• The Mathematical Education
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.341-360
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• 2002

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of dynamic software in solving high school analytic geometry problems compared with traditional algebraic approach. Three high school students who have revealed high performance in mathematics were involved in this study. It was considered that they mastered the basic concepts of equations of plane figure and curves of secondary degree. The research questions for the study were the followings: 1) In what degree students understand relationship between geometric approach and algebraic approach in solving geometry problems? 2) What are the difficulties students encounter in the process of using the dynamic software? 3) In what degree the constructions of geometric figures help students to understand the mathematical concepts? 4) What are the effects of dynamic software in constructing analytic geometry concepts? 5) In what degree students have developed the images of algebraic concepts? According to the results of the study, it was revealed that mathematical connections between geometric approach and algebraic approach was complementary. And the students revealed more rely on the algebraic expression over geometric figures in the process of solving geometry problems. The conceptual images of algebraic expression were not developed fully, and they blamed it upon the current college entrance examination system.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.85-99
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• 2003

In this paper, firstly examined various proofs types that cover informal empirical justifications by Balacheff, Miyazaki, and Harel ＆ Sowder and Tall. Using these theoretical frameworks, justification activities by 5th graders were analyzed and several conclusions were drawn as follow: 1) Children in 5th grade could justify using various proofs types and method ranged from external proofs schemes by Harel & Sowder to thought experiment by Balacheff This implies that children in elementary school can justify various mathematical statements of ideas for themselves. To improve children's proving abilities, rich experience for justifying should be provided. 2) Activities that make conjectures from cases then justify should be given to students in order to develop a sense of necessity of formal proof. 3) Children have to understand the meaning and usage of mathematical symbol to advance to formal deductive proofs. 4) New theoretical framework is needed to be established to provide a framework for research on elementary school children's justification activities. Research on proof mainly focused on the type of proof in terms of reasoning and activities involved. But proof types are also influenced by the tasks given. In elementary school, tasks that require physical activities or examples are provided. To develop students'various proof types, tasks that require various justification methods should be provided. 5) Children's justification type were influenced not only by development level but also by the concept they had. 6) Justification activities provide useful situation that assess students'mathematical understanding. 7) Teachers understanding toward role of proof(verification, explanation, communication, discovery, systematization) should be the starting point of proof activities.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.261-282
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• 2019

The research related to testing pupils' achievement in the field of Measurement and Measure in initial teaching of geometry points to an insufficient adoption of the basic components of the length measurement concept among pupils. In order to discover the cause, we looked at the basic components on which the procedure of measuring length using a ruler is based, highlighted the possibilities of introducing the procedure in measuring length, and determined pupils' achievement during the procedure of measuring length using a ruler. The research sample consisted of 145 pupils, out of which 72 were the 2^nd grade pupils and 73 were the 4^th grade pupils. A descriptive method was applied in the research. The technique we used was testing, and for the statistical data processing we used a χ² test. The results of the research show that, when drawing a straight line of a given length using a ruler, there is no statistical difference in achievement between the 2^nd and 4^th grade pupils, nor in the pupils' knowledge regarding drawing a ruler independently, while drawing a straight line of a given length using a "broken" ruler 4^th grade pupils are statistically better. The results of the research indicate that pupils' achievement is better in doing standard tasks than in non-standard ones, given that the latter require conceptual knowledge. The components of the concept of length measurement using ruler have not been sufficiently developed yet, and these include: zero-point, partitioning a measured object in a series of consecutive measurement units and their iteration. We shed more light on the critical stage in the procedure of length measurement - the transition from non-standard to standard units and the formation of the length measurement scale. For further research, we propose to look at the formation of the concept of length measurement using the ruler through all its components and their inclusion in the mathematics curriculum, as well as examining the correlation of pupils' achievement in the procedure of measuring length with their achievement in measuring area (and volume).

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.201-221
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• 2008

This study discusses how the humanity mathematics education can be realized in practice. The essence of mathematical concept is gradually disclosed revealing the ambiguities in the concept currently accepted and clarifying them. Historical development of mathematical concepts has progressed as such, exemplified with the group-theoretical thought and continuous function. In learning of mathematical concepts, thus, students have to recognize, reveal and clarify the ambiguities that intuitive and context-dependent definitions in school mathematics have. We present the process of improvement of definitions of a tangent and a polygon in school mathematics as examples. In the process, students may recognize the limitations of their thoughts and reform them with feelings of humility and satisfaction. Therefore this learning process would contribute to cultivating students' minds as the humanity mathematics education pursues.

