• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.73-92
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• 2014

This study was performed in part with the task to find measures to improve the defining characteristics of feelings, value, interest, self-efficacy, and others aspects in regards to learning math among elementary and middle school students. For this study, it was essential to understand the appropriate questions that are needed to be asked during a consultation at a math clinic, for students that are having a hard time learning math. As a method for performing this study, the content of scheduled counseling over 2 years from a math clinic were collected and the questions that were given and taken were analyzed in order to figure out the types of questions needed in order to effectively examine students that are facing difficulty with learning math. The analysis was performed using Grounded theory analysis by Strauss & Corbin(1998) and went through the process of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. For the paradigm in the categorical analysis stage, 'attitude towards learning math' was set as the casual condition, 'feelings towards learning math' was set as the contextual condition, 'confidence in one's ability to learn math' was set as the phenomenon, 'individual tendencies when learning math' was set as the intervening condition, 'self-management of learning math' was set as the action/interaction strategy, and 'method of learning' was set as the consequence. Through this, the questions that appeared during counseling were linked into categories and subcategories. Through this process, 81 concepts were deducted, which were grouped into 31 categories. I believe that this data can be used as grounded theory for standardization of consultation in clinics.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.559-577
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of discourse-based math instructions on the students' mathematical attitudes and learning achievements by providing fifth graders with an opportunity to take active part in learning during math classes and applying discourse-based math instructions, which are to expand the speaking experiences as the most fundamental way to express ideas in communication. Those research efforts led to the following results: First, the discourse-based math instructions turned out to have positive influences on flexibility, will power, curiosity, reflection, and value of mathematical attitudes. When the results were reviewed before and after the instructions without considering the subvariables of attitude, there were statistically significant differences(p<0.01), which indicates that the discourse-based math instructions exerted very positive effects on the students mathematical attitudes. Second, there were no statistically significant effects in learning achievements between the experimental and comparative group, but the experimental group, which recorded low mean scores in the pre-test, increased their mean scores by 3.81 points in the post-test, which suggests that the discourse-based math instructions had positive influences on them. Third, the subjects' responses on the questionnaire on discourse-based instructions reveal that the discourse-based math instructional provided them with an opportunity to explore solutions in various ways. In short, discourse-based math instructions have positive influences on mathematical attitudes and are effective in increasing communication ability.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.157-175
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• 2015

This study was conducted with the aim to develop and improve the assessment literacy of teachers which enables it to develop and utilize the assessment items using a wide range of contexts on the basis of an understanding of math contents and mathematical process specified in the math curriculum and to analyze the results in an effective way. To analyze the changes in the development and improvement of the assessment literacy of preservice math teachers, the author of this study, using PISA items and assessment framework, analyzed the changes through the 1st and 2nd development of assessment items. The results showed the assessment literacy of preservice math teachers and their ability have been improved, implying that there is the necessity to develop a wide range of programs to improve the assessment literacy of preservice math teachers and provide such programs on a regular basis, which will facilitate effective math teaching and learning.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.499-514
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• 2007

In modern mathematic education, the development of mathematical ability based on the understanding of mathematical concepts has been emphasized in curriculum and teaching methodology. Also, in schools, most math teachers stress the importance of mathematical concepts in doing math well. Thus, in this paper, we outlined the development of mathematical concepts through the literature survey. And then, based on the Sfard's definition of mathematical concepts, which classifies math concepts into the operational approach and structural approach, we analyzed the math concepts of exponential function and logarithmic function units in three highschool math textbooks. As the result, we found that the textbook authors used different approach for the same concepts, and, at the same time, they used both approaches to help develop the students' math concepts.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.161-181
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• 2018

This study involved an investigation of prospective elementary teachers' preconceptions and experiences of diagrams and their ability to draw diagrams in solving math word problems. A questionnaire and two math word problems were administered to prospective elementary teachers who began to taking an introductory mathematics education course. The results from the analysis of their responses to the questionnaire items indicate that prospective elementary teachers appreciate the value of diagrams as tools for problem solving and communication. In addition, prospective elementary teachers have the will not only to teach their future students how to use diagrams but also to encourage them to draw diagrams in solving math word problems. However, the results also indicates that prospective elementary teachers neither use diagrams spontaneously in their math problem solving activities nor have confidence in drawing useful diagrams. Prospective elementary teachers also manifested low scores on the questionnaire items asking whether they were taught how to draw useful diagrams or encouraged by their teachers to use diagrams in their previous learning experiences. The results from the analysis of the diagrams that prospective elementary teachers drew in solving math word problems showed that most of them had difficulty drawing diagrams that represent their reasoning and solving process.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.615-633
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• 2023

