• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.403-430
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• 2011

The purpose of the study was to investigate how the use of graphing calculators influence on forming students' mathematical concept of algebra, students' mathematical connection, and attitude toward mathematics. First, graphing calculators give instant feedback to students as they make students compare their written answers with the results, which helps students learn equations and linear inequalities for themselves. In respect of quadratic inequalities they help students to correct wrong concepts and understand fundamental concepts, and with regard to functions students can draw graphs more easily using graphing calculators, which means that the difficulty of drawing graphs can not be hindrance to student's learning functions. Moreover students could understand functions intuitively by using graphing calculators and explored math problems volunteerly. As a result, students were able to perceive faster the concepts of functions that they considered difficult and remain the concepts in their mind for a long time. Second, most of students could not think of connection among equations, equalities and functions. However, they could understand the connection among equations, equalities and functions more easily. Additionally students could focus on changing the real life into the algebraic expression by modeling without the fear of calculating, which made students relieve the burden of calculating and realize the usefulness of mathematics through the experience of solving the real-life problems. Third, we identified the change of six students' attitude through preliminary and an ex post facto attitude test. Five of six students came to have positive attitude toward mathematics, but only one student came to have negative attitude. However, all of the students showed positive attitude toward using graphing calculators in math class. That's because they could have more interest in mathematics by the strengthened and visualization of graphing calculators which helped them understand difficult algebraic concepts, which gave them a sense of achievement. Also, students could relieve the burden of calculating and have confidence. In a conclusion, using graphing calculators in algebra and function class has many advantages : formulating mathematics concepts, mathematical connection, and enhancing positive attitude toward mathematics. Therefore we need more research of the effect of using calculators, practical classroom materials, instruction models and assessment tools for graphing calculators. Lastly We need to make the classroom environment more adequate for using graphing calculators in math classes.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.207-219
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• 2004

There have been studies reporting the increase in student confidence in mathematics when using technology. However, past studies indicating a positive correlation between technology and confidence in mathematics do not explain why they see this positive outcome. With increased availability and easy access to the Internet in schools and the development of free online virtual manipulatives, this research was interested in how the use of virtual manipulatives in mathematics can affect students confidence in their mathematical abilities. Our hypothesis was that the classes using virtual manipulatives which allows students to connecting dynamic visual image with abstract symbols will help students gain a deeper conceptual understanding of math concept thus increasing their confidence and ability in mathematics. The participants in this study were 46 fifth-grade students in three ability groups: one high, one middle and one low. During a two-week unit on fractions, students in three groups interacted with several virtual manipulative applets in a computer lab. Data sources in the project included a pre and posttest of students mathematics content knowledge, Confidence in Learning Mathematics Scale, field notes and student interviews, and classroom videotapes. Our aim was to find evidence for increased level of confidence in mathematics as students strengthened their understanding of fraction concepts. Results from the achievement score indicated an overall main effect showing significant improvement for all ability groups following the treatment and an increase in the confidence level from the preassessment of the Confidence in Learning Mathematics Scale in the middle and high ability groups. An interesting finding was that the confidence level for the low ability group students who had the highest confidence level in the beginning did not change much in the final confidence scale assessment. In the middle and high ability groups, the confidence level did increase according to the improvement of the contest posttest. Through interviews, students expressed how the virtual manipulatives assisted their understanding by verifying their answers as they worked and facilitated their ability to figure out math concept in their mind and visually.

• Journal of The Korean Association of Information Education
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.199-208
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• 2017

The present study investigates the potential of an educational programming game as a strategy for enhancing effective domains of mathematics curriculum, which has been criticized as a problem of education in Korea. The process of programming Fortress, an educational game, in conjunction with the lesson on the trigonometric function as part of the middle school mathematics curriculum, was designed for instruction and learning, and its effectiveness was tested. The study was conducted using a nonequivalent pretest-posttest experimental design. Research procedures included the following steps: (1) both the experimental and the comparison groups participated in four classes to understand and apply the concept of the trigonometric function, and (2) the experimental group participated in Fortress game programming activities using Scratch, which was designed in this study, while the comparison group participated in solving a real-life trigonometric problem - calculating the height of a building using the concept of trigonometry. The results of the t-test showed that students' interest and perceived value of the mathematics curriculum were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the comparison group. However, the results of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) using pretest scores of the interest and perceived value showed the influence of pretest scores on posttest scores for the interest level, although the effect of the experiment on the perceived value of the mathematics curriculum was more significant.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.745-770
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• 2013

