• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.29-52
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• 2023

Objective: This research aims to examine the effect of a young children's engineering-focused STEAM program based on the project approach - a program that constructs components aligned with children's interests in their play through an engineering design process - on their scientific inquiry ability, mathematical problem-solving ability, and creativity. Methods: In this research, 42 five-year-old children from a public kindergarten in S district, I city, were randomly divided into experimental and comparative groups, each with 21 children. The engineering-focused STEAM program was conducted from April 18 to June 10, 2022, with the experimental group exploring the 'car' theme and the comparison group focusing on a different theme. The study employed an independent sample t-test and analysis of covariance(ANCOVA), using the pretest as a covariate to control variables. Results: The children-selected 'cars' themed engineering-focused STEAM program was effective in enhancing their scientific inquiry ability, mathematical problem-solving ability and creativity. Conclusion/Implications: The engineering-focused STEAM program, which emerges from young children's interesting daily play, had positive effects on enhancing their scientific inquiry ability, mathematical problem-solving ability, and creativity. This research can serve as fundamental data for developing education programs focused on engineering within the STEAM framework, guided by children's emergent play.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.149-167
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• 2009

This study was aimed to examine problem-solving ability of fifth graders on two types of mathematical essay problems, and to analyze the process of mathematical justification in solving the essay problems. For this purpose, a total of 14 mathematical essay problems were developed, in which half of the items were single tasks and the other half were data-provided tasks. Sixteen students with higher academic achievements in mathematics and the Korean language were chosen, and were given to solve the mathematical essay problems individually. They then were asked to justify their solution methods in groups of 4 and to reach a consensus through negotiation among group members. Students were good at understanding the given single tasks but they often revealed lack of logical thinking and representation. They also tended to use everyday language rather than mathematical language in explaining their solution processes. Some students experienced difficulty in understanding the meaning of data in the essay problems. With regard to mathematical justification, students employed more internal justification by experience or mathematical logic than external justification by authority. Given this, this paper includes implications for teachers on how they need to teach mathematics in order to foster students' logical thinking and communication.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.267-283
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• 2013

Mathematical justification is the process through which one's claim is validated to be true based on proper and trustworthy data. But it serves as a catalyst to facilitate mathematical discussions and communicative interactions among students in mathematics classrooms. This study is designed to investigate the effects of mathematical justification on students' problem-solving and communicative processes occurred in a mathematics classroom. In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, mathematical problem-solving classes were conducted. Mathematical justification processes and communicative interactions recorded in problem understanding activity, individual student inquiry, small and whole group discussions are analyzed. Based on the analysis outcomes, the students who participated in mathematical justification activities are more likely to find out various problem-solving strategies, to develop efficient communicative skills, and to use effective representations. In addition, mathematical justification can be used as an evaluation method to test a student's mathematical understanding as well as a teaching method to help develop constructive social interactions and positive classroom atmosphere among students. The results of this study would contribute to strengthening a body of research studying the importance of teaching students mathematical justification in mathematics classrooms.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.445-474
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• 2010

The results of performing first survey after learning linear equation and second survey after 5 months to find out whether there is change in solving process while seventh grade students solve linear equations are as follows. First, as a result of performing McNemar Test in order to find out the correct answer ratio between first survey and second survey, it was shown as $p=.035^a$ in problem x+4=9 and $p=.012^a$ in problem $x+\frac{1}{4}=\frac{2}{3}$ of problem type A while being shown as $p=.012^a$ in problem x+3=8 and $p=.035^a$ in problem 5(x+2)=20 of problem type B. Second, while there were students not making errors in the second survey among students who made errors in the solving process of problem type A and B, students making errors in the second survey among the students who expressed the solving process correctly in the first survey were shown. Third, while there were students expressing the solving process of linear equation correctly for all problems (type A, type B and type C), there were students expressing several problems correctly and unable to do so for several problems. In conclusion, even if a student has expressed the solving process correctly on all problems, it would be difficult to foresee that the student is able to express properly in the solving process when another problem is given. According to the result of analyzing the reaction of students toward three problem types (type A, type B and type C), it is possible to determine whether a certain student is 'able' or 'unable' to express the solving process of linear equation by analyzing the problem solving process.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.345-366
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• 2006

In this study, we investigated the methods of using the Cabri3D program for education of problem solving in school mathematics. Cabri3D is the program that can represent 3-dimensional figures and explore these in dynamic method. By using this program, we can see mathematical relations in space or mathematical properties in 3-dimensional figures vidually. We conducted classroom activity exploring Cabri3D with 15 pre-service leachers in 2006. In this process, we collected practical examples that can assist four stages of problem solving. Through the analysis of these examples, we concluded that Cabri3D is useful instrument to enhance problem solving ability and suggested it's educational usage as follows. In the stage of understanding the problem, it can be used to serve visual understanding and intuitive belief on the meaning of the problem, mathematical relations or properties in 3-dimensional figures. In the stage of devising a plan, it can be used to extend students's 2-dimensional thinking to 3-dimensional thinking by analogy. In the stage of carrying out the plan, it can be used to help the process to lead deductive thinking. In the stage of looking back at the work, it can be used to assist the process applying present work's result or method to another problem, checking the work, new problem posing.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.421-436
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• 2008

