• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to analyze whether analogy distance and mathematical knowledge affect on transfer problems solving with different analogy distance. To conduct the study, transfer problems were classified into multiple categories: mathematical word problem based on rates, science word problem based on rates, and real-life problem based on rates with different analogy distance. Then analysed there are differences in participants' transfer ability and which mathematical knowledge contributes to the solution on over the three transfer problem. The study demonstrated a statistical significant difference(.05) in participants' three transfer problem solving and a gradual decrease of the participants' success rates of on transfer problems solving. Moreover, conceptual knowledge influenced transfer problem solving more than factual knowledge about rates. The study has an important implications in that it provided new direction for study about transfer of learning, and also show a good mathematics instruction on where teachers will put the focus in mathematical lesson to foster elementary students' transfer ability.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.67-90
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to understand students' thinking process in the algebra problem solving, on the base of the works of Vinner(1997a, 1997b). Thus, two middle school students were evaluated in this case study to examine how they think to solve algebra word problems. The following question was considered to analyze the thinking process from the similarity-based perspective by focusing on the process of solving algebra word problems; What is the relationship between similarity and the characteristics of thinking process at the time of successful and unsuccessful problem solving? The following results were obtained by analyzing the success or failure in problem solving based on the characteristics of thinking process and similarity composition. Successful problem solving can be based on pseudo-analytical thought and analytical thought. The former is the rule applied in the process of applying closed formulas that is constructed structural similarity not related with the situations described in the text. The latter means that control and correction occurred in all stages of problem solution. The knowledge needed for solutions was applied with the formulation of open-end formulas that is constructed structural similarity in which memory and modification with the related principles or concepts. In conclusion, the student's perception on the principles involved in a solution is very important in solving algebraic word problems.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.297-312
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• 2022

Word problems can lead learners to more meaningfully learn mathematics by providing learners with various problem-solving experiences and guiding them to apply mathematical knowledge to the context. This study attempted to provide implications for the textbook writing and teaching and learning process by examining the word problem of elementary mathematics textbooks from the perspective of practical context. The word problem of elementary mathematics textbooks was examined, and elementary mathematics textbooks in the United States and Finland were referenced to find specific alternatives. As a result, when setting an unnatural context or subject to the word problem in elementary mathematics textbooks, artificial numbers were inserted or verbal expressions and illustrations were presented unclearly. In this case, it may be difficult for learners to recognize the context of the word problem as separate from real life or to solve the problem by understanding the content required by the word problem. In the future, it is necessary to organize various types of word problems in practical contexts, such as setting up situations in consideration of learners in textbooks, actively using illustrations and diagrams, and organizing verbal expressions and illustrations more clearly.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.9-16
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• 2016

Collaborative filtering(CF) uses the purchase or item rating history of other users, but does not need additional properties or attributes of users and items. Hence CF is known th be the most successful recommendation technology. But conventional CF approach has some significant weakness, such as the new user problem. In this paper, we propose a approach using word embedding with skip-gram for learning distributed item representations. In particular, we show that this approach can be used to capture precise item for solving the "new user problem." The proposed approach has been tested on the Movielens databases. We compare the performance of the user based CF, item based CF and our approach by observing the change of recommendation results according to the different number of item rating information. The experimental results shows the improvement in our approach in measuring the precision applied to new user problem situations.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.91-109
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• 2007

This study deals with the problem of transition from arithmetic to algebra and the relationship between elementary and secondary school mathematics for systems of linear equations. In elementary school, activity for solving word problems related to systems of linear equations in two variables falls broadly into using two strategies: Guess and check and making a table. In secondary school, those problems are solved algebraically, for example, by solving systems of equations using the technique of elimination. The analysis of mathematics textbooks shows that there is no link between strategies of elementary school mathematics and secondary school mathematics. We devised an alternative way to reinforce link between elementary and secondary school mathematics for systems of linear equations. Drawing a diagram can be introduced as a strategy solving word problems related to systems of linear equations in two variables in elementary school. Moreover it is closely related to the idea of the technique of elimination of secondary school mathematics. It may be a critical juncture of elementary-secondary school mathematics in the case of systems of linear equations in two variables.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.353-368
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• 2003

