• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.87-98
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• 1997

A practice is classified into the practice as a content and the practice as a method. The former means that the practical nature of mathematical knowledge itself should be a content of mathematics and the latter means that one should teach the mathematical knowledge in such a way as the practical nature is not damaged. The practical nature of mathematics means mathematician's activity as it is actually done. Activities of the mathematician are not only discovering strict proofs or building axiomatic system but informal thinking activities such as generalization, analogy, abstraction, induction etc. In this study, it is found that the most instructive ones for the future users of mathematics are such practice as content. For the practice as a method, students might learn, by becoming apprentice mathematicians, to do what master mathematicians do in their everyday practice. Classrooms are cultural milieux and microsoms of mathematical culture in which there are sets of beliefs and values that are perpetuated by the day-to-day practices and rituals of the cultures. Therefore, the students' sense of ‘what mathematics is really about’ is shaped by the culture of school mathematics. In turn, the sense of what mathematics is really all about determines how the students use the mathematics they have learned. In this sense, the practice on which classroom instruction might be modelled is that of mathematicians at work. To learn mathematics is to enter into an ongoing conversation conducted between practitioners who share common language. So students should experience mathematics in a way similar to the way mathematicians live it. It implies a view of mathematics classrooms as a places in which classroom activity is directed not simply toward the acquisition of the content of mathematics in the form of concepts and procedures but rather toward the individual and collaborative practice of mathematical thinking.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.35-55
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• 2000

There seems to be a public consensus that the content of Korean mathematics textbooks is extensive and of a high level of difficulty. However, such judgment is the result of a generalization based on individual experience or on the results from comparisons of the international levels of achievement. Therefore, a more objective and stricter approach to the determination of the quantity and level of difficulty of mathematics content is necessary. For this purpose, this study has compared the content of Koreas 6th and 7th junior high school curriculums, and the Korean mathematics curriculum to textbooks of the United States, which has a considerable influence on the making of Korean mathematics textbooks. First of all, a comparison of Koreas 6th and 7th junior high school mathematics curriculums showed a slight reduction in the total quantity of content, as more content was deleted than was added in the 7th curriculum. However, given the fact that the number of hours of mathematics classes has been reduced, the reduction in content cannot be regarded as anything more than a simple reflection of the reduction in hours, proving that the 7th curriculum has not met its revision objective of reducing the content by 30%. Meanwhile, the comparison of the United States junior high school mathematics textbooks to Korea's 7th curriculum showed that the 7th grade content in the United States was much broader, encompassing content which in Korea ranged from the 2nd grade of elementary school to the 2nd year of junior high school. Therefore, on the surface, it may appear that the overall level of content in the American mathematics textbook is lower than that of the Korean. However, there are several cafes, such as statistics and probability, where certain content was more difficult and introduced at an earlier grade in the United States than in Korea. In fact, it can be said that Korea students tend to find content of the mathematics textbooks to be harder than they actually are because they are delivered as a mere aggregate of algorithms, with little consideration to its application in their everyday lives. In this respect, there is much room for improvement on the mathematics textbooks of Korea.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.33-52
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• 1997

We can explain open education by means of pulling down the straight and narrow viewpoint of our educational system. We should incorporate various thoughts and attempts to the most practical educational classrooms and learn to cope flexibly with the several educational problems. On the other hand, Britain for the last fifty years have adapted progressive method in most schools, but with no visible results. The children's fundamental mathematical abilities have not increased. Therefore, mathematical educators in U. S. and Britain proposed the following three facts: First, we need to find out precisely what is involved in applying mathematical skills to practical situations; Secondly, we need to find out why this kind of mathematical understanding is so difficult for so many children; And, finally, we need to know what methods can be used to help children attain this wider mathematical understanding. Thus, we have analyzed and studied the British primary mathematics textbooks < stage 1 >, < stage 3 >, < stage 4 > and < stage 5 > from the open educational viewpoint and the above proposals. As result, a central point was that British have well incorporated into their primary mathematics textbooks with the variety of programs using everyday problems.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.663-677
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• 1998

The development of Science and Technology and the social change require new paradigm in Education. In a traditional paradigm, learners have been regarded as a passive being and knowledge could be transmitted to learner. But within this paradigm, it is difficult to confront the social change and to develop problem solving skills in various context. This results in a new, alternative perspective, Constructive paradigm. As an alternative to the traditional settings, Constructive paradigm emphasizes the learner centered instruction. The reform movement in mathematics education including NCTM's standards revolves around this paradigm and the open education movement in our educational system is based on it. Open education values learner's interest, autonomy and internal motivation in learning. However, open education has been misunderstood by most of the teachers. It should be understood as the change of paradigm. In this study, as a way of helping students connect mathematics to their everyday lives and construct meaningful mathematical knowledge and concept, mathematical modelling is suggested. It consists of posing and specifying the real problem, formulation and constructing a mathematical model, analyzing and solving a mathematical problem. interpreting the solution and comparing with reality and communicating results. In this process, technology like computer can be a powerful tool. It can help students explore various problems more easily and concretely.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.123-132
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• 2004

