• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.20 no.3 s.27
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• pp.443-467
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to study the 2nd grade elementary students' common thinking and differences of additive and multiplicative thinking. For meaningful discussion of the above, we have established the following research questions. 1. What are the properties of the multiplicative thinking of 2nd grade elementary students? - What are the common properties of the multiplicative thinking of 2nd grade elementary students? - What are the properties of the various multiplicative thinking levels? 2. How is multiplicative thinking presented in Korean math textbooks? The conclusions of this study were followings: First, the 2nd grade elementary students in the multiplicative thinking learnt used by translating multiplication into specific situations. And they often used different models of multiplication. Second, additive thinking developed into the multiplicative thinking. After being helped by their teachers, students who thought additively were then able to think multiplicatively. Whereas after being helped by their teachers, students who were already competent at multiplicative thinking gained a deeper understanding. Third, they learned the commutative property of multiplication after their understanding of the 'repeated addition approach' and the multiplicative approach was sufficiently reinforced. Last, students should be taught using different models based on the repeated addition approach.

• School Mathematics
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.155-179
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• 2008

Multiplication problems for the 7th curriculum focus on functional realms featuring the memorization and application of the multiplication table, exposing learners only to additive thinking characterized by simple counting and drawing. A diversity of research has yet to be conducted for the transition to multiplicative thinking that highlights the capability to solve problems by using multiplication and division in the expanded number scope like 'prime numbers', 'fractional numbers', and 'ratio/rates' and to describe accurately how they solved. This research was designed to develop and utilize teaching-learning materials for the transition of fifth graders' additive thinking to advanced multiplicative one and to analyze the application results in order to identify validity in material development. The following conclusions were made. First, the development and application of teaching-learning materials for multiplicative thinking cultivation facilitated the transition from additive thinking featuring simple counting and drawing to multiplicative thinking characterized by multiplication and accurate description in a more complicated and expanded number scope. Second, the development of materials featuring 'basic'-'intermediate'-'in-depth' courses by activity enabled learners to benefit from learning by level and expansion in number scope. Third, the use of topics and materials closely connected to daily lives stimulated learners' curiosity, helping them concentrate more on given problems. Fourth, communication between teachers and students or among learners themselves was promoted by continuously encouraging them to explain and by reviewing their documents identifying rules or patterns.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2013

The primary purpose of this study is to survey multiplicative thinking levels and its characteristics of third graders in elementary school and to analyze how to use it when they solve the proportional problems. As results, the transition thinking ranked the highest among the four kinds of thinking levels when the $3^{rd}$ graders solved the multiplication problems. It means that the largest numbers of students still can not distinguish the additive and multiplicative situations completely and remain in the transition thinking, which thinks both additively and multiplicatively. In addition, the performance of solving proportional problems was distinguished from the levels of thinking. Through this study, we can give some implications of the importance of multiplicative thinking and instructional methods related to multiplication.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.335-347
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• 2014

Size/scale is a central idea in the science curriculum, providing explanations for various phenomena. However, few studies have been conducted to explore student understanding of this concept and to suggest instructional approaches in scientific contexts. In contrast, there have been more studies in mathematics, regarding the use of number lines to relate the nature of numbers to operation and representation of magnitude. In order to better understand variations in student conceptions of size/scale in scientific contexts and explain learning difficulties including alternative conceptions, this study suggests an approach that links mathematics with the analysis of student conceptions of size/scale, i.e. the analysis of mathematical structure and reasoning for a number line. In addition, data ranging from high school to college students facilitate the interpretation of conceptual complexity in terms of mathematical development of a number line. In this sense, findings from this study better explain the following by mathematical reasoning: (1) varied student conceptions, (2) key aspects of each conception, and (3) potential cognitive dimensions interpreting the size/scale concepts. Results of this study help us to understand the troublesomeness of learning size/scale and provide a direction for developing curriculum and instruction for better understanding.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.229-247
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• 2021

Students' mathematical thinking is represented via various forms of outcomes, such as written response and verbal expression, and teachers could infer and respond to their mathematical thinking by using them. This study analyzed 39 elementary teachers' competency to notice students' problem-solving strategies containing mathematical errors in fraction addition and subtraction with uncommon denominators problems. Participants were provided three types of students' problem-solving strategies with regard to fraction addition and subtraction problems and asked to identify and interpret students' mathematical understanding and errors represented in their artifacts. Moreover, participants were asked to design additional questions and problems to correct students' mathematical errors. The findings revealed that first, teachers' noticing competency was the highest on identifying, followed by interpreting and responding. Second, responding could be categorized according to the teachers' intentions and the types of problem, and it tended to focus on certain types of responding. For example, in giving questions responding type, checking the hypothesized error took the largest proportion, followed by checking the student's prior knowledge. Moreover, in posing problems responding type, posing problems related to student's prior knowledge with simple computation took the largest proportion. Based on these findings, we suggested implications for the teacher noticing research on students' artifacts.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.423-446
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• 2022

