• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.85-110
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of visual representation used in problem solving process and examine the representation types the students used to successfully solve the problem and focus on systematizing the visual representation method using the condition students suggest in the problems. To achieve the goal of this study, following questions have been raised. (1) what characteristic does the representation the elementary school students used in the process of solving a math problem possess? (2) what types of representation did students use in order to successfully solve elementary math problem? 240 4th graders attending J Elementary School located in Seoul participated in this study. Qualitative methodology was used for data analysis, and the analysis suggested representation method the students use in problem solving process and then suggested the representation that can successfully solve five different problems. The results of the study as follow. First, the students are not familiar with representing with various methods in the problem solving process. Students tend to solve the problem using equations rather than drawing a diagram when they can not find a word that gives a hint to draw a diagram. The method students used to restate the problem was mostly rewriting the problem, and they could not utilize a table that is essential in solving the problem. Thus, various errors were found. Students did not simplify the complicated problem to find the pattern to solve the problem. Second, the image and strategy created as the problem was read and the affected greatly in solving the problem. The first image created as the problem was read made students to draw different diagram and make them choose different strategies. The study showed the importance of first image by most of the students who do not pass the trial and error step and use the strategy they chose first. Third, the students who successfully solved the problems do not solely depend on the equation but put them in the form which information are decoded. They do not write difficult equation that they can not solve, but put them into a simplified equation that know to solve the problem. On fraction problems, they draw a diagram to solve the problem without calculation, Fourth, the students who. successfully solved the problem drew clear diagram that can be understood with intuition. By representing visually, unnecessary information were omitted and used simple image were drawn using symbol or lines, and to clarify the relationship between the information, numeric explanation was added. In addition, they restricted use of complicated motion line and dividing line, proper noun in the word problems were not changed into abbreviation or symbols to clearly restate the problem. Adding additional information was useful source in solving the problem.