• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.153-171
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to investigate characteristics of students' problem solving processes based on their mathematical thinking styles and thus to provide implications for teachers regarding how to employ multiple representations. In order to analyze these characteristics, 202 university freshmen were recruited for a paper-and-pencil survey. The participants were divided into four groups on a mathematical-thinking-style basis. There were two students in each group with a total of eight students being interviewed. Results show that mathematical thinking styles are related to defining a mathematical concept, problem solving in relation to representation, and translating between mathematical representations. These results imply methods of utilizing multiple representations in learning and teaching mathematics by embodying Dienes' perceptual variability principle.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.347-361
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• 2006

This research intends to understand classroom culture of gifted youths in secondary mathematics. For this purpose, we have observed ethnographically the mathematics classes of gifted youths for eight months at two Science Education Centers for Gifted Youths. We have collected qualitative data using the methods, participation observation, interviewing, video taping, recording, collecting assistant materials. And these data were closely connected and analyzed synthetically. From this, we found the followings; First, gifted youths in mathematics evaluate the academic abilities as the best standard for their friendship. Second, the gifted youths in secondary mathematics are under an obsession that they should act like gifted youths. Third, even though they know the merits of class type of inquiry and discussions, they didn't participate actively in those types of class. Forth, main differences of classes between Gifted Education Centers and general middle school come from the difference of class type, the roles of teachers and students.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.461-488
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• 2005

This article presents new perspectives for classification of students' mathematical errors on the basis of experiential structuralism. Experiential structuralism's mechanism gives us new insights on mathematical errors. The hard core of mechanism is consist of 6 autonomous capacity spheres that are responsible for the representation and processing of different reality domains. There are specific forces that are responsible for this organization of mind. There are expressed in terms of a set of five organizational principles. Classification of mathematical errors is ascribed by the theory to the interaction between the 6 autonomous capacity spheres. Different types of classification require different autonomous capacity spheres. We can classify mathematical errors in the domain of linear function problem solving comparing cognitive psychological mechanism of experiential structuralism.

• School Mathematics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.161-180
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to analyse how a mathematically gifted student constructs a nested signification model of three signs, while he abstracts the solution of a given NIM game. The findings of a qualitative case study have led to conclusions as follows. In general, we know that most of mathematically gifted students(within top 0.01%) in the elementary school might be excellent in constructing representamen and interpretant But it depends on the cases. While a student, one of best, is making the meaning of object in general level of abstraction, he also has a difficulty in rising from general level to formal level. When he made the interpretant in general level with researcher's advice, he was able to rise formal level and constructed a nested signification model of three signs. We suggested 3 considerations to teach the mathematically gifted students in elementary school level.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.161-180
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to delve into how elementary mathematics textbooks deal with the areas of triangles and quadrilaterals from a viewpoint of the Didactic Transposition Theory. The following conclusion was derived about the teaching of the area concept: The area concept started to be taught perfectly in the 7th curricular textbook, and the focus of area teaching was placed on the area concept, since learners were gradually given opportunities to compare and measure areas. As to the area formulae of triangles and quadrilaterals, the following conclusions were made: First, the 1st curricular, the 2nd curricular and the 3rd curricular textbooks placed emphasis on transposition by textbooks, and the 4th curricular, the 5th curricular and the 6th curricular textbooks accentuated transposition by teachers. The 7th curricular textbooks put stress on knowledge construction by learners; Second, the focus of teaching shifted from a measurement of area to inducing learners to make area formula. Namely, the utilization of area formula itself was accentuated, while algorithm was emphasized in the past; Third, the way to encourage learners to produce area formula changed according to the curricula and in light of learners' level, but a wide range of teaching devices related to the area formulae were removed, which resulted in offering less learning chances to students; Fourth, what to teach about the areas of triangles and quadrilaterals was gradually polished up, and the 7th curricular textbooks removed one of the overlapped area formula of triangle.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.399-424
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• 2014

Although teacher preparation programs are important for prospective teachers to build a foundation of teaching expertise, there has been lack of research in this area. This paper analyzed in what ways prospective teachers' ability in describing and commenting on elementary mathematics instruction has been changed while they were taking in the course of teaching elementary school mathematics. The results of this study showed that in late description the teachers tended to notice the core flow of a lesson and the use of instructional strategies appropriate to the mathematical content to be taught. They also tended to comment on instructional strategies and mathematical discourse from the teacher's perspective and evaluated them without alternative approaches. A noticeable change occurred in late comments wherein prospective teachers considered both the teacher and students, supported their comments by theories they had learned through the course, and interpreted the classroom events they had noticed. Building on these results, this paper closes with implications of teacher education programs to enhance prospective teachers' ability to analyze elementary mathematics lessons.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.57-71
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• 2010

