• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2002

The 18th century Joseon(朝鮮) science philosopher Hong Dae-Yong(洪大容, 1731-83) tried to create his own scientific system, while partially keeping the Eastern view of nature and accepting Western science and technology. Most of all, he confirmed that Western science and technology was based on mathematical principles and accurate observation and wrote a math book, [Juhaesuyong(籌解需用)]. Therefore, we have good reason to call him a mathematician. He produced so many achievements that he can be considered a natural scientist in the late Joseon era; he accepted the Eastern view of nature critically and sometimes refused it. He also suggested new and various scientific thoughts, including an infinite universe theory, on the basis of Western scientific thought. Hong Dae-Yong emphasized the importance of practice. He understood the principle of the Western Honcheonui(渾天儀) and manufactured an alarm clock with a craftsman's help. He was an excellent engineer and he set a personal observatory. Considering the level of scientific technology at that time, it is reasonable to regard Hong Dae-Yong as a 'scientific technologist in the 18th century Joseonera', well equipped as a mathematician, a natural scientist, and an engineer. In conclusion, it is with 'mathematical thinking, creative conception, and practical activities' that Hong Dae-Yong maintained throughout his life that we can set a guide to produce excellent Korean scientific technologists and engineers in the 21st century.

• Journal of Gifted/Talented Education
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.47-67
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• 2009

This paper is about a case study of two brother talents who have a similar genetic factor The researcher who worked as a teacher of the Institute of Talent Education where the two brothers attended for 3 years analyzed and compared the influential variables through the interview of both the students and their parents. Parents have invested to the elder brother showing geniuses so they disciplined him suppressively out of too much expectation. However, they allowed his brother, who showed talents later, more automaticity, supporting him when he himself wanted to study. As a result, the younger brother showed a more creative thinking ability, and a better school performance This paper is significant in that parents's positive disciplining attitude maximize children's genius.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.731-744
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• 2010

Nowadays in school mathematics, the skill and method for solving problems are often emphasized in preference to the theoretical principles of mathematics. Students pay attention to how to make an equation mechanically before even understanding the meaning of the given problem. Furthermore they do not get to really know about the principle or theorem that were used to solve the problem, or the meaning of the answer that they have obtained. In contemporary textbooks the conic section such as circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola are introduced as the cross section of a cone. But they do not mention how conic section are connected with the quadratic equation or how these curves are related mutually. Students learn the quadratic equations of the conic sections introduced geometrically and are used to manipulating it algebraically through finding a focal point, vertex, and directrix of the cross section of a cone. But they are not familiar with relating these equations with the cross section of a cone. In this paper, we try to understand the quadratic curves better through the analysis of the discussion made in the process of the discovery and eventual development of the conic section and then seek for way to improve the teaching and learning methods of quadratic curves.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.137-164
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• 2008

Given the importance of early experience in algebraic thinking, we designed six consecutive lessons in which $4^{th}$ graders were encouraged to recognize patterns in the process of finding the relationships between two quantities and to represent a given problem with various mathematical models. The results showed that students were able to recognize patterns through concrete activities with manipulative materials and employ various mathematical models to represent a given problem situation. While students were able to represent a problem situation with algebraic expressions, they had difficulties in using the equal sign and letters for the unknown value while they attempted to generalize a pattern. This paper concludes with some implications on how to connect algebraic thinking with students' arithmetic or informal thinking in a meaningful way, and how to approach algebra at the elementary school level.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.161-194
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• 2017

The aim of this study is to look into sub-factors of spatial sense that can be contained in spatial sense of solid figure of mathematics curriculum and offer suggestions to improve teaching spatial sense of solid figures in the future. In order to attain these purposes, this study examined the meaning and sub-factors of spatial sense and the relations between spatial sense of solid figure and sub-factors of spatial sense through a theoretical consideration regarding various studies on spatial sense. Based on such examination, this study compared and analyzed textbooks used in South Korea, Finland and the Netherlands with respect to contents of mathematics curriculum and textbooks in grades, sub-factors of spatial sense, and realistic contexts for spatial sense of solid figure. In the light of such theoretical consideration and analytical results, this study provided suggestions for improving teaching spatial sense of solid figures in elementary schools in Korea as follows: extending contents regarding spatial sense of solid figures in mathematics curriculum and considering continuity between grades in textbooks, emphasizing spatial orientation as well as spatial visualization, underlining not only construction with blocks but also mental activities in mental rotation and mental transformation, comparing strength and weakness of diverse plane representations of three dimensional objects, and utilizing various realistic situations and objects in space.

