• 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.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.175-192
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in perceived importance of mathematical education (perceived importance) and mathematical interaction of 5-year-olds' mothers according to contents of mathematical education. Second, we intended to examine whether mothers' understanding of purpose of mathematical education predicted on their perceived importance and mathematical interaction. Third, we analyzed relative influence between mothers' perceived effectiveness of concrete materials and worksheets on their perceived importance and mathematical interaction. The subjects consisted of 151 mothers of 5-year-olds lived in D city and K province in Korea. The results were as follows: First, mothers' perceived importance and mathematical interaction were higher in 'number and arithmetic'. Second, mothers' understanding of purpose of mathematical education predicted their perceived importance in all contents and mathematical interaction in 'number and arithmetic', 'geometry', and 'algebra'. Third, mothers' perceived effectiveness of concrete materials predicted better in most contents of mathematical education. Meanwhile, in 'number and operation', mothers' perceived effectiveness of worksheets did a predictive role in their importance awareness. These results were discussed in terms of necessity of a parent education program to provide practical information about contents and methods of mathematical education for their 5-year-old children.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.213-231
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to analyze the 6th graders' understanding of the concepts of variable on various aspects of school algebra. For this purpose, the test of concepts of variable targeting a sixth-grade class was conducted and then two students were selected for in-depth interview. The level of mathematics achievement of the two students was not significantly different but there were differences between them in terms of understanding about the concepts of variable. The results obtained in this study are as follows: First, the students had little basic understanding of the variables and they had many cognitive difficulties with respect to the variables. Second, the students were familiar with only the symbol '${\Box}$' not the other letters nor symbols. Third, students comprehended the variable as generalizers imperfectly. Fourth, the students' skill of operations between letters was below expectations and there was the student who omitted the mathematical sign in letter expressions including the mathematical sign such as x+3. Fifth, the students lacked the ability to reason the patterns inductively and symbolize them using variables. Sixth, in connection with the variables in functional relationships, the students were more familiar with the potential and discrete variation than practical and continuous variation. On the basis of the results, this study gives several implications related to the early algebra education, especially the teaching methods of variables.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.249-264
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• 2021

This article is devoted to investigating young learners' understanding of elapsed time from socio-cultural perspectives. The socio-cultural perspective benefits to access and personalize mathematics learning as how to have a mathematical object to be able to realize signifiers with the help of many other mathematical words and mediators. In terms of the realization of signifiers, I analyzed performances on elapsed time tasks of students in Grades 3 (n=115) and interviewed focal students. Quantitative analysis on students' performance identified that students perform differently when the task provided with the analog clock signifier. It suggested that students might think in a different way upon the given signifier even for the same elapsed time, especially when given as the analog clock. Qualitative analysis on focal students' interviews visualized how the students' understanding were different by displaying individual realization trees on elapsed time. The particular location of the analog clock signifier on each realization tree provided a personalized explanation about low performance on the task with analog clock signifier. The finding suggested that the realization of a specific signifier could be a key point in elapsed time understanding. I discussed why a majority of students face difficulty in elapsed time learning indicated analog clock and the advantage of moving elapsed time strands to higher grades in the school mathematics curriculum.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.21-45
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• 2012

The purpose of the study was to investigate how students understand each operations with whole numbers and fractions, and the relationship between their knowledge of operations with whole numbers and conceptual understanding of operations on fractions. Researchers categorized students' understanding of operations with whole numbers and fractions based on their semantic structure of these operations, and analyzed the relationship between students' understanding of operations with whole numbers and fractions. As the results, some students who understood multiplications with whole numbers as only situations of "equal groups" did not properly conceptualize multiplications of fractions as they interpreted wrongly multiplying two fractions as adding two fractions. On the other hand, some students who understood multiplications with whole numbers as situations of "multiplicative comparison" appropriately conceptualize multiplications of fractions. They naturally constructed knowledge of fractions as they build on their prior knowledge of whole numbers compared to other students. In the case of division, we found that some students who understood divisions with whole numbers as only situations of "sharing" had difficulty in constructing division knowledge of fractions from previous division knowledge of whole numbers.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.211-244
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• 2015

