• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.9 no.2 s.22
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• pp.125-133
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• 2005

This paper investigates student conceptual understanding and application on algebra using problem-based curricula. Seven principles which National Research Council announced were considered because these seven principles all involved in the development of a deep conceptual understanding. A problem-based curriculum itself provides a significant contribution to improving student learning. A problem-based curriculum encourages students to obtain a more conceptual understanding in algebra. From the results the national curriculum developers in Korea consider the problem-based curriculum.

• Korean Journal of Mathematics
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.743-765
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• 2019

Conceptual and procedural knowledge of integration is necessary not only in calculus but also in real analysis, complex analysis, and differential geometry. However, students show not only focused understanding of procedural knowledge but also limited understanding on conceptual knowledge of integration. So they are good at computation but don't recognize link between several concepts. In particular, Riemann sum is helpful in solving applied problem, but students are poor at understanding structure of Riemann sum. In this study, we try to investigate understanding on conceptual and procedural knowledge of integration and to analyze errors. Conducting experimental class of Riemann sum, we investigate the understanding of Riemann sum structure and so present the implications about improvement of integration teaching.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.414-422
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• 2009

In this study, we investigated the influences of students' motivational characteristics on the processes of learning density concept using a discrepant event. The participants were 642 seventh graders from two middle schools. Tests of failure tolerance, self-efficacy and mastery/performance goal orientation were administered as pretests. A preconception test was also administered. The intervention was the students' individual study of the density concept with a worksheet that was designed to incorporate the major steps of conceptual change learning. The tests of attention, effort and conceptual understanding were administered as post-tests. The responses of 203 students who had been found to possess the target misconception were analyzed. The results of a path analysis revealed that students' motivational characteristics variables did not influence cognitive conflict. Failure tolerance and mastery goal orientation, however, influenced conceptual understanding via situational interest, attention and effort. Self-efficacy influenced conceptual understanding via effort. Performance goal orientation negatively influenced conceptual understanding via attention and effort. Cognitive conflict influenced conceptual understanding directly as well as indirectly via situational interest.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.243-251
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of science toy making activities on the scientific interest and the conceptual understanding of elementary school students. In this study, science toy making activities were applied to an experimental group and traditional learning activities were applied to the control group. The science toy making activities comprised thirteen steps and were administered during class. In the scientific interest test, there was a statistically significant difference between the score of the experimental group and that of the control group. In particular, post-test scores were higher than pre-test scores in the experimental group, while they were lower than this in the control group. It appeared that students had positive thoughts about science toy making activities. These science toy making activities had positive effects on the conceptual understanding of the experimental group students. The post-test scores of the experimental group were higher than that of the control group in all domain concepts. From these results, it can be deduced that the science toy making activities were more effective than traditional teaming activities. They were an effective teaching technique which enhanced the scientific interests and the conceptual understanding of the students in question.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.445-452
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• 2009

In this study, the influences of the context of discrepant events on the conceptual change process using cognitive conflict strategy were investigated in terms of students' cognitive and motivational variables such as cognitive conflict, situational interest, attention, effort, conceptual understanding. A preconception test was administered to 536 seventh graders. A test of response to a discrepant event and a situational interest questionnaire were then administered. The context of discrepant events, either scientific or everyday, was randomly presented to the subjects. After learning the concept of density, the tests of attention, effort, and conceptual understanding were administered. The reponses of 194 students who had been found to possess the target misconception were analyzed. The results revealed that the scientific-context discrepant event induced higher cognitive conflict than everyday-context one. The context of discrepant events, however, did not show significant correlations with situational interest, attention, effort, and/or conceptual understanding. The result of path analysis indicated that the context of discrepant events both directly influenced cognitive conflict and indirectly influenced conceptual understanding via cognitive conflict.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.728-735
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• 2005