Analogy, based on a similarity, is to infer the properties of the similar object from properties of an object. It can be a very useful thinking tool for learning mathematical patterns and laws, noticing on relational properties among various situations. The purpose of this study, when manipulating hint condition, figure and table conditions and the amount of original learning by using algebra word problems, is to verify the effects of analogical transfer in solving equivalent, isomorphic and similar problems according to the similarity of source problems and target ones. Five study questions were set up for the above purpose. It was 354 first grade students of S and G middle schools in Seoul that were experimented for this study. The data was processed by MANOVA analysis of statistical program, SPSS 10.0. The results of this studies would indicate that most of the students would be poor at solving isomorphic and similar problems in the performance of analogical transfer according to the similarity of source and target problems. Hints, figure and table conditions did not facilitate the analogical transfer. Merely, on the condition that amount of teaming was increased, analogical transfer of the students was facilitated. Therefore, it is necessary to have students do much more analogical problem-solving experience to improve their analogical reasoning ability through the instruction program development in the educational fields.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.371-388
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• 2007

This is a case study trying to understand from the view of affordance which certain three middle school students perceive an activation of previous knowledge in the course of problem solving when they solve algebra word problems with a previous knowledge. The results of this study showed that at first, every subjects perceived the text as affordance which explaining superficial similarities, that is, a working(painting)situation rather than problem structure and then activated the related solution knowledge on the ground of the experience of previous problem solving which is similar to current situation. The subject's applying process for solving knowledge could be arranged largely into two types. The first type is a numeral information connected with the described problem situation or a symbolic representation of mathematical meaning which are the transformed solution applied process with a suitable solution formula to the current problem. This process achieved by constructing a virtual mental model that indicating mathematical situation about the problem when the solver read the problem integrating symbolized information from the described text. The second type is a case that those subjects symbolizing a formal mathematical concept which is not connected with the problem situation about the described numeral information from the applied problem or the text of mathematical meaning, which process is the case to perceive superficial phrases or words that described from the problem as affordance and then applied previously used algorithmatical formula as it was. In conclusion, on the ground of the results of this case study, it is guessed that many students put only algorithmatical knowledge in their memories through previous experiences of problem solving, and the memories are connected with the particular phrases described from the problems. And it is also recognizable when the reflection process which is the last step of problem solving carried out in the process of understanding the problem and making a plan showed the most successful in problem solving.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.337-354
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• 2011

The purpose of the study was to investigate how students understand multiplication and division of fractions and how their understanding influences the solutions of fractional word problems. Thirteen students from 5th to 6th grades were involved in the study. Students' understanding of operations with fractions was categorized into "a part of the parts", "multiplicative comparison", "equal groups", "area of a rectangular", and "computational procedures of fractional multiplication (e.g., multiply the numerators and denominators separately)" for multiplications, and "sharing", "measuring", "multiplicative inverse", and "computational procedures of fractional division (e.g., multiply by the reciprocal)" for divisions. Most students understood multiplications as a situation of multiplicative comparison, and divisions as a situation of measuring. In addition, some students understood operations of fractions as computational procedures without associating these operations with the particular situations (e.g., equal groups, sharing). Most students tended to solve the word problems based on their semantic structure of these operations. Students with the same understanding of multiplication and division of fractions showed some commonalities during solving word problems. Particularly, some students who understood operations on fractions as computational procedures without assigning meanings could not solve word problems with fractions successfully compared to other students.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.509-527
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• 2021

We investigated whether and how pre-service teachers took the realistic contexts seriously in the course of solving word problems; additionally, we investigated how pre-service teachers evaluated students' realistic and non-realistic answers to word problems. Many pre-service teachers, similar to students, solved some of the realistic problems unrealistically without taking the realistic contexts seriously. Besides, they evaluated students' non-realistic answers higher than the realistic answers. Whether the pre-service teachers could solve problems realistically or not, they did not appreciate students' realistic considerations for the reasons that those were not fitted to the intentions of the word problems, or those were evidence of the flaws of the problem. Furthermore, the analysis of premises implied in the pre-service teachers' evaluation comments showed the implicit didactic contracts about realistic word problem solving that they accepted and also anticipated students to follow. Our analysis of the pre-service teachers' conceptions of realistic word problems can help teacher educators design the teacher program to challenge and revise pre-service teachers' folk pedagogy.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.77-85
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• 1999

In this paper, we analyze strategies and error patterns in solving word problems of linear equation for middle school students. From a test conducted to the sampled 106 second grade middle school students, we obtain the following results: (1)The most difficult types of word problem are velosity and density related problems. The second one is length related problems and the easist one is number related problems. (2)Regardless of the types of word problem, the most familiar strategy is the constructing algebraic equations. However, the most successful strategy is the trial and error. (3)Most likely error patterns are the use of inadequate formulas and wrong trial and errors. Based on these results, a teaching program with various schema is developed and shown to be effective for mid level students in classroom.