• School Mathematics
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.409-426
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• 2007

The relevance of secondary school algebra focused on paper and pencil manipulation has been reconsidered along with the expansion of universal education and the development of ICT such as computer or calculators. This study was designed to investigate the issues and trends of the recent algebra so as to provide implementations for algebra curriculum in Korea. The focus of algebra education has being shifted from paper pencil manipulation to algebraic thinking. The early algebra or informal algebra is one of the important traits of revolution, and the role of ICT is integrated in newly developed curricula. In Korea, algebra education has been retaining the traditional line even though the national curriculum documents allows ICT for instruction. The reasons of these discrepancies were analyzed and the tasks for the new curriculum in accordance with the current trends were suggested in this paper.

• School Mathematics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.691-712
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• 2017

It is an important to develop teachers' statistical reasoning or thinking by teacher education. In this study, the "comparing two data sets" tasks is focused as a way to develop pre-service elementary teachers' reasoning about core ideas of statistics such as distribution, variability, center, and spread. 6 teams of each 4 pre-service elementary teachers participated on the tasks and their presentations are analyzed based on Pfannkuch's (2006) teachers' inference model in comparing two data sets. As a result, they paid attention to the distribution and variability in the statistical problem solving by the "comparing two data sets" tasks, and used their contextual knowledge to make a statistical decision. In addition, they used some statistics and graphs as the reference for statistical communication, which is expected to provide implications for improving statistical education. The finding implies that the "comparing two data sets" tasks can be used to develop statistical reasoning of pre-service elementary teachers. Some recommendations are suggested for teacher education by these tasks.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.87-116
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to explore how units-coordination ability is related to understanding fraction concepts. For this purpose, a teaching experiment was conducted with one fourth grade student, Eunseo for four months(2019.3. ~ 2019.6.). We analyzed in details how Eunseo's units-coordinating operations related to her understanding of fraction changed during the teaching experiment. At an early stage, Eunseo with a partitive fraction scheme recognized fractions as another kind of natural numbers by manipulating fractions within a two-levels-of-units structure. As she simultaneously recognized proper fraction and a referent whole unit as a multiple of the unit fraction, she became to distinguish fractions from natural numbers in manipulating proper fractions. Eunseo with a reversible partitive fraction scheme constructed a natural number greater than 1, as having an interiorized three-levels-of-units structure and established an improper fraction with three levels of units in activity. Based on the results of this study, conclusions and pedagogical implications were presented.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.323-340
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• 2021

The purpose of this case study is to explore the similarities revealed in the process of solving and generalizing word problems related to systems of linear equations in two variables according to covariational reasoning. As a result, student S, who reasoned with coordination of value level, had a static image of the quantities given in the situation. student D, who reasoned with smooth continuous covariation level, had a dynamic image of the quantities in the problem situation and constructed an invariant relationship between the quantities. The results of this study suggest that the activity that constructs the relationship between the quantities in solving word problems helps to strengthen the mathematical problem solving ability, and that teaching methods should be prepared to strengthen students' covariational reasoning in algebra learning.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.353-374
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• 2022

The study investigated students' instrumentalization levels and computer programming self-efficacy in mathematics classrooms while using Scratches, to understand the properties of equality. 32 of 7th-grade students from D middle school in Gyeonggi-do participated in the program consisting of 7 lesson units. To investigate individual students' levels of instrumentalization, each worksheet they worked on using Scratches was saved into computers after each lesson. Questionnaires measured self-efficacy regarding computer programming at the study's beginning and the end. The level of students' instrumentalization was revealed to be variously from level 0 to 4. In the beginning, 9% of students corresponded to level 3 or 4, but more than 80% of students reached level 3 or above at the end. In addition, computer programing self-efficacy was improved significantly.