• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.679-700
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• 2017

In this study, revisions of university entrance exams of mathematics in the UK, Australia and Japan are investigated. In the UK, A-level mathematics are revised to harmonize pure and applied mathematics so that the subjects and contents of each test are adjusted, and new types of items are announced. NSW university entrance exams in Australia are being revised in line with the Stronger Higher School Certificate policy, which basically reinforces mathematics. In Japan, as part of the educational reforms that link high schools and universities, current exams of National Center for University Entrance Examinations are abolished and Common Test for University Entrance is introduced. Mathematics of new test emphasizes comprehension, judgement and expression with new items and short-answer questions. Based on the case of the UK, Australia and Japan, this study discussed improvement of mathematics test in the Collage Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) Korea in terms of objects and characteristics of test, systems and types of items. and support from academia.

• School Mathematics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.833-846
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• 2013

In this paper, the real state of using terms 'product', 'place value', 'nine-nine', and 'numeral' incorrectly or inconsistently in the area in Korean elementary school 1-2 grade math textbooks/workbooks are analyzed. Based on this analysis, the following four conclusions are presented. First, 'Product' should be defined in the ${\ll}$Math 3${\gg}$ textbook like 'sum' and 'difference'. Multiplication is introduced in the ${\ll}$Math 3${\gg}$ textbook/workbook, however, the result of that calculation is not referred to 'product'. Second, there is a need to reconsider the using the term 'place value' in 2nd elementary mathematics. In the ${\ll}$Math 3${\gg}$ and the ${\ll}$Math 4${\gg}$ textbooks/workbooks are not using the term 'place value' clearly. Third, the word 'addition nine-nine table' and 'subtraction nine-nine table' should not be used in the ${\ll}$Math 2${\gg}$ and the ${\ll}$Math 4${\gg}$ textbooks. Using the term 'multiplication nine-nine' and 'multiplication nine-nine table' in elementary school mathematics textbooks/workbooks instead of using the term 'nine-nine' and 'nine-nine table' respectively would be the possible cause of these inaccurate derivatives. Fourth, in 1st and 2nd elementary mathematics 'numeral' and 'number' should be used discriminately. There is a need to reconsider the using the term 'number' uniformly if possible.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.231-257
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• 2020

As the main mathematical concepts are presented and expressed in various ways through textbooks during the teaching and learning process, it is necessary to look at the representations used in elementary math textbooks to find effective guidance. This study analyzed sentences used in the definition of mathematical terms and unit assessments of current elementary mathematics textbooks according to word depth (Yngve, 1960) from a syntactic perspective. As a result of the analysis, it could be seen that the sentences in textbook were generally concise, the word depth was lower, and the sentence structure and form were different depending on the individual characteristics of each term. Also, the sentences in the lower grade textbooks were more easily constructed, and the sentences of the term definition were more complex than the sentences of the unit assessments. Efforts should be made to help learners learn mathematical concepts, such as clarifying sentences in textbooks, presenting visual materials together, and providing additional explanations to suit the level of individual learners.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.173-188
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• 2016

Research on didactic transposition in mathematics education has about 25-year and about 35-year long history in and out of Korea, respectively. This study attempts to investigate in trends of those research and to suggest tasks needed to be tackled. Major findings are followed. First, studies done in Korea tended to focus on the application of the didactic transposition theory for proving its effectiveness in understanding mathematics textbooks and mathematics lessons in-depth. It is suggested to conduct meta-analysis of the accumulated results or analysis of further applications of the didactic transposition theory to improve theoretical aspects of didactic transposition. Second, new categories for extreme teaching phenomenon were found and new typology in knowledge to be considered in the didactic transposition was developed in a few studies done in other subject matter education. Application of these to mathematics education may enhance research in didactic transposition of mathematical knowledge. Third, praxeology or a complex of praxeology for Korean school mathematics should be explored as did in other countries. Fourth, there have been rich attempts to link perspectives in didactic transposition to other perspectives or fields such as anthropology, human and education in technology era, praxeology theory in economics, epistemology in other countries but not in Korea. It is suggested to extend the scope of discussion on didactic transposition and to relate various concepts given in other disciplines. Fifth, clarification or negotiation of meaning for the main terms used in the discussion on didactic transposition such as personalization, contextualization, depersonalization, decontextualization, Topaze Effect, Meta-Cognitive Shift is suggested by comparing researchers' various descriptions or uses of the terms.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.59-82
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• 2010

The Purpose of this study is to draw a few lessons for the effective teaching and learning throughout a comparative analysis on the results of the educational achievement on Mathematics of the primary and secondary school students. The primary sources for this research are based on the results of the six-times national level tests performed annually by all level students from 2003 to 2008. In order to achieve this goal, I, firstly, extract the lowest content area in terms of the annual average of the right answer ratio after examining the ratio of right answers to each math problem by classifying all multiple-choice questions of the educational achievement tests from 2003 to 2008 into the relevant content areas. Next, the characteristics of the content area which distinguish the lowest right answer ratio are qualitatively analyzed. Lastly, information on the content area which the school students of all classes feel very difficult to solve is provided via reckoning the average right answer ratio per each content area against all math questions at the last six-times of the national level tests.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.259-281
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• 2016