This paper is a study on the perception of current competency and expected competency of engineering freshmen by extracting core competencies acquired from university education. It also aims to suggest proper way for engineering university education. This study extracts competencies in the following five areas as core competencies: 'knowledge on major area', 'cultural ability', 'foreign language ability', 'basic learning ability', 'intercommunication ability'. To achieve this purpose, this study surveyed 'C' university engineering department freshmen (584 students) with questionnaires about their perception of core competencies. The results are as follows. First, engineering freshmen perceived current competencies were weak in every area, especially their capacities in 'foreign language ability' area were perceived to be weakest. Their demand for education is the highest in 'foreign language ability' area, and the second higher in 'knowledge on major area'. Secondly, there exists meaningful difference between perception of current competency and expected competency depending on the gender, high school department (science/liberal arts), high school location, types of college admissions, and types of mathematics in NAST. According to these results, this study suggests enhancement of foreign language (English) education in engineering department, design and implementation of various educational program to overcome individual difference, promoting importance of competencies in the 'cultural abilty' and 'intercommunication abilty', necessity of continuous adjustment and complementation for engineering educational program through accumulation of feedback processes, activation of career education through engineering education and special programs.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.339-356
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• 2010

It is important for children to develop statistical reasoning as they think through data. In particular, it is imperative to provide children instructional situations in which they are encouraged to consider variability in data because the ability to reason about variability is fundamental to the development of statistical reasoning. Many researchers argue that even highperforming mathematics students show low levels of statistical reasoning; interventions attending to pedagogical concerns about child ren's statistical reasoning are, thus, necessary. The purpose of this study was to investigate 15 gifted elementary students' various ways of understanding important statistical concepts, with particular attention given to 3 students' reasoning about data that emerged as they engaged in the process of generating and graphing data. Analysis revealed that in recognizing variability in a context involving data, mathematically gifted students did not show any difference from previous results with general students. The authors suggest that our current statistics education may not help elementary students understand variability in their development of statistical reasoning.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.277-293
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• 2011

The purpose of mathematics education is to develop the ability of transforming various problems in general situations into mathematics problems and then solving the problem mathematically. Various teaching-learning methods for improving the ability of the mathematics problem-solving can be tried. However, it is necessary to choose an appropriate teaching-learning method after figuring out students' level of understanding the mathematics learning or their problem-solving strategies. The error analysis is helpful for mathematics learning by providing teachers more efficient teaching strategies and by letting students know the cause of failure and then find a correct way. The following subjects were set up and analyzed. First, the error classification pattern was set up. Second, the errors in the solving process of the function problems were analyzed according to the error classification pattern. For this study, the survey was conducted to 90 first grade students of ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$high school in Chung-nam. They were asked to solve 8 problems in the function part. The following error classification patterns were set up by referring to the preceding studies about the error and the error patterns shown in the survey. (1)Misused Data, (2)Misinterpreted Language, (3)Logically Invalid Inference, (4)Distorted Theorem or Definition, (5)Unverified Solution, (6)Technical Errors, (7)Discontinuance of solving process The results of the analysis of errors due to the above error classification pattern were given below First, students don't understand the concept of the function completely. Even if they do, they lack in the application ability. Second, students make many mistakes when they interpret the mathematics problem into different types of languages such as equations, signals, graphs, and figures. Third, students misuse or ignore the data given in the problem. Fourth, students often give up or never try the solving process. The research on the error analysis should be done further because it provides the useful information for the teaching-learning process.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.85-99
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• 2017

In order to improve mathematical problem-solving ability, there has been a need for research on practical application of meta-affect which is found to play an important role in problem-solving procedure. In this study, we analyzed the characteristics of the sociodynamical aspects of the meta-affective factor of the successful problem-solving procedure of small groups in the context of collaboration, which is known that it overcomes difficulties in research methods for meta-affect and activates positive meta-affect, and works effectively in actual problem-solving activities. For this purpose, meta-functional type of meta-affect and transact elements of collaboration were identified as the criterion for analysis. This study grasps the characteristics about sociodynamical function of meta-affect that results in successful problem solving by observing and analyzing the case of the transact structure associated with the meta-functional type of meta-affect appearing in actual episode unit of the collaborative mathematical problem-solving activity of elementary school students. The results of this study suggest that it provides practical implications for the implementation of teaching and learning methods of successful mathematical problem solving in the aspect of affective-sociodynamics.