• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.473-491
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• 2002

This article analyzes mathematics education from dialectical materialism acknowledging the objectivity of knowledge. The thesis that knowledge is objective advances to the recognition that knowledge will be internalized, and an idea of zone of proximal development(ZPD) is established as a practice program of internalization. The lower side of ZPD, i.e. the early stage of internalization takes imitation in a large portion. And in the process of internalization the mediational means play an important role. Hereupon the role of mathematics teacher, the object of imitation, stands out significantly. In this article, treating the contents of study as follows, I make manifest that teaching and learning in mathematics classroom are united dialectically: I hope to findout the method of teaching-learning to mathematical knowledge from the point of view that mathematical knowledge is objective; I look into how analysis into units, as the analytical method of Vygotsky, has been developed from the side of mathematical teaching-learning; I discuss the significance of mediational means to play a key role in attaining the internalization in connection with ZPD and re-illuminate imitation. Based on them, I propose how the role of mathematics teachers, and the principle of organization to mathematics textbook should be.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.45 no.2 s.113
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• pp.217-230
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to inquire the building process of Pedagogical Content Knowledge of prospective mathematics teachers about the function concepts. For this purpose, We performed the following steps; First, we performed the survey relaying to the prospective mathematics teachers' teaching experiences, capabilities of their error evaluation of the students, and viewpoints about the function concepts. Second, we performed the survey on the subject-matter knowledge about the function concepts and the key items of designing teaching plans about the function concepts. And then, we interviewed the participants to check the results of the surveys and to supplement the necessary contents. The collected data was relatively correlative and analyzed in the process. As a result, we found the followings; First, subject-matter knowledge of prospective mathematics teachers about the function concepts is different depending on the grades. Second, prospective mathematics teachers are building more extended function concepts through the major subjects. Third, the major subjects are important to build the Pedagogical Content Knowledge of function concepts. Fourth, teaching experience plays an important role in transforming subject-matter knowledge of function concepts to Pedagogical Content Knowledge of it. Fifth, building the Pedagogical Content Knowledge means transferring the teacher's viewpoint from himself/herself to the learner.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-28
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• 2002

This study explored teachers (n = 219) from northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan concerning their views about children's learning difficulties, mathematical instruction and school mathematics curricular. Results showed that teachers' mathematics knowledge or their instruction methods had no significant influence on their views of children's learning difficulties. Even though teachers indicated that understanding of abstract mathematical concepts was the most prominent difficulty for children, they tended to employ direct instruction rather than constructive and cooperative problem solving in their teaching. However, teachers' views of children's learning difficulties did influence their instructional practice. Results from in-dept interviews revealed that there were some obstacles that prevented teachers from putting constructiveism perspectives of instruction into teaching practice. Further investigation is needed to develop a better understanding of epistemology and teaming psychology as well as to help teachers create constructive learning situations.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.39-51
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• 2002

This study described an elementary teacher's practical knowledge of selecting and using mathematical tasks for promoting students' understanding and discourse. The informant of this ethnographic inquiry was a third grade teacher and has 10 years of teaching experience. According to the analysis of multiple data sources, this study showed that based on his beliefs about the development of understanding of mathematics and discourse, he continually employed two different types of tasks: open-ended tasks and tasks from students' mistakes and comments during discourse. Teachers' practical knowledge of teaching mathematics and the classroom norms for students' understanding and discourse are suggested to be given attention for further research on this area.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.171-185
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• 2014