In this study, relationships between student the cognitive affective characteristics and conceptual understanding from individual computer-assisted instruction were investigated. Tests regarding field dependence-independence, learning strategy, self-regulated ability, visual learning preference, goal orientation, self-efficacy on ability, and computer attitude were administered. After having been taught by means of a CAl program, a conception test on molecular motion was administered. It was found that student conceptual understanding was significantly related to field independence, learning strategy, self-regulated ability among the cognitive characteristics and visual learning preference, goal orientation, self-efficacy on ability among the affective characteristics. Multiple regression analysis of the cognitive characteristics on conceptual understanding found that field dependence-independence was the most significant predictor. Self-regulated ability and a deep learning strategy were also found to have predictive power. Lastly, analysis of the affective characteristics, visual learning preference and self-efficacy on ability exposed them to be significant predictors of student conceptual understanding.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.125-134
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between motivational belief about learning science, self-directed learning ability and conceptual understanding of matter change with a quantitative method, assuming that motivational belief and self-directed learning ability might affect conceptual understanding. To do this, the authors investigated middle school students' motivational belief about learning science, self-directed learning ability, and conceptual understanding of matter change using measurement tools based on previous studies, and then analysed the casual relationship between three variables using PLS structural equation model. As a result, three latent variables in this study could be evaluated as appropriated in reliability and validity. And also, self-directed learning ability could affect both the motivational belief and conceptual understanding, while motivational belief could affect only self-directed learning ability but not conceptual understanding. Through this study the authors confirmed that in the context of science learning self-directed learning ability can directly affect conceptual understanding but motivational belief can affect indirectly. This study is significant in that the causal relationship between different variables in science learning could be confirmed in a quantitate manner, and also in that it can suggest PLS structural equation method as a new research methodology in science education research area.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.437-451
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• 1995

Middle and high school students' conceptual understanding about stoichiometry, gas laws, and diffusion was compared with essay type test and multiple choice test. Whereas achievement of high school students was higher in stoichiometry, that of middle school students who were expected to go to high schools was higher in gas laws and diffusion. When students' achievement was compared to that of American college students, Korean students' achievement was higher in stoichiometry and was similar in gas laws. These results indicate that algorithmic problem solving is more emphasized than conceptual understanding in high schools and that quantitative aspects focused in chemistry education are not helpful in concept understanding. Nevertheless relatively smaller difference between concept understanding and algorithmic problem solving for high school students in this study seems to be from concept learning in middle schools.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using graphing calculators on students' understanding of the linear and quadratic function concepts. The populators of this study are tenth graders at high school in Seoul, one class for the treatment group and another class for the comparison group, and experiment period is 14 weeks including two weeks for school regular exams.Function tests used in the study was proposed which described a conceptual knowledge of functions in terms of the following components: a) Conceptual understanding, b) Interpreting a function in terms of a verbal experission, c) Translating between different representations of functions, and d) Mathematical modeling a real-world situation using functions. Even though the group test means of the individual components of conceptual understanding, interpreting, translating, mathematical modeling did not differ significantly, there is evidence that the two groups differed in their performance on conceptual understanding. It was shown that students learned algebra using graphing calculators view graphs more globally. The attitude survey assessed students' attitudes and perceptions about the value of mathematics, the usefulness of graphs in mathematics, mathematical confidence, mathematics anxiety, and their feelings about calculators. The overall t-test was not statistically significant, but the students in the treatment group showed significantly different levels of anxiety toward mathematics.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.677-692
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• 2007

In this study, university students were provided with repeated opportunities to represent their ideas graphically, and to examined via their drawings the extent to which they could visualize macroscopic phenomena microscopically. These drawings provided insight into the students' basic understanding of solution chemistry, revealing three conceptual models: the Undifferentiated Symbolic Model, the Particulate Model, and the Symbolic Ionic Model. Generally speaking, students who had poor conceptual understanding tended to exhibit the Undifferentiated Symbolic Model, whereas students with deeper understanding tended to employ the Symbolic Ionic Model. Students' conceptual comprehension was predictable from their graphical representations, which better elucidated what they actually comprehended about the phenomena, as opposed to their ambiguous verbal descriptions alone. The results of this study demonstrated a lack of development in university students' conceptions of solutions. Their weakness in understanding at the molecular-level became more obvious when they were asked to represent their ideas in drawings. Few students exhibited expert knowledge, and several common misconceptions were found, which indicated typical difficulties students have perceiving common phenomena at the molecular level. The findings of this study illustrate how eliciting graphical representations can be used to assess students' conceptual understandings.