity concept.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.431-456
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate the appropriate time of introduction and the usage of the number line, in order to suggest the right point of learning the number concept to the elementary school students. For the efficient achievement of this purpose, we investigated the mathematical models for constructing the number concept such as number line, empty number line and double number line, counting and development of number concept. Then, we conducted case study on the time of introduction and the usage of the number line. Finally, we analyzed the result. First, there is need for adjustment to conduct the introduction of the number line from the second year of elementary school, so to help the students understand the continuing number concept through the understanding on the metaphorical concept of the number line. Second, there is the need of positive introduction and the use on the mathematical models; empty number line which helps to draw various thinking strategy visually through the process of operations such as addition and subtraction; the division into equal part and division by equal part in which multiplicative comparative situation or division takes place; the double number line which helps to understand the rate or proportional distribution. Finally, when adopting the number line, the empty number line, or the double number line, we suggested the necessity of learning about elaborate guidance and the usage in order to fully understand the metaphorical concept of the number line.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.97-115
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• 2008

In high school mathematics class, to subtract a number b from a, we add the additive inverse of b to a and to divide a number a by a non-zero number b, we multiply a by the multiplicative inverse of b, which is the formal approach for operations of real numbers. This article aims to give a connection between the intuitive models in middle school mathematics class and the formal approach in high school for teaching operations of negative integers. First, we highlight the teaching methods(Hwang et al, 2008), by which subtraction of integers is denoted by addition of integers. From this methods and activities applying the counting model, we give new teaching methods for the rule that the product of negative integers is positive. The teaching methods with horizontal mathematization(Treffers, 1986; Freudenthal, 1991) of operations of integers, which is based on consistently applying the intuitive model(number line model, counting model), will remove the gap, which is exist in both teachers and students of middle and high school mathematics class. The above discussion is based on students' cognition that the number system in middle and high school and abstracted number system in abstract algebra course is formed by a conceptual structure.