• The Mathematical Education
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2004

We have studied the issues of the current math war in America. Traditionalists and the reformers have been arguing about the curriculums, teaching methods, use of calculators, basic skills, and assessment methods in K-12 mathematics. They both have strengths and weaknesses depending on the situation have contributed for the development of mathematics education. Instead of choosing between traditionalists and the reformist sides, we suggest to adopt an eclectic view point i.e., rigor and creativity, memorization and understanding that may seem at odds with each other are quite compatible and mutually reinforcing. Also teacher's deep knowledge in mathematics is extremely important as his/her knowledge in pedagogy.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.375-392
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to provide a philosophical reflection on mathematical process consistently emphasized in our curriculum and to stress the importance of sharing creativity and its applicability to the mathematical process with the value of sharing and participation. For this purpose, we describe five stages of changing process in a peer mentoring teaching method conducted by a teacher who taught this method for 17 years with the goal of sharing creativity and examine components of mathematical process and their impact on it in each stage based on learning environment, learning process, and assessment. Results suggest that six principles should be underlined and considered for students to be actively involved in mathematical process. After analyzing changes in the five stages of the peer mentoring teaching method, the five principles scrutinized in mathematical process are the principles of continuous interactivity, contextual dependence, bidirectional development, teacher capability, and student participation. On the basis of these five principles, the principle of cooperative creativity is extracted from effective changes of mathematical process as a guiding force.

• School Mathematics
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-25
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• 2003

This study develops a performance assessment system to improve grade 4-9 students' creativity. First, this study discusses its educational meaning, its task types, scoring methods and practical application methods. Then, this study provides the typical examples of performance assessment task classified by each of the types and its scoring rubrics. Finally, this study analyzes students' achievement levels for each task. Each task includes item informations such as content area, evaluation goal, evaluation procedure, preparatory material, characteristics, considering points, scoring rubric etc. for grade 4-9 teachers to use them in their evaluation processes directly without difficulties.

• School Mathematics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.241-257
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• 2007

The study aims to figure out how to improve existing examination tools to distinguish mathematically gifted children and to clarify procedures and criteria for selecting candidates. Toward this end, it examined correlations between grades of gifted children selected through evaluation by pen-and-pencil tests and their creative problem-solving capability and performance assessment, and analyzed learning activities of the gifted children. According to the analysis, results of pen-and-pencil tests turned out to have low correlations with their creative problem-solving capability and performance assessment, but it was found that their creative problem-solving capability has high correlations with results of performance assessment. The analysis also found that there were some students who participated in a program for gifted children with high marks but had difficulties in adapting themselves to it. It found that there were children who joined the program with low marks but emerged as successive performers later on. In this regard, the existing examination tools to tell the gifted students apart need to be used to the fullest extent, and other diversified tools to evaluate mathematical capabilities that include mathematical creativity need to be further studied and developed. Qualitative studies on affective development of the gifted students and their creative problem-solving processes need to be conducted.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.275-290
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• 2014

This study aims to examine how secondary mathematics teachers perceive and how they use constructed-response assessment in their mathematics classrooms. For this purpose, we conducted a survey in Seoul, Inchun, and Gyeonggi-do; 189 teachers participated in the survey. Results from the data analysis suggest as follows: a) the secondary mathematics teachers participated in the survey seem to consider the primary goals of assessment through constructed-response items as evaluating student achievement and the development of students' thinking and creativity; b) the teachers perceive that constructed-response assessment would promote students' mathematical thinking and problem solving skills; c) in general, constructed-response items were included in both performance assessment(less than 20 percent) and paper-and-pencil test(20 to 40 percent); and d) constructed-response items were primarily used as a part of regular examination, rather than as an independent assessment.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.1020-1030
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to develop the STEAM educational program based on the computer programming. STEAM education has been recently attracted to a lot of people. We had a focus of computer science in STEM fields. We used the programming language f or learning KODU. We selected appropriate topics for STEAM education and learning programming. We developed the educational program of 30 hours about selected topics and had classes for 4th and 5th grade elementary students. In order to verify the effectiveness of the educational program, we analyzed the results of pre- and posttest about GALT(Group Assessment of Logical Thinking), TTCT(Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking), science-related affective domain, and mathematical interests and attitudes tests. In the analysis results, the education program we developed had positive impacts on creativity, logical thinking, and science-related affective domain of elementary school students.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.717-746
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• 2014

The study aimed to explore how to improve mathematical thinking through metacognitive learning by stressing metacognitive abilities as a core strategy to increase mathematical creativity and problem-solving abilities. Theoretical exploration was followed by an analysis of correlations between metacognitive abilities and various ways of mathematical thinking. Various metacognitive teaching and learning methods used by many teachers at school were integrated for sharing. Also, the methods of learning application and assessment of metacognitive thinking were explored. The results are as follows: First, metacognitive abilities were positively related to 'reasoning, communication, creative problem solving and commitment' with direct and indirect effects on mathematical thinking. Second, various megacognitive ability-applied teaching and learning methods had positive impacts on definitive areas such as 'anxiety over Mathematics, self-efficacy, learning habit, interest, confidence and trust' as well as cognitive areas such as 'learning performance, reasoning, problem solving, metacognitive ability, communication and expression', which is a result applicable to top, middle and low-performance students at primary and secondary education facilities. Third, 'metacognitive activities, metaproblem-solving process, personal strength and weakness management project, metacognitive notes, observation tables and metacognitive checklists' for metacognitive learning were suggested as alternatives to performance assessment covering problem-solving and thinking processes. Various metacognitive learning methods helped to improve creative and systemic problem solving and increase mathematical thinking. They did not only imitate uniform problem-solving methods suggested by a teacher but also induced direct experiences of mathematical thinking as well as adjustment and control of the thinking process. The study will help teachers recognize the importance of metacognition, devise and apply teaching or learning models for their teaching environments, improving students' metacognitive ability as well as mathematical and creative thinking.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.287-298
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• 2010

