• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.655-676
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of teaching on functional thinking, one of the algebraic thinking in sixth grade students level. For this study, we developed functional thinking based-teaching through analyzing mathematical curriculum and preceding research, which consisted of 12 classes, and we investigated the effects of teaching through quantitative and qualitative analysis. In the results of this study, functional thinking based-teaching was statistically proven to be more effective in improving algebraic reasoning skills and lower elements which is an algebraic reasoning as generalized arithmetic and functional thinking, compared to traditional textbook-centered lessons. In addition, the functional thinking based-teaching gave a positive impact on the functional thinking level. Thus functional thinking based-teaching provides guidance on the implications for teaching and learning methods and study of the functional thinking in the future, because of the significant impact on the mathematics learning in six grade students.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.247-265
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to analyze the essence of ratio concept from educational viewpoint. For this purpose, it was tried to examine contents and organizations of the recent teaching of ratio concept in elementary school text of Korea from ‘Syllabus Period’ to ‘the 7th Curriculum Period’ In these text most ratio problems were numerically and algorithmically approached. So the Wiskobas programme was introduced, in which the focal point was not on mathematics as a closed system but on the activity, on the process of mathematization and the subject ‘ratio’ was assigned an important place. There are some educational implications of this study which needs to be mentioned. First, the programme for developing proportional reasoning should be introduced early Many students have a substantial amount of prior knowledge of proportional reasoning. Second, conventional symbol and algorithmic method should be introduced after students have had the opportunity to go through many experiences in intuitive and conceptual way. Third, context problems and real-life situations should be required both to constitute and to apply ratio concept. While working on contort problems the students can develop proportional reasoning and understanding. Fourth, In order to assist student's learning process of ratio concept, visual models have to recommend to use.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.161-175
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to measure the differences in affective characteristics and mathematical reasoning ability between gifted students and non-gifted students. This study compares and analyzes on the relations between the affective characteristics and mathematical reasoning ability. The study subjects are comprised of 97 gifted fifth grade students and 144 non-gifted fifth grade students. The criterion is based on the questionnaire of the affective characteristics and mathematical reasoning ability. To analyze the data, t-test and multiple regression analysis were adopted. The conclusions of the study are synthetically summarized as follows. First, the mathematically gifted students show a positive response to subelement of the affective characteristics, self-conception, attitude, interest, study habits. As a result of analysis of correlation between the affective characteristic and mathematical reasoning ability, the study found a positive correlation between self-conception, attitude, interest, study habits but a negative correlation with mathematical anxieties. Therefore the more an affective characteristics are positive, the higher the mathematical reasoning ability are built. These results show the mathematically gifted students should be educated to be positive and self-confident. Second, the mathematically gifted students was influenced with mathematical anxieties to mathematical reasoning ability. Therefore we seek for solution to reduce mathematical anxieties to improve to the mathematical reasoning ability. Third, the non-gifted students that are influenced of interest of the affective characteristics will improve mathematical reasoning ability, if we make the methods to be interested math curriculum.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.207-222
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• 2015

Mathematics preservice teachers' Mathematical Content Knowledge ("MCK") includes not only knowledge for mathematics, but also academic knowledge for school mathematics and mathematical process knowledge. We can consider the items in PISA 2012 as suitable tools to assess process knowledge as well as mathematical content knowledge because these items are developed by competent international educational experts. Therefore, the responses to items with the low percentage of correct answers in conjunction with the mathematical contents were analyzed with focus on FMC. The results showed the reasoning competency in responses using the conditions of the problem and of understanding the conditions after reading the complex problems within the context (i.e. the reasoning and argumentation competency, and communication competency) requires improvements. Furthermore the results indicated the errors due to a lack of ability of devising strategies for problem solving. Based on the foregoing results, the implications towards the directions of the education for the preservice mathematics teachers have been derived.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.401-427
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• 2012

The recent Korean mathematics curriculum stresses to teach mathematics focusing on mathematical process composed of problem solving, reasoning and communication. To be successful in applying the rationale of the process-focused mathematics education, the assessment practice in classrooms should be also centered on mathematical process. In this study we conducted a large-scale survey on teachers' perspectives about the process-focused mathematics assessment. First, we surveyed teachers' opinion on current assessment practices in school mathematics related to regular school exams and performance assessments. Second, we investigated teachers' perception on mathematical process components such as problem solving, reasoning, and communication regarding how they should be assessed. Finally, we examined the difference of teachers' opinion according to their teaching experience, city size, and the type of school. Based on the results, we discussed implications for mathematics assessment and process-focused mathematical assessment.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.103-121
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• 2008

