• School Mathematics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.547-561
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• 2010

Even though statistics is considered as one of the areas of mathematical science in the school curriculum, it has been well documented that statistics has distinct features compared to mathematics. However, there is little empirical educational research showing distinct features of statistics, especially research into the understanding of statistical concepts which are different from other areas in school mathematics. In addition, there is little discussion of a relationship between the ability of mathematical thinking and the ability of understanding statistical concepts. This study extracted some important concepts which consist of the fundamental statistical reasoning and investigated how mathematically high achieving students understood these concepts. As a result, there were both kinds of concepts that mathematically high achieving students developed well or not. There is a weak correlation between mathematical ability and the level of understanding statistical concepts.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.383-408
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• 2012

This study is to review phenomenology as a legitimate research methodology in mathematics education. Phenomenology is considered a perspective which will be able to provide varieties of viewpoints for mathematics education. Phenomenology is a research about phenomena and experience, and phenomenological research is to reveal the meanings from persons who experience something that researcher is interested in. Through such review, this study is to identify if phenomenology has potential possibility to open as a qualitative research methodology in mathematics education. In order to doing this, this study has reviewed the trend of qualitative research methods in mathematics education, major concepts of phenomenology, phenomenological attitudes for phenomenological research, and the methods and procedures for phenomenological research. The major conclusions are as the followings: the focus of lived-experience in mathematics education, the importance of recognizing life world in mathematics education, and the essence of general phenomena and the meanings of experience general in mathematics education.

• School Mathematics
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.279-296
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• 2008

This research aims to compare and identify the prospective elementary teachers' perspectives on mathematics class. In this aim, we analyzed the comments on the mathematics class by the prospective elementary teachers (senior students and junior students) who are differ in the time of study in the University of Education. As the results of this research, the senior students commented the mathematics class by applying the theories in mathematics education, but the junior students did not. Furthermore, the senior students had the more rigid perspectives on mathematics class and commented in more depth on mathematics class in comparison with the junior students. While, the senior students showed a weak point that they overextended and over-applied the some mathematics education theories in the comments on mathematics class.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.419-439
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• 2022

This study is based on Freudenthal's mathmatising process and the didactical phenomenology of linear function concept, I have described and examined the process in which students represent the constant rate of change into tables, graphs and equations and, in this way, how they construct mental objects and essence of the linear function concept. The students used the proportionality as composite units, when they represented the phenomenon with constant rate of change into tables. When representing in graphs, all but one student represented it into a line. There were differences among the students in the level they were using the given conditions, co-variation perspective, and corresponding rules when formulating equations. The students compared the relationship between two variables in a multiplicative way, and under the guidance of teachers they reached to the understanding that its relationship becomes a constant. Moreover, they could construct mental objects of a constant rate of change, understanding the situation where the relationship between time difference and distance difference becomes one value, namely speed. The students had difficulties in connecting the rate of change with the inclination of a line. The students constructed the essence (concept) of linear functions, after building and organizing the image that the rate of change is constant, the graph is linear, and the equation is formulated as y=ax+b (a: inclination, b: intercept).

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-21
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• 2002

Teachers' teaching behavior is directly influenced by teachers' belief, and students' belief system is directly influenced by teachers' teaching behavior. There has been a question whether curriculum of teacher training university could help preservice teachers form positive belief system. The purpose of this study was to address this issue empirically. First, a questionnaire about mathematical belief was given to freshmen preservice teachers. They generally showed positive belief about mathematics to the degree that is not satisfactory and responded most positively in the sub-area of teaching mathematics from three sub-areas of mathematics itself, studying mathematics, and teaching mathematics. After studying a mathematical philosophy course, the freshmen preservice teachers were given the same questionnaire that they responded before studying the course. Belief about mathematics itself was changed very positively, and increase in the sub-area of mathematics itself was the largest. These results show that the mathematical philosophy course helped preservice teachers form positive belief system in mathematics.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.223-237
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• 2019

There is a close interaction between the linguistic-syntactic representation system and the affective representation system that appear in the mathematical process. On the other hand, since the mathematical conceptual system is fundamentally metaphoric, the analysis of the mathematical concept structure through linguistic representation can help to identify the source of cognitive and affective obstacles that interfere with mathematics learning. In this study, we analyzed the problem-solving protocols of mathematical gifted children from the perspective of cognitive language and meta-affect to identify the relationship between the functional characteristics of the text and metaphor they use and the functional characteristics of meta-affect. As a result, the behavior of the cognitive and affective characteristics of mathematically gifted children differed according to the success of problem solving. In the case of unsuccessful problem-solving, the use of metaphor as an internal representation system was relatively more frequent than in the successful case. In addition, while the cognitive linguistic aspects of metaphors play an important role in problem-solving, meta-affective attributes are closely related to the external representation of metaphors.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.129-142
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• 2004

These days, constructivism has become a central theory in mathematics education. A essential concept in constructivism is 'construction' and the meaning of construction of mathematical knowledge is a core issue in mathematics educational field. In the basis of Dewey's epistemology, this article is trying to explicate the meaning of construction of mathematical knowledge. Dewey, Kant and Piaget coincide in construction of knowledge from the viewpoint of the interaction between mind and environment. However, unlike Dewey's concept, Kant and Piaget are still in the line of traditional realistic epistemology. Dewey's concept of construction logically implies teaching-learn learning principles. This can be named as a principle of genetic construction and a principle of progressive consciousness.

• School Mathematics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.215-237
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• 2006

In this study, we research distinctive features of geometry problem solving of middle school students whose mathematical achievement levels are distinguished by National Assessment of Educational Achievement. We classified 9 students into 3 groups according to their level : advanced level, proficient level, basic level. They solved an atypical geometry problem while all their problem solving stages were observed and then analyzed in aspect of development of geometrical concepts and access to the route of problem solving. As those analyses, we gave some suggestions of teaching on mathematics as students' achievement level.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.399-420
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• 2008

In this paper we solve various triangle construction problems related with radius of escribed circle using algebraic method. We describe essentials and meaning of algebraic method solving construction problems. And we search relation between triangle construction problems, draw out 3 base problems, and make hierarchy of solved triangle construction problems. These construction problems will be used for creative mathematical investigation in gifted education.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.87-98
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• 1997

A practice is classified into the practice as a content and the practice as a method. The former means that the practical nature of mathematical knowledge itself should be a content of mathematics and the latter means that one should teach the mathematical knowledge in such a way as the practical nature is not damaged. The practical nature of mathematics means mathematician's activity as it is actually done. Activities of the mathematician are not only discovering strict proofs or building axiomatic system but informal thinking activities such as generalization, analogy, abstraction, induction etc. In this study, it is found that the most instructive ones for the future users of mathematics are such practice as content. For the practice as a method, students might learn, by becoming apprentice mathematicians, to do what master mathematicians do in their everyday practice. Classrooms are cultural milieux and microsoms of mathematical culture in which there are sets of beliefs and values that are perpetuated by the day-to-day practices and rituals of the cultures. Therefore, the students' sense of ‘what mathematics is really about’ is shaped by the culture of school mathematics. In turn, the sense of what mathematics is really all about determines how the students use the mathematics they have learned. In this sense, the practice on which classroom instruction might be modelled is that of mathematicians at work. To learn mathematics is to enter into an ongoing conversation conducted between practitioners who share common language. So students should experience mathematics in a way similar to the way mathematicians live it. It implies a view of mathematics classrooms as a places in which classroom activity is directed not simply toward the acquisition of the content of mathematics in the form of concepts and procedures but rather toward the individual and collaborative practice of mathematical thinking.