• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2005

This study examined two students' problem solving approaches: the similarities and the differences in their problem solving approaches, and the general problem solving strategies (heuristics) the students employed were discussed. The two students represent differences not only in terms of grades earned, but also in terms of participation, motivation, attention to detail, and approaches to answering questions and problem solving. Three separate problems were selected for this study: A stoichiometry problem; a fruit salad problem; and a limiting reactant problem. Each student was asked individually on three separate occasions to contribute to this study. There are more similarities in the students' problem solving strategies than there are differences. Both students were able to correctly solve the stoichiometry and the fruit salad problems, and were unable to correctly solve the limiting reactant problem. They recognized that an algorithm could be used for both chemistry problems(a stoichiometry problem & a limiting reactant problem). Both students were unable to correctly solve the limiting reactant problem and to demonstrate a clear understanding of the Law of Conservation of Mass. Nor did they show an ability to apply it in solving the problem. However, there was a difference in each one's ability to extend what had been learned/practiced/quizzed in class, to a related but different problem situation.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.145-165
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to suggest how to go about teaching and learning secondary school algebra by analyzing problem-solving ability and problem-solving process through algebraic reasoning. In doing this, 393 students' data were thoroughly analyzed after setting up the exam questions and analytic standards. As with the test conducted with technical school students, the students scored low achievement in the algebraic reasoning test and even worse the majority tried to answer the questions by substituting arbitrary numbers. The students with high problem-solving abilities tended to utilize conceptual strategies as well as procedural strategies, whereas those with low problem-solving abilities were more keen on utilizing procedural strategies. All the subject groups mentioned above frequently utilized equations in solving the questions, and when that utilization failed they were left with the unanswered questions. When solving algebraic reasoning questions, students need to be guided to utilize both strategies based on the questions.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.193-207
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• 2005

The present research studied children's coping strategies by age, sex, and frequency of victimization and examined the relationship of coping strategies to loneliness in peer victimization. Participants were 434 children from the 3rd to 6th grades of an urban elementary school. Self-report data indicated seven types of coping strategies : cognitive distancing, adult support seeking, peer support seeking, negative problem solving, positive problem solving, internalizing, and externalizing. With increasing age, children used less adult support seeking and more positive problem solving. While girls used more adult and peer support seeking, boys employed more externalizing and negative problem solving. Children with higher victimization frequencies were more likely to use negative problem solving and internalization. Lack of strategies for seeking social support was associated with loneliness.

• The Journal of Korean Association of Computer Education
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2009

There are several studies in order to learn about programming language. This paper develops a peer agent system based on teaching and learning strategies in order to improve problem-solving ability. Problem-solving ability involves three components - content understanding, domain-dependent problem-solving strategies, and self-regulation. This paper shows the teaching and learning strategies about components of problem-solving for learning to program and the peer agent system uses the teaching and learning strategies. This study intents to analyze the educational effects of the peer agent system. The results show that the system has superior effects on problem-solving ability compared to traditional programming courses or pair programming courses. It means that the peer agent system is the effective educational system in improving student's problem-solving ability.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.2
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• pp.181-191
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to provide the primary sources to improve the problem solving performance by analyzing the errors and the strategies selection of the high school students when solving given algebraic problems. To attain the purpose of this study, the questions for investigation in this study are : 1. What are the differences / similarities in the patterns of errors committed by successful and unsuccessful problem-solvers when solving particular algebraic problems ? 2. What are the error types chosen by unsuccessful problem-solvers when solving particular algebraic problems? 3. Do students utilize checking, either locally or globally, when solving particular algebraic problems? Twenty students were drawn out of 10th grade students in J girls' high school in Yengi -gun, Chung-Nam, for this study. The problem-solving test was used as a test instrument. From the data, the verbal protocols and the written protocols were analyzed by the patterns. The conclusions drawn from the results obtained in the present study are as follows: First, in solving particular algebraic problems, when the problems were solved with one strategy, most students didn't give any consideration to other strategies. So mathematics teachers should teach them to use the various strategies, and should develop the problems to be used the various strategies. Second, in solving particular algebraic problems, errors on notions or transformations of equations were found. Thus, the basic knowledges related to equation should be taught. In addition, most unsuccessful students seleted the strategies inadequately to solve the problems because of misunderstanding the problems. So, to improve the problem solving performance the processes of 'understanding problem' should be emphasized to students. Third, although the unsuccesful students used the 'checking' processes when solving the problems, most of them did not find the errors because of misconceptions related to the problems, carelessness, and unskillfulness of checking. Thus, students must be taught more carefully and encouraged to use the checking.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.33-45
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• 2003