Teaching practicum plays a significant role in teacher education program because it provides pre-service teachers with an opportunity to apply what they have learned to the actual teaching contexts. As such, it needs to be conducted in terms of close collaboration between university and school. Given that, in a mathematics methods course the prospective teachers in this study had an opportunity to discuss mathematics lessons they had implemented during their teaching practicum. This paper analyzed in what ways prospective teachers' comments on elementary mathematics instruction were changed through this experience. The results of this study showed that in late comment the teachers tended to focus more on mathematical discourse, consider not only the teacher of the lesson but also students, and suggest alternative approaches on the classroom events they had noticed. It is noticeable that the results analyzed by researchers were consistent with prospective teachers' self-assessment. Building on these results, this paper provides implications of teacher preparation programs to enhance prospective teachers' ability to analyze elementary mathematics lessons.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2013

In this paper, firstly, 'value', 'vertices', 'height' are discussed, which are used in the multiple contexts. Then 'sketch', 'mental math', 'zero point oneth place/zero point zero oneth place/zero point zereo zero oneth place', 'number of place', 'natural number part/decimal part' are discussed, which are not used consistently. Finally, middle school mathematics terms 'distance', 'number line', 'the value of the expression' are discussed which are used in elementary school mathematics textbooks/workbooks. From these discussions, the following four suggestions are proposed as conclusions. First, as a mathematical term 'value' and 'distance' should be emphasized. As 'distance' is a middle school term, there is a need to consider the 'height' as 'the length of the line segment' instead of 'distance'. Second, 'number of place' which can be replaced with other suitable term, 'the value of the expression' including 'value of $20{\times}4$', 'natural number part/decimal part', 'vertex of pyramid/vertex of cone', 'mental math' should not be used. Third, there is a need to consider the use of 'mixed decimal' and 'proper decimal'. In addition, there is a need to expand the use of 'sketch'. Fourth, there is a need to consider the confirmation of 'number line' as an elementary school mathematics term. In addition, there is a need to consider to specify that 'decimal first place', 'decimal second place', 'decimal third place' can be used equivalently with 'zero point oneth place', 'zero point zero oneth place', 'zero point zereo zero oneth place' respectively.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.531-549
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• 2023

Despite the significance of mathematics teacher guidebooks as a support for teacher learning, there are few studies that address how elementary mathematics teacher guidebooks support teacher learning. The purpose of this study was to analyze the educative features of elementary mathematics teacher guidebooks for grades 3 and 4. For this, six units from each of ten kinds of teacher guidebooks were analyzed in terms of seven dimensions of Teacher Learning Opportunities in Korean Mathematics Curriculum Materials (TLO-KMath). The results of this study showed that mathematics content knowledge for teaching was richly provided and well organized. Teacher guidebooks provided teacher knowledge to anticipate and understand student errors and misconceptions, but were not enough. Sample dialogues between a teacher and students were offered in the teacher guidebooks, making it easier for teachers to identify the overall lesson flow and key points of classroom discourse. Formative assessment was emphasized in the teacher guidebooks, including lesson-specific student responses and their concomitant feedback examples per main activity. Supplementary activities and worksheets were provided, but it lacked rationales for differentiated instruction in mathematics. Teacher knowledge of manipulative materials and technology use in mathematics was provided only in specific units and was generally insufficient. Teacher knowledge in building a mathematical community was mainly provided in terms of mathematical competency, mathematical classroom culture, and motivation. This paper finally presented implications for improving teacher guidebooks to actively support teacher learning.

• School Mathematics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.369-384
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• 2017

Current Mathematics of CSAT(College Scholastic Ability Test) faced with preparing the test system and test items according to the new curriculum. The discuss about how to construct the items and what form of items should be set was not conducted enough. To accord with these requirements, in this study, mathematics exams for university entrance in Taiwan are investigated. We look into General Scholastic Ability Test(GSAT) and Advanced Subjects Test(AST) in Taiwan. Those exams are analyzed in terms of exam system, mathematical contents, types of items, and so on. And then on the basis of this, we discuss implications on mathematics assessment type and contents, further mathematics learning.

• School Mathematics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.71-91
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to analyze operation sense in detail with regard to division of fraction. For this purpose, two sixth grade students who were good at calculation were clinically interviewed three times. The analysis was focused on (a) how the students would understand the multiple meanings and models of division of fraction, (b) how they would recognize the meaning of algorithm related to division of fraction, and (c) how they would employ the meanings and properties of operation in order to translate them into different modes of representation as well as to develop their own strategies. This paper includes several episodes which reveal students' qualitative difference in terms of various dimensions of operation sense. The need to develop operation sense is suggested specifically for upper grades of elementary school.