• School Mathematics
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.317-333
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to examine the thinking characteristics of mathematically gifted elementary school students in the process of modified prize-sharing problem solving and each student's thinking changes in the middle of discussion. To determine the relevance of the research task, 19 sixth graders enrolled in a local joint gifted class received instruction, and then 49 students took lessons. Out of them, 19 students attended a gifted education institution affiliated to local educational authorities, and 15 were in their fourth to sixth grades at a beginner's class in a science gifted education center affiliated to a university. 15 were in their fifth and sixth grades at an enrichment class in the same center. Two or three students who seemed to be highly attentive and express themselves clearly were selected from each group. Their behavioral and teaming characteristics were checked, and then an intensive observational case study was conducted with the help of an assistant researcher by videotaping their classes and having an interview. As a result of analyzing their thinking in the course of solving the modified prize-sharing problem, there were common denominators and differences among the student groups investigated, and each student was very distinctive in terms of problem-solving process and thinking level as well.