Mathematically deductive reasoning skill is one of the major learning objectives stated in senior secondary curriculum (CDC & HKEAA, 2007, page 15). Ironically, student performance during routine assessments on geometric reasoning, such as proving geometric propositions and justifying geometric properties, is far below teacher expectations. One might argue that this is caused by teachers' lack of relevant subject content knowledge. However, recent research findings have revealed that teachers' knowledge of teaching (e.g., Ball et al., 2009) and their deductive reasoning skills also play a crucial role in student learning. Prior to a comprehensive investigation on teacher competency, we use a case study to investigate teachers' knowledge competency on how to teach their students to mathematically argue that, for example, two triangles are congruent. Deductive reasoning skill is essential to geometry. The initial findings indicate that both subject and pedagogical content knowledge are essential for effectively teaching this challenging topic. We conclude our study by suggesting a method that teachers can use to further improve their teaching effectiveness.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.8 no.2 s.16
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• pp.97-113
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to develop instructional methods for the formalized algorithm through informal knowledge in teaching division of fractions. The following results have been drawn from this study: First, before students learn formal knowledge about division of fractions, they knowledge or strategies to solve problems such as direct modeling strategies, languages to reason mathematically, and using operational expressions. Second, students could solve problems using informal knowledge which is based on partitioning. But they could not solve problems as the numbers involved in problems became complex. In the beginning, they could not reinvent invert-and-multiply rule only by concrete models. However, with the researcher's guidance, they can understand the meaning of a reciprocal number by using concrete models. Moreover, they had an ability to apply the pattern of solving problems when dividend is 1 into division problems of fractions when dividend is fraction. Third, instructional activities were developed by using the results of the teaching experiment performed in the second research step. They consist of student's worksheets and teachers' guides. In conclusion, formalizing students' informal knowledge can make students understand formal knowledge meaningfully and it has a potential that promote mathematical thinking. The teaching-learning activities developed in this study can be an example to help teachers formalize students' informal knowledge.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.251-272
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• 2006

The purpose of the present study is to explore the process of teacher change as elementary school teachers participated in a community focused on improving mathematics teaching. To do so, a professional community lot improving instructional practice consisted of a group of voluntary elementary school teachers. The professional community provides participating teachers with great opportunities to share their understanding of practical knowledge related to mathematics teaching and learning and change mathematical beliefs as well as to learn pedagogical content knowledge. This study approached to teacher professionality in terms of mathematical beliefs and teaching practice. The change of teaching practice was measured coherently both with a questionnaire and with a mathematics teaching standard developed for this study. The findings of this study point out that techers' beliefs about how students learn mathematics have chantged. This study also indicated that after participating in the professional community focused on improving mathematics teaching, teachers' mathematical teaching is changed toward the more students' oriented way. Especially, it is observed that the meaningful change in participating teachers' teaching practice took place with respect to the role of teachers, students' interaction, mathematical tasks, and problem solving. Finally, this study implies that teachers can have an opportunity to change their beliefs and deepen their professionality about elementary mathematics teaching and learning through participating in the community of practice, through which participating teachers can share their practical knowledge and their understandings about teaching and learning of elementary mathematics.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.675-690
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• 2015

This study explore the features of mathematical tasks as an effective means to foster pre-service primary teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching and develop mathematical task for pre-service primary teachers. As a result, prospective teachers have while solving a mathematical task, converting a given situation to a mathematical problem, and solve problems through connections with existing knowledge, and experience seeing the existing mathematical concepts from a new perspective. Finally, we discussed the conditions for a suitable mathematical task in teacher education.

• School Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.179-202
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• 2015

In this research, I explored how to apply the history of mathematics in teacher education and investigated the applicability of Chosun Sanhak (mathematics of Chosun Dynasty) as the program that enriched the mathematical knowledge for teaching of prospective elementary school teachers. This program included not only mathematical knowledge but also socio-cultural knowledge and connection knowledge. Prospective teachers participated in various mathematical activities such as explaining, reasoning and problem solving in this program. The effects of this program are as follows. Prospective teachers learned the subject matter knowledge(SMK) which was helpful in teaching basic concepts and skills of elementary mathematics. Next, this program produced the pedagogical content knowledge(PCK) to prospective teachers by giving ideas how to teach.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.45 no.1 s.112
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• pp.75-96
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to analyze how elementary pre-service teachers learned the pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics and to understand the challenges and difficulties that they experienced in the course of student teaching. A qualitative case study provided an in-depth description of the whole three weeks of student teaching process. Four pre-service teachers and two mentor teachers participated in this study. Multiple data collection techniques were used; classroom observations, in-depth interviews, document analysis, and researcher's field notes. The results of this study showed how pre-service teachers learn PCK of mathematics in designing mathematics lessons, understanding mathematics learners and delivering mathematics lessons and what are the difficulties and challenges they experienced. Finally this study discussed about some suggestions to pre-service program and future research.