Mathematics assessment doesn't mean examining in the traditional sense of written examination. Mathematics assessment has to give the various information of grade and development of students as well as teaching of teachers. To achieve this purpose of assessment, we have to search the methods of assessment. This paper is aimed to develop the open-ended problems that are the alternative to traditional test, apply them to classroom and analyze the result of assessment. 4-types open-ended problems are developed by criteria of development. It is open process problem, open result problem, problem posing problem, open decision problem. 6 grade elementary students who are picked in 2 schools participated in assessment using open-ended problems. Scoring depends on the fluency, flexibility, originality The result are as follows; The rate of fluency is 2.14, The rate of flexibility is 1.30, and The rate of originality is 0.11 Furthermore, the rate of originality is very low. Problem posing problem is the highest in the flexibility and open result problem is the highest in the flexibility. Between general mathematical problem solving ability and fluency, flexibility have the positive correlation. And Pearson correlational coefficient of between general mathematical problem solving ability and fluency is 0.437 and that of between general mathematical problem solving ability and flexibility is 0.573. So I conclude that open ended problems are useful and effective in mathematics assessment.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.223-237
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• 2019

There is a close interaction between the linguistic-syntactic representation system and the affective representation system that appear in the mathematical process. On the other hand, since the mathematical conceptual system is fundamentally metaphoric, the analysis of the mathematical concept structure through linguistic representation can help to identify the source of cognitive and affective obstacles that interfere with mathematics learning. In this study, we analyzed the problem-solving protocols of mathematical gifted children from the perspective of cognitive language and meta-affect to identify the relationship between the functional characteristics of the text and metaphor they use and the functional characteristics of meta-affect. As a result, the behavior of the cognitive and affective characteristics of mathematically gifted children differed according to the success of problem solving. In the case of unsuccessful problem-solving, the use of metaphor as an internal representation system was relatively more frequent than in the successful case. In addition, while the cognitive linguistic aspects of metaphors play an important role in problem-solving, meta-affective attributes are closely related to the external representation of metaphors.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.111-119
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• 1998

So far the studies on mathematical problem-solving education have failed to realize the anticipated result from students. The purpose of this study is to examine the reasons from the metacognitional viewpoint, and to think of making meta-items which enables learners to study through making effective use of the meaning of problem-solving and through establishing a general, well-organized theory on metacognition related to mathematic teaching guiedance. Metacognition means the understanding of knowledge of one's own and significance in the situation that can be reflection so as to express one's own knowledge and use it effectively when was questioned. Mathematics teacher can help students to learn how to control their behaviors by showing the strategy clearly, the decision and the behavior which are used in his own planning, supervising and estimating the solution process himself. If mathematics teachers want their students to be learners not simply knowing mathematical facts and processes, but being an active and positive, they should develop effective teaching methods. In fact, mathematics learning activities are accomplished under the complex condition arising from the factors of various cognition activities. therefore, mathematical education should consider various factors of feelings as well as a factor as fragmentary mathematical knowledge.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.77-86
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to examine a theoretical framework for the interactions of learning in a small group setting of mathematical problem solving. Many researchers already have described the theoretical background for the small group settings in problem solving. However, most of the literatures merely have reported findings of achievement and rising of test scores. They ignored the observation of process taken during the small group work and have not determined how various psychological, social and academic effects are created. As results of the study, two types, mutual collaboration and asymmetric collaboration, of interactions are observed as the interactions of learning, which are conceived as the cores of authentic mathematical activities.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.251-279
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• 2016

There are many studies on 'how' students solve mathematical problems, but few of them sufficiently explained 'why' they have to solve the problems in their own different ways. As quantitative reasoning is the basis for algebraic reasoning, to scrutinize a student's way of dealing with quantities in a problem situation is critical for understanding why the student has to solve it in such a way. From our teaching experiments with two ninth-grade students, we found that emergences of a certain level of covariational reasoning were highly consistent across different types of problems within each participating student. They conceived the given problem situations at different levels of covariation and constructed their own quantity-structures. It led them to solve the problems with the resources accessible to their structures only, and never reconciled with the other's solving strategies even after having reflection and discussion on their solutions. It indicates that their own structure of quantities constrained the whole process of problem solving and they could not discard the structures. Based on the results, we argue that teachers, in order to provide practical supports for students' problem solving, need to focus on the students' way of covariational reasoning of problem situations.