In the knowledge-based society today, most knowledge is the integrated one which is difficult to be classified into subjects rather than the knowledge of a single subject. Thus, integrated thinking, which integrated knowledge is preferentially acquired first and then can be also associated with imagination and artistic sensitivity, is simultaneously required in order that we have a problem-solving capability in our daily life. STEAM education(science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) is one of the educational methods to improve this problem-solving capability as well as integrated thinking. This research developed materials for STEAM education which can be applied to the 6th grade curriculum of elementary school mathematics, then input it, and analyzed how it impacts with students' attitudes toward mathematics. Unit 3 'Prism' and Pyramid' were restructured and replaced by classes such as 'Spaghetti Project' or 'Paper Craft'. Unit 4 'Several Solid Figure' was taught as a class of 'EDUCUBE'. Unit 6 'Proportional Graph' was taught as a class of 'Creating my own bracelet'. After having this class, we found that mathematics class applied STEAM also has a positive effect on the mathematical attitude of students. Many students said that math is fun and gets more interesting after having math class applied STEAM and we come to know that they have positive awareness of mathematics.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.369-393
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to find the commonality between process-focused assessment and existing performance evaluation and to find out whether the process-focused assessment is effective for the development of the character of school mathematics. By analyzing the previous research, this study defined the meaning of process-focused assessment as an evaluation that can improve students' growth and quality of class through immediate feedback by introducing various performance tasks and evaluation methods. The character of school mathematics refers to personality factors that are easily expressed and cultivated during math classes. Therefore, this study presented examples of the feasibility of process-focused assessment focusing on geometry and vector subjects and examined the effectiveness of mathematics and character development through process-based evaluation. Four course-based assessments (math experiments, logic, proof, and communication) aimed at cultivating the character of school mathematics were conducted from March to June 2019 for the third year of high school. The index was measured. Analysis of the results using the corresponding variable t-test showed that the process-based evaluation in this study had a significant effect on the character of school mathematics development.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.663-686
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of convergent approach of mathematics education on students' problem-solving ability and self-efficacy by designing and applying mathematics curriculum based on STEAM. The results are as follows. First, the test results between the two groups did not show any statistically significant difference in terms of problem solving ability, but the experimental group showed a higher average score than the comparative group. Compared with the standard deviation of the experimental group, It can be seen that the level of difference between students is great. This suggests that STEAM-based mathematics lessons have a positive effect on the problem solving ability of low-level students. Second, the results of the self-efficacy t-test of STEAM-based mathematics class showed statistically significant results at a 5% significance level. In the sub-domain, the preference for the difficulty of the mathematics task, except math self-confidence and the math self-regulation efficacy, were statistically significant at a 5% significance level. This study shows that STEAM-based mathematics classes have a positive effect on the students' positive aspects. Through the STEAM program, students learn that mathematics is connected with other fields, and it provides an opportunity to explore on their own, and they more became interested, motivated, and achievement. Also, through the results of the STEAM-based mathematics class, it can be seen that the expressive power and self-confidence are increased by using the non-formal representation outside of the existing formal representation center. The result of this study can be summarized as follows: A STEAM-based mathematics class has a positive effect on problem solving ability and self-efficacy. Therefore, it is interpreted that the application of the STEAM program focusing on mathematics accounts for education effectives.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.213-231
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• 2021

