• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2010

The paper focuses on a type of mathematics competence noted as synthetic. It is needed for success in multiple choice competition problems and it is crucial for the further development of advanced school students. The concept of synthetic competence includes a large fraction of mathematical competences, but also competences and skills related to informatics and linguistics. The general structure of a multiple choice competition is considered as the first level of assessment of the mathematics component of the synthetic competence. As the second level under consideration is the set of complex tasks in a competition test any of which is a bouquet of ideas. Our standpoint on the didactic specifics and goals of the two levels in perspective of the gifted education is briefly presented in the article and some examples are given.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.35-46
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• 2018

In this perspective paper, we present seven elements of the appropriate educator mindset for teaching in the constructivist elementary mathematics classroom. The elements include supporting students as they construct their own understanding, eliminating deficit view of slow learners, setting new understanding and growth as the learning objective, providing opportunities to co-construct meaning with peers, using student contributions as the source of curricular material, encouraging all students to participate in learning, and providing instruction not bounded by time. In our struggles to provide authentic, inclusive elementary classrooms, we hope that our discussion of the educator mindset can increase discourse on constructivism from philosophy to practice in the community of mathematics education and policy makers.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.365-383
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• 2015

Factorization asks the recognition of the structure of polynomials, compared to polynomial expansion with process characteristic. Therefore it makes students experience a lot of difficulties. This study aims to figure out causes of the difficulties by identifying students' cognitive characteristics in factorizing in the perspective of 'structure sense'. To do this, we gave six factorizing problems of three types to middle school students and selected six participants as interviewees based on the test results. They were classified into two categories, structure sense and non-structure sense. Through this interview, we figured out the interviewee's cognitive characteristics and the causes of difficulty in the perspective of structure sense. Furthermore, we suggested some didactical implications for encouraging structure sense in factorizing by identifying assistances and obstacles for recognition of structures.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.205-230
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• 2014

New teaching and learning theory on various aspects about class is needed to implement education which reflects constructivism, ideally. For an ideal learner-centered mathematics class, tangible and intangible elements related to education(view of knowledge, view of leaner, teacher's role, evaluation, the form of class, learning, teaching material, etc.) should be integrated from a constructive perspective and especially, teaching material has to be premised on that learners have intellectual abilities to construct knowledge themselves, and reflect integrity of knowledge, diversity and others, and contain open attributes. In addition to this, teaching material should have characteristics different from those when objective epistemology applies, so there is a need to analyze whether teaching material has those characteristics. For this, this study compared and analyzed <1. Three-Digit Numbers> which belongs to the domain of numbers and operations out of the units of mathematics(3) textbook of the 2009 revised curriculum for the first and second grade that first introduced story-telling, and <3. Understanding of Place Values> for the second grade of constructive math class used in the U.S.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2001

Since performance assessment was introduced in Korea in the middle of 1990, many problems which include its definition, characters, methods and scorings etc., raised in mathematics education worlds. Therefore this paper presents the theoretical background of performance assessment in mathematics education. Contemporary teaching and loaming theories reject stimulus-response theory which emphasizes outcome. Performance assessment emphasizes the assessment which reveal learning process and various strategies. And it bases on constructivism and socio-cultural perspective. This paper presents paradigms which guide the roles and purposes of assessment. The paradigms include conventional paradigm, constructivist paradigm and critical paradigm. There is a close correlation between constructivist paradigm and performance assessment. Assessment has to grasp the development of present and the possibility of development of future of the students. Performance assessment must be fixed the new paradigm of education for this purpose.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.173-189
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• 2012

This study investigated elementary and secondary mathematics teachers' views on: (1) Requirements for good mathematics teaching (2) what professional development programs and supports are needed for these requirements. In particular, this study analyzed the common and difference between school levels and teaching experiences. For it, we developed questionnaire and the questionnaire was anonymously answered by one-hundred-five elementary and secondary mathematics teachers. We suggested implications related to professional development programs for mathematics teachers based on common and difference between school levels and teaching experiences.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.499-519
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• 2022

Ratio and rate are key topics in the area of 'Patterns', but there are various perspectives on them. This study compared and analyzed the perspectives of Korean and Singaporean mathematics textbooks on ratio and rate, and explored how teaching and learning methods develop according to each perspective in terms of quantitative reasoning. To this end, we reorganized the analysis criteria based on some studies, and analyzed the textbooks of the two countries in relation to context, relationship, and representation. The results of the study are as follows. Regarding the context, there were differences in the situations, types of units and use of units of the problems presented in textbooks. In terms of relationship, there were differences in the types of two quantities and relationship of quantities. Lastly, there were differences in the representation of ratio and rate. Through these results, we found that elementary mathematics textbooks in Korea and Singapore take different perspectives on ratio and rate. In particular, the perspective taken by Korean textbooks on ratio and rate had unique points different from that of other previous studies. Considering this Korean perspective, we suggested some implications that could help improve textbooks related to ratio and rate and teach them meaningfully.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.10 no.3 s.27
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• pp.189-203
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• 2006

Teaching of fractions is very challengeable for elementary and middle school teachers. Many teachers feel uncomfortable teaching the subject. How shall we introduce the concept of fractions? Shall we focus more on concept development or computational procedures and skills? What methodology can be used in teaching those important topics? These are the kind of questions many teachers and researchers try to answer. In this article, the authors are to look at this issue from a cross nation perspective, by examining how the Chinese mathematics curriculum and the Chinese teachers deal with this subject.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.18 no.1 s.18
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• pp.1-18
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• 2004

Current interest in mathematics learning that focuses on understanding, mathematical reasoning and meaning making underscores the need to develop ways of analyzing classrooms that foster these types of learning. In this paper, I show that the constructs of social and sociomathematical norms, which grew out of taking a symbolic interactionist perspective, and Toulmins scheme for argumentation as elaborated for mathematics education by Krummheuer, provide us with means to analyze aspects of explanation justification and argumentation in mathematics classrooms, including means through which they can be fostered. Examples from a variety of classrooms are used to clarify how these notions can inform instruction at all levels, from the elementary grades through university-level mathematics.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.97-107
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• 2004

Current interest in mathematics learning that focuses on understanding, mathematical reasoning and meaning making underscores the need to develop ways of analyzing classrooms that foster these types of learning. In this paper, I show that the constructs of social and sociomathematical norms, which grew out of taking a symbolic interactionist perspective, and Toulmin's scheme for argumentation, as elaborated for mathematics education by Kummheuer, provide us with means to analyze aspects of explanation, justification and argumentation in mathematics classrooms, including means through which they can be fostered. Examples from a variety of classrooms are used to clarify how these notions can inform instruction at all levels, from the elementary grades through university-level mathematics.