• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.429-459
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to help the students deepen their mathematical understanding and practitioner improve her mathematics lessons. The teacher-researcher developed mathematical situation based problem solving instruction model which was modified from PBL(Problem Based Learning instruction model). Three lessons were performed in the cycle of reflection, plan, and action. As a result of performance, reflective knowledges were noted as followed points; students' mathematical understanding, mathematical situation based problem solving instruction model, improvement of mathematics teachers.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.357-371
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• 2011

In mathematical problem solving, students may make various errors. In order to draw useful lessons from the errors, and then correct them, we surveyed 24 eighth-grade students' performances in geometrical problem solving according to Casey's hierarchy of errors. It was found that: 1. Students' effect can lead to errors at the stage of "comprehension", "strategy selection", and "skills manipulation"; and 2. Students' geometric schemas also influenced their strategy selection".

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.44 no.4 s.111
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• pp.627-651
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• 2005

This study was conducted to attain an in-depth understanding of students' mathematical representations and to present the educational implications for teaching them. Twelve mathematical tasks were developed according to the six types of problems. A task performance was executed to 151 third graders from four classes in DaeJeon and GyeongGi. We analyzed the types and forms of representations generated by them. Then, qualitative case studies were conducted on two small-groups of five from two classes in GyeongGi. We analyzed how individuals' representations became elaborated into group representation and what patterns emerged during the collaborative small-group learning. From the results, most students used more than one representation in solving a problem, but they were not fluent enough to link them to successful problem solving or to transfer correctly among them. Students refined their representations into more meaningful group representation through peer interaction, self-reflection, etc.. Teachers need to give students opportunities to think through, and choose from, various representations in problem solving. We also need the in-depth understanding and great insights into students' representations for teaching.

• 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.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.59-75
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• 2001

This paper reports an investigation of problem solving activities of students at university level students. The study focused on the cognitive-metacognitive and affective activities appeared in problem solving process. The cognitive-metacognitive framework was used to analyzed and categorize the written response and free response of interviews probing the students\\` cognitive-metacognitive activities. Affective factors were assessed by administering the problem solving survey (Carlson, The emergence of students\\` problem solving behavior, 1999). This study provide an insight for the design of problem solving instruction by identifying cognitive, metacognitive and affective characteristics of the students\\` problem solving behaviors. The results report that the metacognitive factor were significantly related to problem solving performance interacting with both cognitive and affective factors.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.193-204
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• 2017

This study examines the effect of 5-year-old children's mathematical problem solving ability and their self-esteem based on the Havruta method using math storybooks. The subjects of this study were 40 5-year-old students attending a kindergarten in the Incheon area: 20 students comprised the treatment group and 20 students comprised the control group. An instrument originally created by Ward (1993) but adapted by Hwang (1997) and later modified by Ryu (2003) was used to test the children's mathematical problem solving abilities. A modified version (Kim, 1997) of an instrument developed by Harter and Pike (1984) was used to measure children's self-esteem. Test results were analyzed using SPSS ver. 18.0 for Windows. The findings are as follows. First, the treatment group that had Havruta classes utilizing math story books was found to improve significantly more than the control group in their mathematical problem solving ability. Havruta classes had positive effects on children's mathematical problem solving abilities. Second, there was no significant difference found between the two groups in terms of self-esteem when the children's self-esteem was compared after Havruta classes that utilize math storybooks. It may not be possible to see immediate changes in children's self-esteem because positive parent and teacher feedback had the strongest influence on 5-year-old children's self-esteem, as opposed to self-learning. The results of this study provide meaningful basic data for Havruta classes that focus on questions and discussions through math story books to increase children's mathematical problem solving abilities in the child education field.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.101-125
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• 2000

Since the 1980\`s metacognition has been one of the core subjects in the studies on mathematical education, the purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the mathematical creativity, problem-solving ability, and beliefs of math of middle school using the metacognition learning method. The results of this study is as follows; the first, we found that the metacognition learning methods were more effective method than classic method to improve the creativity and the problem-solving ability in math.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2011

It is the aim of this paper to study the target problem solving process in reference to the base problem. We observed closely how students solve the target problem in reference to the base problem. The students couldn't solve the target problem, although they succeed to find the base problem. This comes from failing to discover the structural similarity between the target problem and the base problem. Especially it is important to cognize the proper corresponding of primary components between the base problem and target problem. And there is sometimes a part component of the target problem equivalent to the base problem and the target problem can't be solved without the insight into this fact. Consequently, finding the base problem fail to reach solving the target problem without the insight into their structural similarity. We have to make efforts to have an insight into the structural similarity between the target problem and the base problem to solve the target problem.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.285-301
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• 2013

The purpose of the study is to analyze the 4th graders' visual representation in mathematics problem solving process and to find out how to teach the visual representation in mathematics problem solving process. on the basis of the results, this study gives several pedagogical implication related to the mathematics problem solving. The following were the conclusions drawn from the results obtained in this study. First, The achievement level of students and using visual representation in the mathematics problem solving are closely connected. High achieving students used visual representation in the mathematics problem solving process more frequently. Second, high achieving students realize the usefulness of visual representation in the mathematics problem solving process and use visual representation to solve mathematical problem. But low achieving students have no conception that visual representation is one of the method to solve mathematical problem. Third, students tend to especially focus on 'setting up an equation' when they solve a mathematical problem. Because they mostly experienced mathematical problems presented by the type of 'word problem-equation-answer'. Fourth even through students tried visual representation to solve a mathematical problem, they could not solve the problem successfully in numerous instances. Because students who face a difficulty in solving a problem try to construct perfect drawing immediately. But generating visual representation 2)to represent mathematical problem cannot be constructed at one swoop.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-45
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• 2011

It is the aim of this paper to find the requisites for the target problem solving process in reference to the base problem and to search the roles of those. Focusing on the structural similarity, analytic activity and comparative activity in stage of similar mathematical problem solving process, we tried to find the roles of them. We observed closely how four students solve the target problem in reference to the base problem. And so we got the following conclusions. The insight of structural similarity prepare the ground appling the solving method of base problem in the process solving the target problem. And we knew that the analytic activity can become the instrument which find out the truth about the guess. Finally the comparative activity can set up the direction of solution of the target problem. Thus we knew that the insight of structural similarity, the analytic activity and the comparative activity are necessary for similar mathematical problem to solve. We think that it requires the efforts to develop the various programs about teaching-learning method focusing on the structural similarity, analytic activity and comparative activity in stage of similar mathematical problem solving process. And we also think that it needs the study to research the roles of other elements for similar mathematical problem solving but to find the roles of the structural similarity, analytic activity and comparative activity.