This study is intended to investigate contents related to parents' perception and satisfaction level of school mathematics curriculum. Based on the results, this study intended to deduce implications for mathematics education in schools, child education, and parent education. According to the result of the survey, the more positively the parents perceived the value of the mathematics learning, the more positively the child perceived, and the higher the parent's participation rate in mathematics-related education was. In terms of perception of teaching and learning activities, it showed that the willingness to participate in educational programs was lower for the parents of middle and high school students than the parents of elementary school students and the parents of elementary school students also showed higher satisfaction level of school mathematics curriculum. parents have perceived the necessity of teaching and mathematics education to develop artificial intelligence or data analysis skills. It was also found that the parents of middle and high school students' participation experience in education had an effect on the satisfaction level of their children's math teacher's class preparedness. Parents perceived positively to how pragmatic mathematics curriculum can be and provided answers to what they wish in specific mathematics classes in learning methods and future mathematics learning. As this is for educational experts to consider much in-depth in the future, this study suggested the need for diverse parents' education related to mathematics including the expansion of mathematics education with parents' participation, the creation of a mathematics learning environment for future mathematics learning.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.8
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• pp.215-224
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyze the cases of verbal interactions occurring during the mathematics lessons taught in middle school special classes in order to examine the elements and types of verbal interactions that occur between the teachers and students. Data were collected and analyzed for the sessions on geometric units that formed part of the mathematics lessons routinely implemented in the special classes. The analysis showed that the teachers initiated 237 (84.1%) of the 291 instances of verbal linguistic interactions. A total of 240 teachers' questions were analyzed, and questions in the area of knowledge occurred the most frequently, at 160 times (66.7%). A total of 617 student responses were analyzed, and short answers occurred the most frequently, at 367 times (59.5%). Teacher feedback occurred 581 times in total, and correct/incorrect (simple) feedback occurred the most frequently, at 234 times (40.3%). A total of 237 verbal interactions were observed between the teachers and children, and the I (RF) type (one teacher question, one student response, and one instance of teacher feedback) occurred most frequently, at 83 times (35.0%).

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.179-194
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to find out how the reconstructed textbook for vocational high school students influences on students' scholastic achievement and affective domain when it is used in the class of vocational high school. To tackle the study problems, the researcher chose two classes of the first grade in G commercial high school and gave lessons to each of the two classes; one class, as an experimental group, was taught with the reconstructed textbook and the other, as a comparative group, was taught with the original textbook. The following results are derived from the study. First, it turned out in the post academic achievement test result, there is no significant difference between the experimental group and the comparison group, by significant level; .05. However, the prior academic achievement test result shows that the average of the comparison group is 0.44 points higher than the average of the experimental group, while the post test result shows that the average of the experimental group is 1.96 points higher than the average of the comparison group. Second, it turned out by the post affective domain test result, there is no significant difference between the experimental group and the comparison group, by significant level; .05, and any significant difference did not occur in all five areas. However, the whole point of the affective domain and the points of each area of experimental group are higher than those of the comparison group, and the degree of improvement in experimental group is also greater than that of the comparison group. In conclusion, the effectiveness of utilizing a reconstructed textbook in vocational high school math class can be expected in the long term.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.157-170
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• 2017

Mathematics was the main domain of PISA 2012, and both paper-based and computer-based assessment of mathematics (CBAM) were conducted. PISA 2012 was the first large-scale computer-based mathematics assessment in Korea, and it is meaningful in that it evaluated students' mathematical literacy in problem situations using dynamic geometry, graph, and spreadsheet. Although Korea ranked third in CBAM, the use of ICT in mathematics lessons appeared to be low. On the other hand, this study focused on Singapore, which ranked first in CBAM. The Singapore Ministry of Education developed online programs such as AlgeTools and AlgeDisc, and implemented the programs in classes by specifying them in mathematics curriculum and textbooks. Thus, this study investigated influential factors on computer-based assessment of mathematics by comparing the results of Korea and Singapore, and aimed to provide meaningful evidence on the direction of Korea's ICT-based mathematics education. The results showed that ICT use at home for school related tasks, attitudes towards computers as a tool for school learning, and openness and perseverance of problem solving were positively associated with computer-based mathematics performance, whereas the use of ICT in mathematics class by teacher demonstration was negatively related. Efforts are needed to improve computer use and enhance teaching techniques related to ICT use in Korean math classes. Future research is recommended to examine how effectively teachers use ICT in mathematics class in Singapore.