• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.107-134
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of two teaching methods of word problems, one based on mathematical modeling learning(ML) and the other on traditional learning(TL). Additionally, the influence of mathematical modeling learning in word problem solving behavior, application ability of real world experiences in word problem solving and the beliefs of word problem solving will be examined. The results of this study were as follows: First, as to word problem solving behavior, there was a significant difference between the two groups. This mean that the ML was effective for word problem solving behavior. Second, all of the students in the ML group and the TL group had a strong tendency to exclude real world knowledge and sense-making when solving word problems during the pre-test. but A significant difference appeared between the two groups during post-test. classroom culture improvement efforts. Third, mathematical modeling learning(ML) was effective for improvement of traditional beliefs about word problems. Fourth, mathematical modeling learning(ML) exerted more influence on mathematically strong and average students and a positive effect to mathematically weak students. High and average-level students tended to benefit from mathematical modeling learning(ML) more than their low-level peers. This difference was caused by less involvement from low-level students in group assignments and whole-class discussions. While using the mathematical modeling learning method, elementary students were able to build various models about problem situations, justify, and elaborate models by discussions and comparisons from each other. This proves that elementary students could participate in mathematical modeling activities via word problems, it results form the use of more authentic tasks, small group activities and whole-class discussions, exclusion of teacher's direct intervention, and classroom culture improvement efforts. The conclusions drawn from the results obtained in this study are as follows: First, mathematical modeling learning(ML) can become an effective method, guiding word problem solving behavior from the direct translation approach(DTA) based on numbers and key words without understanding about problem situations to the meaningful based approach(MBA) building rich models for problem situations. Second, mathematical modeling learning(ML) will contribute attitudes considering real world situations in solving word problems. Mathematical modeling activities for word problems can help elementary students to understand relations between word problems and the real world. It will be also help them to develop the ability to look at the real world mathematically. Third, mathematical modeling learning(ML) will contribute to the development of positive beliefs for mathematics and word problem solving. Word problem teaching focused on just mathematical operations can't develop proper beliefs for mathematics and word problem solving. Mathematical modeling learning(ML) for word problems provide elementary students the opportunity to understand the real world mathematically, and it increases students' modeling abilities. Futhermore, it is a very useful method of reforming the current problems of word problem teaching and learning. Therefore, word problems in school mathematics should be replaced by more authentic ones and modeling activities should be introduced early in elementary school eduction, which would help change the perceptions about word problem teaching.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.225-235
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• 2017

The study in this paper considers how elementary school students' interest in mathematics and STEAM literacy could be promoted by conjoining the learning of mathematics with the learning of drone topics. Survey instrument was developed to measure student attitudes toward mathematics and science subjects and to evaluate student beliefs on learning mathematics embedded in science topics. Data were collected from elementary school students by administering pre- and post-tests: students were intervened with examples of math problems embedded in certain science contexts. The findings indicate that elementary school students' experience of solving mathematics problems embedded in science contexts positively affects the promotion of their attitudes toward, beliefs on science subjects and science and engineering career path selection. We hope that the mathematics program using the drone will be used in the classroom for STEAM.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.221-237
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• 2022

