• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.517-534
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• 2012

As observing the learning of middle school mathematics students for three years, I examined the relationship between students' procedural knowledge and their conceptual knowledge as they develop those knowledges in the rational number domain. In particular, I explored the implications of an unbalanced development in a student's conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge by considering two conditions: (a) the case of a student who has relatively strong conceptual knowledge and weak procedural knowledge, and (b) the case of a student who has relatively weak conceptual knowledge and strong procedural knowledge. Results suggest that conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge are most productive when they develop in a balanced fashion (i.e., closely iterative or simultaneously), which calls into question the assumption that one has primacy over the other.

• School Mathematics
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.371-388
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• 2010

The goals of this study are to inquire middle school students' understanding about prime number and to propose pedagogical implications for school mathematics. Written questionnaire were given to 198 Korean seventh graders who had just finished learning about prime number and prime factorization and then 20 students participated in individual interviews for member checks. In defining prime and composite numbers, the students focused on distinguishing one from another by numbering of factors of agiven natural number. However, they hardly recognize the mathematical connection between prime and composite numbers related on the multiplicative structure of natural number. This study suggests that it is needed to emphasize the conceptual relationship between divisibility and prime decomposition and the prime numbers as the multiplicative building blocks of natural numbers based on the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-29
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• 2011

In this study, we designed and constructed a very low-cost electronic board in order to test its efficiency in the classroom as well as provide an easy-to-follow model for front-line teachers to re-create and utilize for their own academic use. For our sample size, we tested 143 high school first grade students. In mathematical achievement, we found meaningful improvement in both genders but we did not find any meaningful gender differences. In the mathematical disposition test, we also found some meaningful changes in curiosity and flexibility in both genders but did not find any meaningful gender differences either. Based on this study, we propose using our low-cost electronic board system, which is easy to make and effective in mathematical achievement, instead of recently promoted high-cost electronic board systems.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.3-13
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• 1998

In mathematics education we have focused on how to improve the problem-solving ability, which makes its way to the new direction with the introduction of meta-cognition. As meta-cognition is based on cognitive activity of learners and concerned about internal properties, we may find a more effective way to generate learners problem-solving power. Its means that learners can regulate cognitive process according to their gorls of learning by themselves. Moreover, they are expected to make active participation through this process. If specific meta problems designed to develop meta-cognition are offered, learners are able to work alone by means of their own cognition and regulation while solving problems. They can transfer meta-cognition to the other subjects as well as mathematics. The studies on meta-cognition conducted so far may be divided into these three types. First in Flavell(［3］) meta-cognition is defined as the matter of being conscious of one's own cognition, that is, recognizing cognition. He conducted an experiment with presschoolers and children who just entered primary school and concluded that their cognition may be described as general stage that can not link to specific situation in line with Piaget. Second, Brown(［1］, ［2］) and others argued that meta-cognition means control and regulation of one's own cognition and tried to apply such concept to classrooms. He tried to fined out the strategies used by intelligent students and teach such types of activity to other students. Third, Merleary-Ponty (1962) claimed that meta-cognition is children's way of understanding phenomena or objects. They worked on what would come out in children's cognition responding to their surrounding world. In this paper following the model of meta-cognition produced by Lester (［7］) based on such ideas, we develop types of meta-cognition. In the process of meta-cognition, the meta-cognition working for it is to be intentionally developed and to help unskilled students conduct meta-cognition. When meta-cognition is disciplined through meta problems, their problem-solving power will provide more refined methods for the given problems through autonomous meta-cognitive activity without any further meta problems.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.345-363
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyze informal knowledge of students who do not learn the conception of proportion and to identify how the informal knowledge can be used for teaching the conception of proportion in order to present an effective method of teaching the conception. For doing this, proportion was classified into direct and inverse proportion, and 'What are the informal knowledge of students?' were researched. The subjects of this study were 117 sixth-graders who did not have prior learning on direct and inverse proportion. A total eleven problems including seven for direct proportion and four for inverse proportion, all of them related to daily life. The result are as follows; Even though students didn't learn about proportion, they solve the problems of proportion using informal knowledge such as multiplicative reasoning, proportion reasoning, single-unit strategy etc. This result implies mathematics education emphasizes student's informal knowledge for improving their mathematical ability.

• School Mathematics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.839-856
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• 2016

In 2009 revision and 2015 revision mathematics national curriculum, 'proof' was moved to high school from middle school in consideration of the cognitive development level of students, and 'proof by contradiction' was stated in the "success criteria of learning contents" of the first year high school subject while it had been not officially introduced in $7^{th}$ and 2007 revision national curriculum. Proof by contradiction is known that it induces a cognitive conflict due to the unique nature of rather assuming the opposite of the statement for proving it. In this article, based on the logical, mathematical and historical analysis of Proof by contradiction, we looked about the introductions and the applications of the current textbooks which had been revised recently, and searched for improvement measures from the viewpoint of discovery, explanation, and consilience. We suggested introducing Proof by contradiction after describing the discovery process earlier, separately but organically describing parts necessary to assume the opposite and parts not necessary, disclosing the relationships with proof by contrapositive, and using the viewpoint of consilience.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.625-642
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to develop and verify the feedback-enhanced performance assessment model through a variety of assessment strategies focused on the development of students. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, we analyzed the achievements of the sixth grade curriculum standards and set the central achievement standards in core competencies. We then established an evaluation plan to take advantage of a variety of methods and develop an assessment tool for process-based evaluation during lessons. We applied this assessment model to 6th grade students while teaching and learning mathematics in the classroom. The result of applying the performance evaluation model showed the improvement of students' reflective thinking ability. Also, some students who was not achieved at the level of 'N' could develop to the level of 'N + 1'. A long term research using various assessment strategies should be continued for effective help of students' mathematical development.

• School Mathematics
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.283-299
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• 2004

It is a very important objective of mathematical education to lead students to apply mathematics to the problem situations and to solve the problems. Assuming that mathematical modeling is appropriate for such mathematical education objectives, we must emphasize mathematical modeling learning. In this research, we focused what mathematical concepts are learned and what reasoning are applied and used through mathematical modeling. In the process of mathematical modeling, the students used several types of reasoning; deduction, induction and abduction. Although we cannot generalize a fact by a single case study, deduction has been used to confirm whether their model is correct to the real situation and to find solutions by leading mathematical conclusion and induction to experimentally verify whether their model is correct. And abduction has been used to abstract a mathematical model from a real model, to provide interpretation to existing a practical ground for mathematical results, and elicit new mathematical model by modifying a present model.

• 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.

• School Mathematics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.455-471
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• 2010

Understanding of randomness is essential for learning and teaching of probability and statistics. Understanding of randomness prompts to understand natural and social phenomena from the point of view of mathematics, and plays a role of base in understanding of judgments based on rational interpretation on these phenomena. This study examined whether pre-service teachers recognize this, and they understand randomness included in various contexts. According to results, they did not have a understanding of randomness in the context related to measuring, while they grasped randomness in simple and joint events. This implies that they lack the understanding of variability which is essential in the context of measuring. This study, therefore, suggests that the settings of measuring should be introduced into probability and statistics education, especially that data from measuring should be analyzed focusing on the variability in the data set.