The subjects of this comparison of institutionalized and home-reared preschool children's emotional knowledge and interpersonal problem solving strategies were 38 institutionalized (23 boys and 15 girls) and 39 home-reared (15 boys and 24 girls) preschool children. Assessment of emotional knowledge consisted of identification tasks and situation tasks. Interpersonal problem solving included forceful, prosocial, and manipulative strategies. Results showed that institutionalized children were lower than home-reared children in emotional knowledge; that is, they had lower scores than home-reared children in situation task. Institutionalized children used more forceful strategies than home-reared children, and home-reared children used more prosocial strategies than institutionalized children. Emotional knowledge was positively related to their prosocial strategies and negatively related to forceful strategies.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.9 no.1 s.21
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• pp.1-9
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• 2005

This paper investigates instructional strategies with potential for improving students' achievement in word problem solving. This review compares and analyzes the direct instruction (DI) and cognitively guided instruction (CGI) research on K-3 word problem solving mathematics students in a demonstration of my position that teachers need to understand student mathematical thinking to enhance students' achievement in word problem solving. CGI provides a more appropriate instructional model than DI for teaching word problem solving. For example, student-centered, conceptual understanding, and children's informal or invented problem solving strategies communicating with each other mathematically, etc. Korean teachers and teacher educators need to consider implementing CGI teaching strategies.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.319-331
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• 2007

This review of literature establishes a contemporary meaning of mathematical problem solving including young children's mathematical problem solving processes/assessments and teaching strategies. The contemporary meaning of mathematical problem solving involves complicated higher thinking processes. Explanations of the mathematical problem solving processes of young children include the four steps suggested by $P{\acute{o}}lya$(1957) : understand the problem, devise a plan, carry out the plan, and review/extend the plan. Assessments of children's mathematical problem solving include both the process and the product of problem solving. Teaching strategies to support children's mathematical problem solving include mathematical problems built upon children's daily activities, interests, and questions and helping children to generate new approaches to solve problems.

• School Mathematics
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.617-636
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• 1999

This study was executed with the intention of guiding ‘open education’ toward a desirable school innovation. The basic two directions of curriculum reconstruction essential for implementing ‘open education’ are one toward intra-subject (within a subject) and inter-subject (among subjects). This study showed an example of intra-subject curriculum reconstruction with a problem solving area included in elementary mathematics curriculum. In the curriculum, diverse strategies to enhance ability to solve problems are included at each grade level. In every elementary math textbook, those strategies are suggested in two chapters called ‘diverse problem solving’, in which problems only dealing with several strategies are introduced. Through this method, students begin to learn problem solving strategies not as something related to mathematical knowledge or contents but only as a skill or method for solving problems. Therefore, problems of ‘diverse problem solving’ chapter should not be dealt with separatedly but while students are learning the mathematical contents connected to those problems. Namely, students must have a chance to solve those problems while learning the contents related to the problem content(subject). By this reasoning, in the name of curriculum reconstruction toward intra-subject, this study showed such case with two ‘diverse problem solving’ chapters of the 4th grade second semester's math textbook.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.77-89
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• 1993

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) children's field dependence by age and sex, (2) children's interpersonal problem solving ability by age, sex, and contextual factors, (3) children's interpersonal problem solving ability by field dependence. The subjects were 120 five-, seven-, and nine-year-olds. Children's field-dependence was measured with the Children's Embedded Figures Test (CEFT). Children's interpersonal problem solving ability was measured with the Preschool Interpersonal Problem Solving Test (PIPS Test). Statistical methods adopted for data analysis were frequencies, percentiles, means, standard deviation, t-test, oneway ANOVA. $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test and Pearson's correlations. Major findings were that (1) The older children were more field-independent than the younger ones (2) The older children suggested more problem solving methods and higher-level problem solving strategies than the younger ones. (3) Children suggested higher-level problem solving strategies in contexts involving familiar as opposed to unfamiliar participants and contexts involving children as opposed to adults. (4) 9-year-olds' field-independence was positively associated with interpersonal problem solving ability.