This study investigated teachers' decision-making and related factors in the elementary textbook adoption process. Our participants include 296 elementary teachers who took part in the mathematics textbook (grades 3 and 4) adoption committees in his/her schools. Our study used the decision-making model of Shavelson and Stern (1981) for analyzing teacher beliefs and attitudes concerning choices and priorities, judgments, evaluation methods, and key factors to reviewing and selecting a mathematics textbook. Our discussion includes teacher beliefs and intentions and the way they come into conflict with determinant factors that influence the decision-making of textbook adoption. Findings also reveal the unique nature of elementary school teaching as generalists in contrast with secondary teachers as specialists, playing a significant role in the adoption process. Lastly, the study discusses the entanglements of textbook reform and explains the discrepancy between textbook authorization/approval policies versus the plight of little change (and innovation) in mathematics textbooks.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.131-156
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of parental beliefs, parental attitudes and parental behaviors of parents with preschool children and the relationship of the variables in an attempt to help preschoolers to gain multiple-intelligence experiences in an integrated manner in consideration of their interests, needs, strengths and weaknesses. A survey was conducted on the selected parents who had preschool children, and a multiple regression analysis was carried out to look for connections among the variables. The findings of the study were as follows: First, the preschool girls were ahead of the preschool boys in linguistic intelligence, musical intelligence and spatial intelligence, and the latter surpassed the former in logical-mathematical intelligence. Second, whether there would be any differences among the preschoolers in multiple intelligences according to age was analyzed, and those who were at the Western age of five were ahead of the four-year-olds in logical-mathematical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and naturalist intelligence. Third, the parental attitude of the parents was identified as the most influential variable for the multiple intelligences of the preschoolers, followed by parental behavior. Parental beliefs just had a very small impact on their multiple intelligences. The findings of the study imply that parents should be helped to improve their parental attitude and parental behavior to boost the multiple intelligences of their preschool children.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.44 no.4 s.111
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• pp.603-625
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• 2005

Identity is the concept which approaches individuals' affective problems with the social and cultural view. The previous studies on the problems, studied the attitudes, beliefs, or emotions while they restricted the problems to teachers or students' private problems. Otherwise, identities focus on individuals which participate to any community and share its social practices(Mclead, 1994). This study purposed to get an understanding on the teaching and learning mathematics in elementary mathematics classroom with an ethnographic view, while we consider mathematics as a kind of social practices, and mathematics classrooms as communities of practice. We analysed teacher's identities on mathematics and teaching mathematics depending on her responses of the questions as following: How does she think about mathematics, what are the instructional goals in her mathematics classroom, how do students learn mathematics in her mathematics classroom. In addition, we analysed students' identities on mathematics and learning mathematics depending on their responses of the questions as following: What do students think of mathematics, do they like mathematics, why do they study mathematics, how do they feel their mathematics classroom(describe your classroom) and themselves in it(describe yourselves in your classroom), what are their duties and what do they do actually in their mathematics classroom.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.81-88
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• 2015

This study used a posttest control group design and to find out differences between students' self-regulated learning strategies in traditional and non-traditional classroom. To this end, 131 first year university students within the experimental and control groups took part in the study. While ICT-based approach was used as the main medium of instruction in the experimental group, in the control group the paper-based traditional method was used. A survey adapted from Davaanyam [Davaanyam, T. (2013). The structural relationships among Mongolian students' attitudes toward mathematics, motivational beliefs, self-regulated learning strategies, and mathematics achievement. Ph. D. Dissertation. Jeonju, Jeonbuk, Korea: Chonbuk National Unversity.] was used to gather the data. The results of the study indicated a significant difference between the control and experimental groups in regard with their self-regulated learning. That is to say, the experimental group taught through ICT tools acquired higher levels of self-regulation as compared with the control group instructed through the traditional teaching method.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.9 no.1 s.21
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• pp.25-45
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• 2005

Background Phenomenography suggests that more variation is associated with wider ways of experiencing phenomena. In the discipline of mathematics, broadening the 'lived space' of mathematics learning might enhance students' ability to solve mathematics problems Aims The aim of the present study is to: 1. enhance secondary school students' capabilities for dealing with mathematical problems; and 2. examine if students' conception of mathematics can thereby be broadened. Sample 410 Secondary 1 students from ten schools participated in the study and the reference group consisted of 275 Secondary 1 students. Methods The students were provided with non-routine problems in their normal mathematics classes for one academic year. Their attitudes toward mathematics, their conceptions of mathematics, and their problem-solving performance were measured both at the beginning and at the end of the year. Results and conclusions Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the problem-solving performance of students receiving non-routine problems improved more than that of other students, but the effect depended on the level of use of the non-routine problems and the academic standards of the students. Thus, use of non-routine mathematical problems that appropriately fits students' ability levels can induce changes in their lived space of mathematics learning and broaden their conceptions of mathematics and of mathematics learning.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.351-367
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• 1999