The primary purpose of this study was to gather knowledge about $5^{th},\;6^{th},\;and\;7^{th}$ graders' proportional reasoning ability by investigating their reactions and use of strategies when encounting proportional or nonproportional problems, and then to raise issues concerning instructional methods related to proportion. A descriptive study through pencil-and-paper tests was conducted. The tests consisted of 12 questions, which included 8 proportional questions and 4 nonproportional questions. The following conclusions were drawn from the results obtained in this study. First, for a deeper understanding of the ratio, textbooks should treat numerical comparison problems and qualitative prediction and comparison problems together with missing-value problems. Second, when solving missing-value problems, students correctly answered direct-proportion questions but failed to correctly answer inverse-proportion questions. This result highlights the need for a more intensive curriculum to handle inverse-proportion. In particular, students need to experience inverse-relationships more often. Third, qualitative reasoning tends to be a more general norm than quantitative reasoning. Moreover, the former could be the cornerstone of proportional reasoning, and for this reason, qualitative reasoning should be emphasized before proportional reasoning. Forth, when dealing with nonproportional problems about 34% of students made proportional errors because they focused on numerical structure instead of comprehending the overall relationship. In order to overcome such errors, qualitative reasoning should be emphasized. Before solving proportional problems, students must be enriched by experiences that include dealing with direct and inverse proportion problems as well as nonproportional situational problems. This will result in the ability to accurately recognize a proportional situation.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.189-206
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• 2015

There has been a recurring call for using visual representations in textbooks to improve the teaching and learning of proportional reasoning. However, the quantity as well as quality of visual representations used in textbooks is still very limited. In this article, we analyzed visual representations presented in a Grade 6 textbook from two perspectives of proportional reasoning, multiple-batches perspective and variable-parts perspective, and discussed the potential of the double number line and the double tape diagram to help develop the idea 'things covary while something stays the same', which is critical to reason proportionally. We also classified situations that require proportional reasoning into five categories and provided ways of using the double number line and the double tape diagram for each category.

• School Mathematics
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.581-598
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• 2011

Given the growing agreement that algebra should be taught in the early stage of the curriculum, considerable studies have been conducted with regard to early algebra in the elementary school. However, there has been lack of research on how to organize mathematic lessons to develop of algebraic reasoning ability of the elementary school students. This research attempted to gain specific and practical information on effective algebraic teaching and learning in the elementary school. An exploratory qualitative case study was conducted to the fourth graders. This paper focused on the associative law of the multiplication. This paper showed what kinds of activities a teacher may organize following three steps: (a) focus on the properties of numbers and operations in specific situations, (b) discovery of the properties of numbers and operations with many examples, and (c) generalization of the properties of numbers and operations in arbitrary situations. Given the steps, this paper included an analysis on how the students developed their algebraic reasoning. This study provides implications on the important factors that lead to the development of algebraic reasoning ability for elementary students.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.31-61
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to confirm constructivists' assumption that when a little low level learners are taken in learner-centered instruction based on a constructivism they can also construct knowledge by themselves. To achieve this purpose, the researchers compare the effects of learner-centered instruction based on the constructivism and teacher-centered instruction based on the objective epistemology where second graders learn multiplication facts through the each treatment on learners' reasoning ability and achievement. Some conclusions are drawn from results as follows. First, learner-centered instruction based on a constructivism has significant effect on learners' reasoning ability. Second, learner-centered instruction has slightly positive effect on learners' deductive reasoning ability. Third, learner-centered instruction has more an positive influence on understanding concepts and principles of not-presented mathematical knowledge than teacher-centered instruction when implementing it with a little low level learners.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.1-27
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• 2014

In the present study, we analyze the four participating 9th grade students' mathematical reasoning processes in their dragging activities while solving open-ended geometry problems in terms of abduction, induction and deduction. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, the students utilized 'abduction' to adopt their hypotheses, 'induction' to generalize them by examining various cases and 'deduction' to provide warrants for the hypotheses. Secondly, in the abduction process, 'wandering dragging' and 'guided dragging' seemed to help the students formulate their hypotheses, and in the induction process, 'dragging test' was mainly used to confirm the hypotheses. Despite of the emerging mathematical reasoning via their dragging activities, several difficulties were identified in their solving processes such as misunderstanding shapes as fixed figures, not easily recognizing the concept of dependency or path, not smoothly proceeding from probabilistic reasoning to deduction, and trapping into circular logic.