• School Mathematics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.481-494
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• 2017

Tasks of multiple solutions have been said to be suitable for the cultivation of mathematical creativity. However, studies on the fact that multiple solutions presented by students are useful or meaningful, and students' thoughts while finding multiple solutions are very short. In this study, we set goals to confirm the qualitative differences among the multiple solutions presented by the students and, if present, from the viewpoint of mathematical creativity. For this reason, after presenting the set of tasks of the two versions to eight mathematically gifted students of the second-grade middle school, we analyzed qualitative differences that appeared among the solutions. In the study, there was a difference among the solution presented first and the solutions presented later, and qualitatively substantial differences in terms of flexibility and creativity. In this regard, it was concluded that the need to account for such qualitative differences in designing and applying multiple solutions should be considered.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.421-442
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• 2016

This study analyzed characteristics which emerged while 38 secondary school teachers observed a video clip about a centroid of triangles instruction. The aim of this study based on the analysis was to deduce implications in terms of the various means which would enhance teachers' knowledge in teaching mathematics and assist in designing mathematics education programs for teachers and professional development initiatives. To achieve this goal, this research firstly reviewed previous studies relevant to the 'Knowledge Quartet' as a framework of analyzing teachers' knowledge in mathematics instructions. Secondly, this study probed the observation results from the teachers in the light of the KQ. Therefore, some issues in the teacher education program for teaching mathematics were thirdly identified in the categories of 'Foundation', 'Transformation', 'Connection', and 'Contingency' based on the analysis. This research inspires the elaboration of what features have with regard to effective teachers' knowledge in teaching mathematics through the analyzing process and additionally the elucidation of essential matters related to mathematics education on the basis of the analyzed results.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.43-63
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to find meaningful implications for developing curriculum and textbooks by comparison between Korean middle school mathematics textbooks and U.S.A.'s CMP textbooks. After comparing and analysing how the contents are composed focusing on the equations and functions and how the contents are presented according to 'Project 2061' mathematical textbook analytical framework, and how the contents ere different in terms of the mathematical connectivity, the research reached the following conclusions. First, compared to Korean textbooks, the CMP textbooks clearly present learners' behavior goals in a detailed way, and emphasize communication and connectivity. Second, Korean textbooks focus on explaining concepts and solving problems related to their concepts and discussion questions are briefly introduced. But all the textbooks contain a lot of problems required to be solved with algorithms. On the other hand, CMP textbooks provide students with opportunities to find the necessary concepts on their own, through problem solving processes, after presenting various real-life problem situations.

• Journal of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.173-187
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• 2013

This paper studies the properties of solutions of the Riccati equation arising from the quadratic optimal control problem of the general damped second order system. Using the semigroup theory, we establish the weak differential characterization of the Riccati equation for a general class of the second order distributed systems with arbitrary damping terms.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-23
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• 2006

It is regarded as critical to analyse and re-appreciate Euclidean geometry for the sake of improving school geometry This study, a critical analysis of demonstrative plane geometry in current secondary school mathematics with an eye to the viewpoints of 'Elements of Geometry', is conducted with this purpose in mind. Firstly, the 'Elements' is analysed in terms of its educational purpose, concrete contents and approaching method, with a review of the history of its teaching. Secondly, the 'Elemens de Geometrie' by Clairaut and the 'histo-genetic approach' in teaching geometry, mainly the one proposed by Branford, are analysed. Thirdly, the basic assumption, contents and structure of the current textbooks taught in secondary schools are analysed according to the hypothetical construction, ordering and grouping of theorems, presentations of proofs, statements of definitions and exercises. The change of the development of contents over time is also reviewed, with a focus on the proportional relations of geometric figures. Lastly, tile complementary way of integrating the two 'Elements' is explored.

• School Mathematics
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.135-151
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• 2004

This study investigated children's realistic response on problematic word problems focused on number operations. Even though word problems and problem solving should be considered in terms of realistic context, results indicates that children's responses didn't show realistic consideration in solving problems. Also, children showed their tendency of mindless or mechanical operation in solving problems and modeling problems

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.103-119
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• 2010

This study aims to figure out the characteristics of the mathematical ability of multicultural Korean elementary school learners. This was done by analyzing the results of a mathematics diagnostic test given to multicultural Korean first and second year elementary school students. The findings of this study mainly support the following three. First, it was indicated that, regardless of whether the students are multicultural or not, more second-year students had difficulty in understanding mathematics than the first-year students. Specifically, a higher percentage of second-year students were below the reference point (cut-off point) than was the case in the first-year learners, which pattern of the overall Korean students was consistent with that of multicultural Koreans. Second, concerning the sub-fields of mathematics, higher proportion of the students fell below the cut-off point in 'numbers and arithmetics' area than in 'measure and geometry,' which pattern was again the same with the multicultural students. Third, it was implied that, in addition to mathematically more complex questions, linguistically complex sentential representations contributed to increasing the difficulty of the test items. It is suggested that care be taken to enhance linguistic processing and to employ well-defined terms.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.429-451
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• 2012

This paper examined eight novice elementary teachers' knowledge in terms of the types and sources of students' errors and teaching strategies on plane figures through a questionnaire and teachers' discussion. The teachers tended to predict students' diverse error types, but they attributed the sources of such errors mainly to their characteristics. The analysis of teachers' responses of teaching strategies revealed that they recognized the importance of the teacher's clear explanation and students' own problem-solving, while they were somewhat negative in presenting diverse examples and classifying, drawing, or constructing figures. Building on these results, this paper provides the implications for novice teachers' professional development programs.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.433-456
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to suggest the directions for the development and improvement of mathematics textbooks in Korea by examining these characteristics of German textbooks. As a result, German mathematics textbooks were free for unit order and names of units. German mathematics textbooks defined a function for various real life and natural phenomena, relation after intuitively knowing the correspondence between two variables through a graph. In addition, it exercises interpreting the characteristics and information of the graph, guides the activity of graphing various functional situations, and contents to convert various expression methods such as graphs, tables, relational expressions, mathematical terms and sentences. In the German mathematics textbooks, mathematical expressions of the functional relations of the materials in various contexts of daily life, and the activities of predicting and predicting the future, were made to feel the usefulness of mathematics. It has raised functional thinking and provided problems related to other subjects, thus enhancing connectivity with other disciplines. It also included open issues and issues that required mathematical communication.

• 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.