This study aims to study the discourses influencing high school students' concept and attitude toward mathematics, and to examine how gender differences concerning mathematical aptitude are created. This study is based on the results of previous two studies which suggested that mathematical competence differs not only according to gender, region and school year, but also even within the same gender. For this study, 12 students ranking in the top 10% at two co-ed high schools were interviewed to find out 1) what discourses are related to gender and mathematics, 2) in what way these discourses are formulated and gain currency, and 3) how they have affected students in general. Common notions concerning mathematics may be summed up as follows: 1) Most of the students believe that gender difference in mathematical aptitude results because biologically men tend to be strong in mathematics and analytical skills while women tend to have better linguistic ability. This concept can help male students' studying to have a greater learning toward mathematics. 2) A large number of the students believe that male students' studying method is based on comprehension whereas female students' method is based on retention, and hence the former group tends to be better at applying their learning than the latter group. This notion seres to encourage male students and discourage female students from tackling difficult mathematical problems. 3) Many students believe that, although female students may surpass their male counterparts in middle school or the first year of high school, they will eventually fall behind by the 3rd year. Despite research which shows that these common beliefs are not grounded in scientific proof, high-school girls, who may be strong in mathematics, lose self-confidence and feel a sense of crisis. The mechanisms which produce and reinforce such concepts as those mentioned above can be summarized as follows: 1) Regarding the choice of majors and future career paths, parents show different attitudes toward sons and daughters, and this tends to influence high-school girls and hinders them from entering mathematics-related fields. 2) Teachers with value systems based on stereo-typed gender roles affect students a great deal, and give different advice according to gender of their students, for selecting their major fields - for instance, whether to study the natural sciences as opposed to humanities. 3) This study indicates that peer-group behavior, of either support or exclusion, also reinforces the process of internalizing notions of gender difference related to mathematical aptitude. 4) The gender-based notion that men are naturally more inclined to have better mathematical ability has caused male students to choose the natural science subjects and female students to turn to the humanities. The discourses discussed above, propagated in schools and homes, and in the mass media, are continually reinforced along with general gender inequalities in the society at large.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.327-348
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• 2021

This study examines the effects of mathematics learning mentoring activities on mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) of pre-service mathematics teachers. We choose six pre-service mathematics teachers in the department of mathematics education at M University. The pre-service mathematics teachers conducted 1:1 mathematics learning mentoring for two hours at a times and twice a week for 15 weeks. The pre-service mathematics teachers submitted the mentor log, which recorded weekly learning and emotional observations. We collected the mentor log and the reflection log of pre-service mathematics teachers and the interviews with pre-service mathematics teachers. Based on the collected data, we analyzed the effects of MKT, the understanding of students, and pre-service mathematics teachers' introspection by mathematics learning mentoring. We obtained conclusions as follows. First, mathematics learning mentoring provides an opportunity for pre-service mathematics teachers to apply the theory of mathematical education to schools. Thus pre-service mathematics teachers express theoretical knowledge as practical knowledge. Second, mathematics learning mentoring helps pre-service mathematics teachers have the ability to understand students and provide opportunities to reflect on their attitudes as learners. Third, mathematics learning mentoring helps advance teaching activities by providing pre-service mathematics teachers with opportunities to reflect on their teaching activities. Finally, mathematics learning mentoring has positively influenced the change in pre-service mathematics teachers' beliefs and teaching intuition.

• School Mathematics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.37-63
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• 2011

This research had investigated the teaching practice in the mathematics classrooms with immigrant students to describe how effectively mathematics teachers create inclusive learning environment of mathematics. The analysis of the data from the elementary schools suggests that teaching practice in the class was consistent to the criteria for 'contextualization of students' lived experience' and 'mathematical conversation'. However, while the quantitative results suggested that the teachers showed high expectation to their students in their teaching, the qualitative analysis revealed the teacher's beliefs and attitudes against providing equitable educational opportunity for every student. In the middle school classrooms, it was found that the teaching practices were not compatible to the goals of multicultural mathematics education. The analysis of the survey data regarding teachers' multicultural competence suggests that the teachers possessed rather advan]ced understanding of multicultural mathematics education but they need materials and pedagogy for classroom teaching from multicultural perspectives.