This study analyzed Korean studies up to August 2023 to suggest the direction of future research on basic academic abilities in mathematics. For this purpose, frequency analysis and LDA-based topic modeling were conducted on the Korean abstracts of 197 domestic studies. The results showed that, first, 'academic achievement', 'impact', 'effect', and 'factors' were all ranked at the top of the TFs and TF-IDFs. Second, as a result of LDA-based topic modeling, five topics were identified: causes of basic academic abilities deficiency, learning status of math underachievers, teacher expertise in teaching math underachievers, supporting programs for math underachievers, and results of National Assessment of Educational Achievement. As a direction for future research, this study suggests focusing on the growth of math underachievers, systematizing the programs provided to students who need learning support in mathematics, and developing teacher expertise in teaching math underachievers.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.245-259
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• 2011

In this study, the instrument of mathematical creative problem solving ability test were considered the differences between Korean and American sixth grade students in mathematical creativity ability and mathematical thinking ability. The instrument consists of 9 items. The participants for the study were 212 Korean and 148 American students. SPSS were carried out to verify the validities and reliability. Reliabilities(Cronbach ${\alpha}$) in mathematical creativity ability is 0.9047 and in mathematical thinking ability is 0.9299 which were satisfied internal validity evaluation on the test items. Internal validity were analyzed by BIGSTEPS based on Rasch's 1-parameter item response model. The results of this study can serve as a foundation for understanding the Korean and American students differences in mathematical creativity ability and mathematical thinking ability. Especially we get the some informations on mathematical creativity ability for American's fifth grade to seventh grade students.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.149-171
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• 2017

In this research, based on the fact that spatial ability is important for the achievement in the STEM fields, and technological innovation, Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Rotation has been used to investigate engineering freshmen's spatial ability and gender differences. Students who have taken advanced mathematics courses in high school(those who have taken type B math test in Korean SAT test) and students with general math courses(those who have taken type A in Korean SAT-Math test) are included in this study to find out the relationship between mathematics achievement and spatial ability. Finding out the strategies taken by students was another aim of this study. This strategic differences between high achievers and lower achievers, male and female students were analyzed from students' self report. Spatial ability test score was highest in the SAT-Math type B male students, decreased in the order of type A male students, type B female students, and lastly type A female students. There was no substantial difference between second and third groups. In each group, male students' average score was 8~10% higher than female students, which affirms 2015's results. The correlation between spatial ability and mathematics achievement was negligible in each group, but male students' math score and spatial ability score were higher than that of female students. This can be interpreted that there is some correlation between these two. Strategic choices can vary in the continuous spectrum with analytic method and holistic method at both ends. From students' self report, using Mann-Witney test, it turned out that there exists strategic differences between male and female students. Male students have a tendency to use holistic strategy more often than female students. I also found that the strategy choice did not vary greatly among all score groups. For the perfect score groups, both female and male students used holistic strategy most frequently. For low achieving groups, there is an evidence that these students overuse one method compared to average or high achieving groups, which turned out to be less effective. Based on these, I suggest that low achieving students need to have more chances to adopt efficient strategies and to practice challenging problems to improve their spatial abilities.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.723-743
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• 2015

In this research, The objective of the present study was to develop a preliminary diagnostic worksheet for use in consultations for learning mathematics. In order to achieve this, the worksheet was constructed with questions designed to assess the students. Through standardization, diagnostic worksheets for primary school students in grades 5 and 6 and secondary school students in grades 7 and 8 were produced. The diagnostic worksheet was divided into three sections, consisting of the psychology of learning mathematics in section 1, the methodology in learning mathematics in section 2, and personal preferences in learning mathematics in section 3. The psychology of learning mathematics was composed of questions on factors such as, "confidence in math learning ability," "math anxiety," and "attitude in learning mathematics." Moreover, factors in methodology in learning mathematics were "self-management in learning mathematics" and "math learning strategies." Those for personal preferences in learning mathematics asked about "motivation" and "preferences" with questions about "math learning habits" and "management methods for learning math." This diagnostic worksheet can be used as basic material in consulting students on learning mathematics.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.467-482
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• 2007

In this paper, we surveyed the attitudes of engineering students in 6 universities in Chungcheong area to mathematics by 5-scale degrees and performed a comparative analysis of the results. The results revealed a number of meaningful points which should be applied to college mathematic education. On the basis of the results of the analysis, we made the following suggestions; 1) It is necessary to pay much attention to the students who have insufficient math ability 2) Special teaching methods are required for Freshman engineering students 3) Practical teaching strategies should be developed for engineering students that are based on the research on their math background 4) We should develop more materials in the area of mathematical concept image 5) More attention should be paid to the relation between math concepts and engineering concepts. Besides the above suggestions, we proposed that more research about students' math background and attitudes should be conducted for more efficient college math education.