• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.113-127
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• 2007

This study explored the possibility of building a statistical model predicting difficulty of mathematics test items through the analysis of nation-wide scholastic ability test results for the past 5 years. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted in predicting difficulty of mathematics test items. We adopted three major areas for independent variables: the content area, the behavior area, and the test item format area, each of which was categorized into more detailed sub-areas. For the dependent variable, the proportion of correct answer was used to represent the item difficulty. Statistically significant independent variables were included in the regression model based on the stepwise selection method. Several important factors affecting difficulty of mathematics test items for each area were identified. R-squares for the final regression model were fairly high, implying that the regression equation can be used to predict difficulty of test items at an acceptable level. Lastly, the regression model was cross-validated using independently collected data. We believe that this study will provide basic but very critical information for predicting the proportion of correct answer by showing the factors that should be considered for developing mathematics test items for the college entrance examination or high school classroom test.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.13-25
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• 2011

The Goals of mathematics education for the lower grades of primary school is to shape the basic concepts and the skills of mathematics. To achieve this goal, it is necessary an assessment which is able to help the students' learning activities by precisely diagnosing their basic mathematical capability. It should lend the students an assistance in diagnosing and revising their problems throughout teacher's cognitive participation in the process of mathematical problem solving. I would like to suggest the dynamic assessment as one of these kinds of approaches. In order to prove the utilities of this way, it was examined the necessity of dynamic assessment on the basis of the Vygotsky's theory after looking into the characteristics of the contents and methods of the mathematics education for the lower grades of primary school. Next, I researched the principles of the dynamic assessment and embodied the assessment tool to evaluate the mathematical achievement of the lower grades of the primary school. Lastly, it was provided the examples of the dynamic assessment tool in order to assist the practice of it.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.215-233
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• 2008

Deep comprehension of basic mathematical notions and concepts is a basic condition of a successful teaching. Some elements of algebraic thinking belong to the elementary school mathematics. The question "What stays the same and what changes?" link arithmetic problems with algebraic conception of variable. We have studied beliefs and comprehensions of future elementary school mathematics teachers on early algebra. Pre-service teachers from three academic pedagogical colleges deal with mathematical problems from the pre-algebra point of view, with the emphasis on changes and invariants. The idea is that the intensive use of non-formal algebra may help learners to construct a better understanding of fundamental ideas of arithmetic on the strong basis of algebraic thinking. In this article the study concerning arithmetic series is described. Considerable number of pre-service teachers moved from formulas to deep comprehension of the subject. Additionally, there are indications of ability to apply the conception of change and invariance in other mathematical and didactical contexts.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2009

How to promote creativity for all students in mathematics education is always a hot topic for mathematics educators. Based on the theory study and practice in the project "Open-ended Questions in Mathematics" granted by Ministry of Basic Education Curriculum Study Center in China, the paper reported the effect of "Open-ended Questions in Mathematics" on the way to change the development of thinking ability, to inspire students to develop thinking flexibility, to expand their imagination, to stimulate their interest in learning, and to foster students' creativity.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.46 no.1 s.116
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• pp.33-52
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• 2007

This study is based on the grade 3 National Diagnostic Assessment of Basic Competency(NDABC) in 2005. The purpose of this study is to analyze the results of NDABC by students' gender. It was 19,257 grade 3 students that participated in this study. The average scores are 89.41 and 88.34 for each male and female. The percentage of Below-Basic level for male students is 4.6% and for female 5.6%. The percentage of female students at Below-Basic level is increasing for 3 years. In particular, the percentage of females at Below-Basic level is higher than that of males in the content of measurement, the cognitive domain of reasoning and problem solving, and the situation of real life. The item difficulty for males is lower in fraction, polygon, and right triangle than for females. But female students need to improve the space sense and the problem solving ability in real life. As for the background of students, males think that mathematics is exciting and not difficult in comparison with what females think. And parents of mates are more concerned about children's learning than those of females.