The arithmetic operation have double-sided character. One is calculation as a process, the other is understanding in results as an outcome of the operation. We harbored suspicion on students' misunderstanding in an outcome of the operation, because the curriculum has focused on the calculation, as a process of arithmetic operation. This study starts with the presentation of this problem, we tried to find the recognition ability and character in the arithmetic operation. We researched the recognition ability for 7th grade 27 students who have enough experience in arithmetic operation when studying in elementary school. And we had an interview with 3students individually, that has an error in understanding in results of arithmetic operation but has no error in calculation. We focused on 3students' detailed appearance of the ability to understand in results of arithmetic operation and analysed the changing appearance after recommending unit record using operation expression. As a result, we could find the abily to underatanding in results of arithmetic operation and applicability to recommend unit record using operation expression. Through these results, we suggested educational implications in understanding in results of arithmetic operation.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.33-52
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• 1997

We can explain open education by means of pulling down the straight and narrow viewpoint of our educational system. We should incorporate various thoughts and attempts to the most practical educational classrooms and learn to cope flexibly with the several educational problems. On the other hand, Britain for the last fifty years have adapted progressive method in most schools, but with no visible results. The children's fundamental mathematical abilities have not increased. Therefore, mathematical educators in U. S. and Britain proposed the following three facts: First, we need to find out precisely what is involved in applying mathematical skills to practical situations; Secondly, we need to find out why this kind of mathematical understanding is so difficult for so many children; And, finally, we need to know what methods can be used to help children attain this wider mathematical understanding. Thus, we have analyzed and studied the British primary mathematics textbooks < stage 1 >, < stage 3 >, < stage 4 > and < stage 5 > from the open educational viewpoint and the above proposals. As result, a central point was that British have well incorporated into their primary mathematics textbooks with the variety of programs using everyday problems.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.283-304
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• 2004

This study is to make strides toward an enriched understanding of changing a prevailing teacher-centered mathematics classroom culture to a student-centered culture by analyzing six reform-oriented classrooms of three elementary school teachers throughout a year This study provided a detailed description of important classroom episodes to explore how the participants in each class established a reform-oriented mathematics microculture. Despite the exemplary form of student-centered instruction, the content and qualities of the teaching practices are somewhat different in the extent to which students' ideas become the center of mathematical discourse and activity. Given the similarities in terms of general social norms and the differences in terms of socio-mathematical norms and mathematical practice, this study addresses some crucial issues on understanding the culture of elementary mathematics classroom in transition.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.85-99
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• 2003

In this paper, firstly examined various proofs types that cover informal empirical justifications by Balacheff, Miyazaki, and Harel ＆ Sowder and Tall. Using these theoretical frameworks, justification activities by 5th graders were analyzed and several conclusions were drawn as follow: 1) Children in 5th grade could justify using various proofs types and method ranged from external proofs schemes by Harel & Sowder to thought experiment by Balacheff This implies that children in elementary school can justify various mathematical statements of ideas for themselves. To improve children's proving abilities, rich experience for justifying should be provided. 2) Activities that make conjectures from cases then justify should be given to students in order to develop a sense of necessity of formal proof. 3) Children have to understand the meaning and usage of mathematical symbol to advance to formal deductive proofs. 4) New theoretical framework is needed to be established to provide a framework for research on elementary school children's justification activities. Research on proof mainly focused on the type of proof in terms of reasoning and activities involved. But proof types are also influenced by the tasks given. In elementary school, tasks that require physical activities or examples are provided. To develop students'various proof types, tasks that require various justification methods should be provided. 5) Children's justification type were influenced not only by development level but also by the concept they had. 6) Justification activities provide useful situation that assess students'mathematical understanding. 7) Teachers understanding toward role of proof(verification, explanation, communication, discovery, systematization) should be the starting point of proof activities.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.651-662
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• 1998

Mathematics is means for making sense of one's experiential world and products of human activities. A usefulness of mathematics is derived from this features of mathematics. Keeping the meaning of situations during the mathematizing of situations. However, theories about the development of mathematical concepts have turned mainly to an understanding of invariants. The purpose of this study is to show the possibility of computer in representing situation and phenomena. First, we consider situated cognition theory for looking for the relation between various representation and situation in problem. The mathematical concepts or model involves situations, invariants, representations. Thus, we should involve the meaning of situations and translations among various representations in the process of mathematization. Second, we show how the process of computational mathematization can serve as window on relating situations and representations, among various representations. When using computer software such as ALGEBRA ANIMATION in mathematics classrooms, we identified two benifits First, computer software can reduce the cognitive burden for understanding the translation among various mathematical representations. Further, computer softwares is able to connect mathematical representations and concepts to directly situations or phenomena. We propose the case study for the effect of computer software on practical mathematics classrooms.