• School Mathematics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.409-429
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• 2012

This paper reports the process two 11th grade students went through in reinventing derivatives on their own via a context problem involving the concept of velocity. In the reinvention process, one of the students conceived a tangent line as the limit of a secant line, and then the other student explained to a peer that the slope of a tangent line was the geometric mean of derivative. The students also used technology to concentrate on essential thinking to search for mathematical concepts and help visually understand them. The purpose of this study was to provide meaningful implications to school practices by describing students' process of reinvention of derivatives. This study revealed certain characteristics of the students' reinvention process of derivatives and changes in the students' thinking process.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.15-27
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• 2012

Thomas Harriot(1560-1621) introduced a simplified notation for algebra. His fundamental research on the theory of equations was far ahead of that time. He invented certain symbols which are used today. Harriot treated all answers to solve equations equally whether positive or negative, real or imaginary. He did outstanding work on the solution of equations, recognizing negative roots and complex roots in a way that makes his solutions look like a present day solution. Since he published no mathematical work in his lifetime, his achievements were not recognized in mathematical history and mathematics education. In this paper, by comparing his works with Viete and Descartes those are mathematicians in the same age, I show his achievements in mathematics.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.101-119
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• 2012

The removal of the Go Stones is a game that anyone can play through simple rules. It is not only an interesting game but also a mathematical game that requires comprehensive knowledge of several mathematical theories. Through analyzing the rules and theories of this game, students can get a new mathematical perspective and recognize something that they didn't realize as important before. Furthermore, this game is given to students as a mathematical problem unconsciously. This helps them get a mathematical approach to understanding the actual concept of the problem as well as the basic principle of the problem.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.89-108
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• 2004

Elementary mathematics education in the 7th mathematics curricula has been emphasized to foster ‘mathematical power’. For establishing this purpose, we need to provide the opportunities inducing to students' thoughts and to study leaching-learning methods to make structuring for their thinking process. Using to writing activities in students' mathematics learning, we think that we can find out their thinking process and this writing mathematics learning method is effective to promote their communication. Through analysing to six grade mathematics textbooks, we devised to mathematical writing types and teaching/learning models could being utilized in mathematics classes. And we investigated the influence of mathematical writing on the learning ability of students. We have experimented and investigated to after dividing experimental objects into two groups, experimental group and comparative group. We founded out, through these researches for mathematical writing teaming, that the experimental group of the former had obtained greatly better results than the latter in mathematical learning abilities and studying achievements. Based on these result, it is required to have an accumulation of research on teaching-teaming methods by using various types of mathematical writing study.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.425-441
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• 2009

The cube-accumulation is a new theme included in the 7th elementary mathematics curriculum for improving children's spatial ability. One activity of the cube-accumulation is to recognize the configuration of accumulated cube given three plane figures in the directions of the above, the front and the side, respectively. The approach to this activity presented in the mathematics textbook is more or less intuitive and constructive, and difficult to some children. So we suggest an alternative, more analytic method, 'elimination method', that is eliminating unnecessary parts from $n{\times}n{\times}n$ whole cubes. This method was adopted to the 32 sixth graders, in special five applicants among them. Their responses and activities were analyzed. We confirm that we can teach the cube-accumulation by the elimination method, and some children prefer this method. 13u1 this method requires more exercises to be executed skillfully.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.173-192
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• 2013

It may be replacement proofs with understanding and explaining geometrical properties that was a remarkable change in school geometry of 2009 revised national curriculum for mathematics. That comes from the difficulties which students have experienced in learning proofs. This study focuses on one of those difficulties which are caused by the forms of proofs: using letters for designating some sides or angles in writing proofs and understanding some long sentences of proofs. To overcome it, this study aims to investigate the applicability of Byrne's method which uses coloured diagrams instead of letters. For this purpose, the proofs of three geometrical properties were taught to middle school students by Byrne's visual method using the original source, dynamic representations, and the teacher's manual drawing, respectively. Consequently, the applicability of Byrne's method was discussed based on its strengths and its weaknesses by analysing the results of students' worksheets and interviews and their teacher's interview. This analysis shows that Byrne's method may be helpful for students' understanding of given geometrical proofs rather than writing proofs.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.509-522
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• 2009

This study aims to identify the effects of math education for the aged as part of active measures to the aging society with its growing elderly population which is one of the greatest changes in our society. Developing and disseminating materials of silver math with a role as a program for intelligent needs and physical and spiritual health of the aged presents evidence for development of more systemic and scientific method at this point of time when the importance of education of the aged increases to help the old enjoy qualitatively successful lives in later years in the perspective of lifelong education. The effectiveness of 'Silver Math' are explored by applying developed materials to the aged. Also, the influence of mathematical activities of learners capable of computing basic numbers on improvement of cognitive power are identified. Finally, the impact of 'Silver Math' on interaction with younger generations or communications is raised and the influence on brain activities is analyzed through examination of brain waves.

• School Mathematics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.315-335
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• 2013

Probability has distinctive characteristics which are different from other areas of school mathematics. The critical change can be noticed in the domain, 'probability and statistics' of 2009 revised national curriculum for elementary school mathematics. This indicates that the concept of chance is supposed to be taught in the 5~6 grade band instead of the definition of probability which is moved to the middle school level. The purpose of this study is to seek desirable methods for teaching the concept of chance which reflect the achievement criteria and the attention point for teaching and learning of the curriculum at the point of time when textbooks haven't yet been developed. To do this, based on theoretical considerations and comparative analysis of the curricula in the longitudinal - latitudinal dimensions respectively, the validity of the latest curriculum change was confirmed and several learning activities were devised. And then two lessons were planned for applying these activities to eight fifth graders and were implemented along the plan. As a result, the relevance of the learning activities was examined and students' difficulties in learning the concept of chance with educational implications were discussed.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.267-286
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• 2017

This study analyzed the processes of lesson plan, implementation, and reflection by a professional learning community with five teachers who were teaching second grade students in the same elementary school. The results of the study showed that the learning community helped the teachers prepare for a lesson effectively, enhance their teaching practices, and reflect on their teaching methods. However, the teachers had difficulties in re-designing and implementing the collaborative lesson plan in their classrooms and had a tendency to talk about their feelings about lessons rather than meaningful comments for subsequent lessons. The successes and difficulties revealed through this study are expected to provide us with directions of learning communities for improving teachers' professional development.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.493-509
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• 2010

Researchers have suggested that educators have to focus their attention on variability and reasoning about variation as means of developing students' statistical thinking in school mathematics. This paper investigated knowledge for the teaching of variability and reasoning about variation; what are sources of variability, how to cope with variability, what are types of variability, how to recognize variability, and the relationship between statistical problem solving and variability. The results involve: discussion on the sources of variability and how to cope with variability promotes students' awareness of different types of variability and students' motivation in the following steps in the statistical activity; emphasis on reasoning about variation in teaching representation of data accords with objectives of statistics education; reexamination of curriculum for statistics education is needed, which has a content-oriented arrangement.