• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-58
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• 2015

The aim of this study is to look into the didactical background for teaching proportional reasoning in elementary school mathematics and offer suggestions to improve teaching proportional reasoning in the future. In order to attain these purposes, this study extracted and examined key ideas with respect to the didactical background on teaching proportional reasoning through a theoretical consideration regarding various studies on proportional reasoning. Based on such examination, this study compared and analyzed textbooks used in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. In the light of such theoretical consideration and analytical results, this study provided suggestions for improving teaching proportional reasoning in elementary schools in Korea as follows: giving much weight on proportional reasoning, emphasizing multiplicative comparison and discerning between additive comparison and multiplicative comparison, underlining the ratio concept as an equivalent relation, balancing between comparisons tasks and missing value tasks inclusive of quantitative and qualitative, algebraic and geometrical aspects, emphasizing informal strategies of students before teaching cross-product method, and utilizing informal and pre-formal models actively.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.105-129
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• 2016

The elements of mathematical processes include mathematical reasoning, mathematical problem-solving, and mathematical communications. Proportion reasoning is a kind of mathematical reasoning which is closely related to the ratio and percent concepts. Proportion reasoning is the essence of primary mathematics, and a basic mathematical concept required for the following more-complicated concepts. Therefore, the study aims to analyze the proportion reasoning ability of sixth graders of primary school who have already learned the ratio and percent concepts. To allow teachers to quickly recognize and help students who have difficulty solving a proportion reasoning problem, this study analyzed the characteristics and patterns of proportion reasoning of sixth graders of primary school. The purpose of this study is to provide implications for learning and teaching of future proportion reasoning of higher levels. In order to solve these study tasks, proportion reasoning problems were developed, and a total of 22 sixth graders of primary school were asked to solve these questions for a total of twice, once before and after they learned the ratio and percent concepts included in the 2009 revised mathematical curricula. Students' strategies and levels of proportional reasoning were analyzed by setting up the four different sections and classifying and analyzing the patterns of correct and wrong answers to the questions of each section. The results are followings; First, the 6th graders of primary school were able to utilize various proportion reasoning strategies depending on the conditions and patterns of mathematical assignments given to them. Second, most of the sixth graders of primary school remained at three levels of multiplicative reasoning. The most frequently adopted strategies by these sixth graders were the fraction strategy, the between-comparison strategy, and the within-comparison strategy. Third, the sixth graders of primary school often showed difficulty doing relative comparison. Fourth, the sixth graders of primary school placed the greatest concentration on the numbers given in the mathematical questions.

• School Mathematics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.421-440
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• 2003

It is difficult for the learner to understand completely the ratio concept which forms a basis of proportional reasoning. And proportional reasoning is, on the one hand, the capstone of children's elementary school arithmetic and, the other hand, it is the cornerstone of all that is to follow. But school mathematics has centered on the teachings of algorithm without dealing with its essence and meaning. The purpose of this study is to analyze the essence of ratio concept from multidimensional viewpoint. In addition, this study will show the direction for improvement of ratio concept. For this purpose, I tried to analyze the historical development of ratio concept. Most mathematicians today consider ratio as fraction and, in effect, identify ratios with what mathematicians called the denominations of ratios. But Euclid did not. In line with Euclid's theory, ratio should not have been represented in the same way as fraction, and proportion should not have been represented as equation, but in line with the other's theory they might be. The two theories of ratios were running alongside each other, but the differences between them were not always clearly stated. Ratio can be interpreted as a function of an ordered pair of numbers or magnitude values. A ratio is a numerical expression of how much there is of one quantity in relation to another quantity. So ratio can be interpreted as a binary vector which differentiates between the absolute aspect of a vector -its size- and the comparative aspect-its slope. Analysis on ratio concept shows that its basic structure implies 'proportionality' and it is formalized through transmission from the understanding of the invariance of internal ratio to the understanding of constancy of external ratio. In the study, a fittingness(or comparison) and a covariation were examined as the intuitive origins of proportion and proportional reasoning. These form the basis of the protoquantitative knowledge. The development of sequences of proportional reasoning was examined. The first attempts at quantifying the relationships are usually additive reasoning. Additive reasoning appears as a precursor to proportional reasoning. Preproportions are followed by logical proportions which refer to the understanding of the logical relationships between the four terms of a proportion. Even though developmental psychologists often speak of proportional reasoning as though it were a global ability, other psychologists insist that the evolution of proportional reasoning is characterized by a gradual increase in local competence.