• The Mathematical Education
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.287-302
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• 2009

This study investigated how 5th grade students found and understood triangle congruence conditions (SSS, SAS, ASA). In particular, this study focused on children's processes of discovering triangle congruence conditions and the obstacles which they encountered in the process of making sense of these conditions. Our data indicates that inquiring the cases in which less than three factors of triangle are given is helpful for children to guess triangle congruence conditions and understand the minimal characteristic of these conditions. And the degree of difficulty of discovering each congruence condition is different. Children discovered SAS condition and ASA condition easily, but it was hard for them to discover and understand that SSS was also a triangle congruence condition because they connected the length of a given side with the use of a scaled ruler not a compass.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.131-145
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• 2005

This study intends to analyze didactically on triangle-determining conditions and triangle-congruence conditions. The result of this study revealed the followings: Firstly, many pre-service mathematics teachers and secondary school students have insufficient understanding or misunderstanding on triangle-determining conditions and triangle-congruence conditions. Secondly, the term segment instead of edge may show well the concern of triangle-determining conditions. Thirdly, when students learn the method of finding six elements of triangle using the law of sines and cosines in high school, they should be given the opportunity to reflect the relation and the difference between triangle-determining situation and the situation of finding six elements of triangle. Fourthly, accepting some conditions like SSA-obtuse as a triangle-determining condition or not is not just a logical problem. It depends on the specific contexts investigating triangle-determining conditions. Fifthly, textbooks and classroom teaching need to guide students to discover triangle-deter-mining conditions in the process of inquiry from SSS, SSA, SAS, SAA, ASS, ASA, AAS, AAA to SSS, SAS, ASA, SAA. Sixthly, it is necessary to have students know the significance of 'correspondence' in congruence conditions. Finally, there are some problems of using the term 'correspondent' in describing triangle-congruence conditions.

• School Mathematics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.219-236
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• 2014

We recognized that most teachers are having insufficient understanding or misunderstanding about congruent conditions of triangles. So the purpose of this study was to analyze teachers's understanding about congruent conditions of triangles and to find the causes of teachers's misunderstanding. Most teachers have been misunderstanding that triangle determining- conditions are only 3 ways(SSS, SAS, ASA). And they have wrong confidence that 2 sides and a non included angle(ASS) is not always able to make one triangle. This study found that these teachers's misconception was from the textbook using now. As the result of this study, we suggested 7 improvement ways about planning of curriculum, writing of textbook and teacher training course.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.53-65
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• 2010

The congruent conditions of triangles' plays an important role to connect intuitive geometry with deductive geometry in school mathematics. It is induced by 'three determining conditions of triangles' which is justified by classical geometric construction. In this paper, we analyze the essential meaning and geometric position of 'congruent conditions of triangles in Euclidean Geometry and investigate introducing processes for them in the Elements of Euclid, Hilbert congruent axioms, Russian textbook and Korean textbook, respectively. Also, we give justifications of construction methods for triangle having three segments with fixed lengths and angle equivalent to given angle suggested in Korean textbooks, are discussed, which can be directly applicable to teaching geometric construction meaningfully.