• School Mathematics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.409-429
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• 2012

This paper reports the process two 11th grade students went through in reinventing derivatives on their own via a context problem involving the concept of velocity. In the reinvention process, one of the students conceived a tangent line as the limit of a secant line, and then the other student explained to a peer that the slope of a tangent line was the geometric mean of derivative. The students also used technology to concentrate on essential thinking to search for mathematical concepts and help visually understand them. The purpose of this study was to provide meaningful implications to school practices by describing students' process of reinvention of derivatives. This study revealed certain characteristics of the students' reinvention process of derivatives and changes in the students' thinking process.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.129-144
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• 2009

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of the use of RNP curriculum based on Lesh translation model on third grade students' understandings of fraction concepts and problem solving ability. Students' conceptual understandings of fractions and problem solving ability were improved by the use of the curriculum. Various manipulative experiences and translation processes between and among representations facilitated students' conceptual understandings of fractions and contributed to the development of problem solving strategies. Expecially, in problem situations including fraction ordering which was not covered during the study, mental images of fractions constructed by the experiences with manipulatives played a central role as a problem solving strategy.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.949-974
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• 2010

The purpose of the study was to investigate how students' understanding was formed for solving the algebra problems involving parameters in a computer algebra environment. The teaching experiment has been conducted with 6 high school students. As a result, students studied the parameter in different roles such as placeholder, changing quantity, unknown and generalizer. The results indicate that a computer algebra environment offers opportunities for algebra activities that may support the development of understanding of the concept of parameter.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.363-380
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• 2023

This study analyzed the difficulties and mathematical modeling knowledge improvement that an elementary school teacher experienced in modifying a mathematics textbook task to a mathematical modeling task. To this end, an elementary school teacher with 10 years of experience participated in teacher-researcher community's repeated discussions and modified the average task in the data and pattern domain of the 5th grade. The results are as followings. First, in the process of task modification, the teacher had difficulties in reflecting reality, setting the appropriate cognitive level of mathematical modeling tasks, and presenting detailed tasks according to the mathematical modeling process. Second, through repeated task modifications, the teacher was able to develop realistic tasks considering the mathematical content knowledge and students' cognitive level, set the cognitive level of the task by adjusting the complexity and openness of the task, and present detailed tasks through thought experiments on students' task-solving process, which shows that teachers' mathematical modeling knowledge, including the concept of mathematical modeling and the characteristics of the mathematical modeling task, has improved. The findings of this study suggest that, in terms of the mathematical modeling teacher education, it is necessary to provide teachers with opportunities to improve their mathematical modeling task development competency through textbook task modification rather than direct provision of mathematical modeling tasks, experience mathematical modeling theory and practice together, and participate in teacher-researcher communities.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.87-92
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• 2008

Tokamak reactor system analysis code was developed at KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) and is used here for the conceptual development of a DEMO reactor. In the system analysis code, prospects of the development of plasma physics and the relevant technology are included in a simple mathematical model, i.e., the overall plant power balance equation and the plasma power balance equation. This system analysis code provides satisfactory results for developing the concept of a DEMO reactor and for identifying the necessary R&D areas, both in the physics and technology areas for the realization of the concept. With this system analysis code, the performance of a DEMO reactor with a limited extension of the plasma physics and technology adopted in the ITER design. The main requirements for the DEMO reactor were selected as: 1) demonstrate tritium self-sufficiency, 2) generate net electricity, and 3) achieve a steady-state operation. It was shown that to access an operational region for higher performance, the main restrictions are presented by the divertor heat load and the steady-state operation requirements.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Navigation
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.11-22
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• 1999

This paper is concerned with the development of a tractable model to assist liner shipping companies in the decision-making of empty container repositioning and leasing. A hybrid methodology is presented which properly accounts for the specific characteristics of empty container management. For this mathematical models are developed based on dynamic network models, covering both land and marine segment. Then a stochastic method is presented to deal with the uncertainty of the future demand and supply. Especially, the concept of opportunity cost has been introduced in order to explain interactions between the variation of the future demand and supply and the stock level at each depot.