The purpose of teacher education can be accepted in various meanings but it is not too much to say that the ultimate purpose is focused on training teachers to teach instruction in school effectively. The purpose of this article consists in giving some suggestive points to the primary teacher education of our country by introducing education system, teacher education programs, real cases of teacher education in new zealand to the readers. To do this, I took part in four classes and observed the ones, interviewed some students and collected the materials of products of activity during one year and also videotaped for analysis in the case of needed and so we have reached the following conclusions. First, we have found that the teacher education program, practicum, management of class and assessment system of new zealand college of education are quite different with our primary teacher education systems and also various courses are established. Second, the teacher education in new zealand is focused on how they compose the environment of learning related to the context of one. Third, we have to think seriously how we can teach our students interestingly in our classroom. Finally, the global trend of instruction in new zealand teacher education is oriented to learner and so I felt that daily class itself is the one to cultivate creativity of learner.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.171-194
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• 2006

As it is not long since the gifted education was implemented in elementary school, it is necessary to accumulate the practical studies on the mathematically gifted education. This paper focused on enhancing creativity by providing the various and divergent thinking activities for mathematically gifted students. For this purpose, I prepared two mathematics problems, and , and let the mathematically gifted 5th grade students solve them. After that, I investigated to analyse their reactions in detail and tried to find the methods for assessing their divergent products. Finally, I found that they could pose various and meaningful calculating equations and also identify the various relations between two numbers. I expect that accumulating these kinds of practical studies will contribute to the developments of gifted education, in particular, instructions, assessments, and curriculum developments for the mathematically gifted students in elementary schools.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.235-257
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• 2010

Contemporary belief is that the creative talented can create new knowledge and lead national development, so lots of countries in the world have interest in Gifted Education. As we well know, U.S.A., England, Russia, Germany, Australia, Israel, and Singapore enforce related laws in Gifted Education to offer Gifted Classes, and our government has also created an Improvement Act in January, 2000 and Enforcement Ordinance for Gifted Improvement Act was also announced in April, 2002. Through this initiation Gifted Education can be possible. Enforcement Ordinance was revised in October, 2008. The main purpose of this revision was to expand the opportunity of Gifted Education to students with special education needs. One of these programs is, the opportunity of Gifted Education to be offered to lots of the Gifted by establishing Special Classes at each school. Also, it is important that the quality of Gifted Education should be combined with the expansion of opportunity for the Gifted. Social opinion is that it will be reckless only to expand the opportunity for the Gifted Education, therefore, assessment on the Teaching and Learning Program for the Gifted is indispensible. In this study, 3 middle schools were selected for the Teaching and Learning Programs in mathematics. Each 1st Grade was reviewed and analyzed through comparative tables between Regular and Gifted Education Programs. Also reviewed was the content of what should be taught, and programs were evaluated on assessment standards which were revised and modified from the present teaching and learning programs in mathematics. Below, research issues were set up to assess the formation of content areas and appropriateness for Teaching and Learning Programs for the Gifted in mathematics. A. Is the formation of special class content areas complying with the 7th national curriculum? 1. Which content areas of regular curriculum is applied in this program? 2. Among Enrichment and Selection in Curriculum for the Gifted, which one is applied in this programs? 3. Are the content areas organized and performed properly? B. Are the Programs for the Gifted appropriate? 1. Are the Educational goals of the Programs aligned with that of Gifted Education in mathematics? 2. Does the content of each program reflect characteristics of mathematical Gifted students and express their mathematical talents? 3. Are Teaching and Learning models and methods diverse enough to express their talents? 4. Can the assessment on each program reflect the Learning goals and content, and enhance Gifted students' thinking ability? The conclusions are as follows: First, the best contents to be taught to the mathematical Gifted were found to be the Numeration, Arithmetic, Geometry, Measurement, Probability, Statistics, Letter and Expression. Also, Enrichment area and Selection area within the curriculum for the Gifted were offered in many ways so that their Giftedness could be fully enhanced. Second, the educational goals of Teaching and Learning Programs for the mathematical Gifted students were in accordance with the directions of mathematical education and philosophy. Also, it reflected that their research ability was successful in reaching the educational goals of improving creativity, thinking ability, problem-solving ability, all of which are required in the set curriculum. In order to accomplish the goals, visualization, symbolization, phasing and exploring strategies were used effectively. Many different of lecturing types, cooperative learning, discovery learning were applied to accomplish the Teaching and Learning model goals. For Teaching and Learning activities, various strategies and models were used to express the students' talents. These activities included experiments, exploration, application, estimation, guess, discussion (conjecture and refutation) reconsideration and so on. There were no mention to the students about evaluation and paper exams. While the program activities were being performed, educational goals and assessment methods were reflected, that is, products, performance assessment, and portfolio were mainly used rather than just paper assessment.