This study explores and compares Korean and U.S. elementary preservice teachers' analytic approaches of students' addition and subtraction computational strategies. Twenty-six Korean and twenty U.S. elementary preservice teachers participated in the study. Participants were asked to analyze mathematical approaches and errors from students' addition and subtraction operations. Preservice teachers' written documents were analyzed by applying open coding and inductive coding based on the grounded theory. As a result, the pattern of error analysis and interpretation of students' addition computations were similar for both Korean and U.S. preservice teachers whereas there were some differences in the analysis of students' subtraction computations. Both Korean and U.S. preservice teachers had difficulties identifying students' strategies and errors for a complicated and unconventional computational approach. Results also indicated that preservice teachers' noticing and interpretation of students' strategies and errors were influenced by their K-12 mathematics curriculum and teacher education program. This study suggests implications and future directions for teacher education, more contextualized teacher preparation programs and balanced connection to the K-12 curriculum.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.343-364
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• 2017

Despite the significance of functional thinking at the elementary school level there has been lack of research on teachers who play a major role in making students be engaged in functional thinking. This study surveyed 119 elementary school teachers to investigate their knowledge of functional thinking for teaching. A written assessment for this study was developed with a focus on the knowledge of mathematical tasks and instructional strategies to teach functional thinking. The results of this study showed that many teachers were able to design tasks corresponding to both the additive relationship and the multiplicative relationship, and to justify some strategies to promote functional thinking. However, some teachers had lack of understanding with regard to the core ideas of functional thinking. Based on these results this study is expected to suggest implications on what aspects of knowledge are further needed for elementary school teachers to promote students' functional thinking.

• School Mathematics
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.275-296
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• 2012

This study investigated elementary school students' understanding of basic functional relationships. It analyzed the written responses from a total of 2087 students of second, fourth, and sixth graders using tests that examined their understanding of five types of functional relationships. The results of this study showed that students tended to be more successful as their grades went up with regard to all the problem types. There were statistically differences among the three grade levels. Even lower graders were quite successful in dealing with additive relation, direct proportion, and inverse proportion. However the items dealing with square relation and linear relation were difficult even to sixth graders. It was common that students were good at completing the table by looking for a pattern from the given numbers but that they had difficulties in anticipating the value of 'y' when the value of 'x' is given either as a big number or as a symbol. Given these results, this paper includes issues and implications on how to foster functional thinking ability at the elementary school.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.187-206
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• 2009

On this study, the historical flow of the notation was briefly examined and the direction of mathematical investigation activity of the content of notation by analogy was explored and teaching learning materials were developed. Diverse mathematical facts were investigated on the basis of decimal system and binary system which are learned in middle school. First, the way of progressing analytic activity with algebraic material was examined. Second, on the basis of the notation which are learned in the first grade of middle school, the definition of the scale of a -notation, -a -notation, $\frac{1}{a}$notation, $\sqrt{a}$-notation was extended by analogy. The result of this study will be expected to establish the curriculum of mathematics and provide teaching and learning with the meaningful current events.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.675-695
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• 2023

To learn mathematics effectively, understanding vocabulary is essential. Accordingly, as a way to present vocabulary for mathematics education, high-frequency vocabulary was extracted from the 2009 revised 1st and 2nd grade mathematics textbooks and the 2015 revised 1st and 2nd grade mathematics textbooks. At this time, mathematics textbooks were analyzed by grade and semester, and vocabulary with a common frequency of 5 or more was extracted. In order to use it effectively in school settings, common vocabulary for each grade and intensive vocabulary for each semester were presented. As a result of the study, 61 vocabulary words for first grade education and 121 vocabulary words for second grade education were selected. As a result of analysis by vocabulary level, various levels of vocabulary from grades 1 to 5 were used. As a result of analysis by vocabulary type, the proportion of academic words increased similarly, but the proportion of technical words was found to be highest in the first semester of the second year. Based on these results, the extracted vocabulary for mathematics education is used as a resource for vocabulary instruction for students' mathematics education in each grade to help students learn mathematics.