In this paper, we reviewed the history of mathematical problem solving since 1900 and investigated problem solving in modeling perspective which is focused on the 21th century. In modeling perspective, problem solvers solve the realistic problem which includes contextualized situations in which mathematics is useful. In this case, the problem is different from the traditional problems which are routine, close, and words problem, etc. Problem solving in modeling perspective emphasizes mathematizing. Most of all, what is important enables students to use mathematics in everyday problem solving situation.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.493-508
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to compare the preferences of the school mathematical terms of South Korea and those of North Korea by administering a survey for learners, inservice teachers, and pre-service teachers, to establish the criteria of desirable school mathematical terms, and to evaluate the school mathematical terms of South Korea and those of North Korea based on the criteria. According to the result of the survey, the preferred mathematical terms are different from one group to the other, yet the mathematical terms of South Korea are more preferred. In general, terms written in pure Korean and concise terms which are easily understandable are favored. To discuss about the criteria of desirable school mathematical terms, four perspectives were set up, 1) the semantic perspective and the regulatory perspective, 2) terms written in pure Korean and Chinese letters, 3) terms from everyday language and technical terms, and 4) the consistency. Six criteria were followed from the aforementioned four perspectives. Finally, various school mathematical terms of South and North Korea were reviewed in the angles of the four perspectives and the six criteria.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.45 no.4 s.115
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• pp.407-438
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• 2006

This study investigated school mathematics curriculum of England, newly revised in 1998, focused on the 'shape, space, and measures' domain among three major domains of the English curriculum. On the basis of its understanding, this domain was compared and analyzed with school mathematics curriculum of Korea. In doing so, this study explored its plans and procedures and established a frame of comparison for the curriculums between the two countries. The structure of the National Curriculum in England is composed of programmes of study and attainment targets. The former sets out what should be taught in mathematics at key stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 and provides the basis for planning schemes of work, and the latter sets out the knowledge, skills, and understanding that pupils of different abilities and matures are expected to have by the end of each key stage. Attainment targets are composed of eight levels and an additional level of increasing difficulty. According to the results of the present study, Korea focuses on the formal and systematic mathematical knowledge on the basis of sound understanding of certain mathematical terms or concepts. On the other hand, England curriculum tends to deal with the content which can be understood more intuitively, flexibly, and naturally through the experience and aquisition based on the concrete manipulation. Particularly, it emphasizes that mathematics be realistic and useful in solving a diverse problems confronted in everyday life.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.385-404
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• 2014

There are some researches for international comparing of textbook and curriculum, so far. But These researches focused on comparing special region of textbook or curriculum. On the contrary, there are hardly papers how teacher's guide is consists and different with other country. In this paper, we have analyzed teacher's guide of Korea and Everyday Mathematics which is one of the teacher's guide in the many counties in the united states of America. Especially, teaching method, differentiated contents of curriculum, characteristics of consists of curriculum and so on. On the basis of this analysis, we search the improvement points of teaching of primary mathematics and also we make all the primary school teachers realize the diversity of teaching method through foreign cases and consequently they will make use of these results as a reference material such as reconstruction of textbook.

• East Asian mathematical journal
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.119-139
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• 2023

Most of calculus and real analysis are concerned with the study on continuous functions. Because of self-sustaining concept caused by everyday language, continuity has difficulties. This kind of viewpoint is strengthened with that teacher explains continuity by graph drawn ceaselessly and so finally confused with mathematics concept which is continuity and connection. Thus such a concept image of continuity becomes to include components which create conflicts. Therefore, we try to analyze understanding of continuity on university students by using the concept image as an analytic tool. We survey centering on problems which create conflicts with concept definition and image. And we investigate that difference of definition in continuous function which handles in calculus and analysis exists and so try to present various results on university students' understanding of continuity concept.

• School Mathematics
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.167-189
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• 2003

Mental arithmetic has recently gained a higher profile in primary school mathematics. The study aims to reflect didactical background of mental arithmetic in number and operations curriculum for primary school mathematics. In order to attain these purposes, the present paper describes the meaning of mathematical literacy and didactical background of mental arithmetic on which have been laid emphasis in relation to mathematical literacy in many countries. Also it shows current suggestions for mental arithmetic instruction in Everyday Mathematics Project in USA, Numeracy Number Project in Great Britain, TAL project based on Realistic Mathematics Education in the Netherlands, and mathe 2000 project in German in order to gain practical ideas for teaching mental arithmetic. Furthermore, it discusses mental strategies of students and didactical models for improving mental arithmetic instruction based on the results of many researches. Under these theoretical foundations, it is analyzed how mental arithmetic is developed in our number and operations curriculum, focused on mental strategies and didactical models. Finally, implications for improving our mental arithmetic instruction are discussed.