• School Mathematics
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.447-473
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• 2001

Since the greater part of mathematical concepts have been developed in the direction of “from the concrete and realistic aspects to the abstract level”, children should be secured to learn mathematics genetically with various manipulative materials. The aim of this study is to instigate the active use of geoboards in mathematics classroom. To achieve this arm, we first embodied the several significances on the use of geoboards in mathematics instruction. And we then performed an instruction that children discover and justify the formula related to the area of trapezoid by exploring with geoboards, and analyzed the instructional episode to support our assertion about some secure merit accompanied by using geoboards. From this study, we obtained the conclusion that geoboard activity contains many significances such as children can explore congruence, symmetry, similarity, fundamental properties of figures, and pattern. Futhermore, geoboard activity enable children to transform a figure into other equivalently, develop spatial sense, have basic experiences for coordinate geometry, build a concrete model to explain abstract ideas, and foster the ability of problem solving and mathematical thinking.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.45-69
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• 2007

In the 21st century, knowledge-based and information-based society requires not just the capability of applying mathematics simply but mathematical power such as problem-solving ability which composes and solves problems using mathematical knowledge in real-life and fields of various subjects. However, to develop mathematical power, we need various teaching and learning methods which raise basic mathematical knowledge, the inference capability, problem- solving ability, the flexibility of thinking, the expressing and transforming ability of mathematical ideas, perseverance, interest, intellectual curiosity, and creativity. In this paper, we develop the teaching-learning plans based on real life using the various methods of learning and then we analyze the change of students's cognition of mathematics and the students's reaction of the class.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to empirically analyze the learning experiences of high school mathematics and science subjects of new students in science and engineering, and to provide basic data and respond to strengthen basic knowledge of science and engineering students in the future. The subjects of the survey were 481 freshmen in science and engineering at S University. First, as a result of analyzing the learning experiences of freshmen, the geometric subjects were significantly lower, which is the result of students' sensitive responses to transitional changes in the curriculum and SAT system after revision. In science, general elective subjects were higher than career elective subjects, and there was a deviation between science subjects, which is a result of reflecting the diversity and hierarchy of science subjects. Next, as a result of analyzing the difference in learning experience after revision compared to before the revision of the curriculum, the learning experience of Mathematics II increased significantly and the geometry decreased significantly. Both Chemistry I and II increased significantly compared to before the revision, and Earth Science I decreased significantly. This can be seen as a result of strategic choices based on obtaining grades in the CSAT and disadvantages in college entrance exams. As a result of the study, students' sensitive reactions to changes in the high school education environment were confirmed, basic mathematics and science-related courses were opened to alleviate variations in the academic ability due to elective courses, and countermeasures tailored to each university's situation.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.9 no.1 s.17
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• pp.43-58
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• 2005

The objective of the present study was designed to examine that metacognition education had any promoting effects on the development of students' reasoning ability. Two classes in the 5th grade were asked to participated for the present study. Prior to the metacognition teaching, both the experimental and control group classes were given to the preliminary test in which students' basic ability for mathematical reasoning was graded. Then, the students in the experimental group were given 8hour teaching for the topics on the symmetric properties of geometric figures. The present findings indicate that educational application which motivates metacognition can improve mathematical reasoning ability in elementary students. It is widely accepted that metacognition is an active and conscious mental activity, helps the students perceive voluntarily the study items, and further plays an important role in constructing independent and active thinking processes. Accordingly, the present results implicate that the practical performance of metacognition education into the class indeed contributes to build up or strengthen students' voluntary ways of reasoning.

• School Mathematics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2011

This study investigated the Chinese national university entrance examination (Gaokao) in mathematics administered in 2009 and 2010 to draw out some implications on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in mathematics of Korea. To evaluate the attainments of basic mathematical skills and multilateral abilities required for further studies in university, the Gaokao mathematics is set in two forms(Art/Science), based on the Chinese national mathematics curriculum. The types of items in the Gaokao mathematics are multiple-choice, single-answer, and write-out-answer. The mathematical abilities that the Gaokao mathematics evaluates are mathematical reasoning, operation, geometrical imagination, application, and creativity. As a result, some implications on the Korean CSAT are drawn out in terms of the level of difficulty, the types of items, the arrangements, and the scores of items.