• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.513-528
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• 2014

This study is intended to examine 36 in-service secondary school mathematics teachers' conceptions of proof in the context of mathematics and mathematics education. The results suggest that almost teachers recognize the role as justification well but have the insufficient conceptions about another various roles of proof in mathematics. The results further suggest that many of teachers have vague concept-images in relation with the requirement of proof and recognize the insufficiency about the actual teaching of proof. Based on the results, implications for revision of mathematics curriculum and mathematics teacher education are discussed.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.675-694
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• 2013

The purposes of this study were to investigate teachers' perceptions on process-focused mathematics assessment using manipulatives and technological devices and to propose the direction of the process-focused mathematics assessment. This study was conducted by the survey method with a total of 332 elementary and secondary school mathematics teachers working in Seoul or Gyeonggi areas who had experienced in using manipulatives and technological devices. According to the results, the use of manipulatives and technological devices in the process-focused mathematics assessment will facilitate the use of various alternative assessment methods such as research-report, project, and discussion for the process-focused mathematics assessment. Those alternative assessment methods enable teachers to diagnose students' learning in more accurate and holistic views and contribute to improving teachers' teaching practices focused on the mathematical process.

• School Mathematics
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.745-761
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• 2014

This study investigated mathematics teachers' views on education, teacher efficacy, and the relationship of teacher efficacy and Confucian Heritage Culture's views on education. In particular, the differences on the basis of teachers' teaching experience and academic level were examined. We identified teachers' views on education by investigating their views on the purpose of education and examining whether they support the perspectives of teaching and learning in Confucian Heritage Culture. The questionnaire was answered by a total of 572 elementary teachers and secondary mathematics teachers. The results of this survey revealed that mathematics teachers have both Confucian Heritage Culture's view and Western view on education and quiet strong teacher efficacy. The views on education differed by academic levels, but there were no differences in teaching experiences. The teacher efficacy was differed by both academic levels and teaching experiences. The correlation between teacher efficacy and Confucian Heritage Culture's view on education was low. Findings were discussed with regard to their implications for both Korean mathematics education and mathematics teachers' teaching practice.

• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.29-46
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• 2013

Introduction: According the 2011 Taiwanese Government Statistics, the lower secondary school enrollment number of the new-immigrant-children is about 200,000. As known, most of the new immigrants are from the Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia. In order to satisfy the increasing needs and demands on education of the children of new immigrant (CNI, henceforth), Taiwanese government not only develops, but also puts the after-school learning assistance policy into practice from 2006. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to explore the mathematics achievement of the CNI after the implementation of the after-school learning assistance policy (AsLA policy, henceforth). Purposes: Firstly, to compare the mathematics achievement of the CNI by countries. Secondly, to compare the mathematics performance among the CNI, the children from high-risk family (CHRF, henceforth) and the children of general families. Samples: The 2,452 samples, selected from two junior high schools located in central Taiwan, include 157 CNI, 522 CHRF. Methods: The main method used in this study is interval fuzzy number (IFN, henceforth) in order to compare the mathematics achievement of the children after the implementation of the AsLA policy from different type of families. Results: To reach the two purposes of this study. We can find the effectiveness of mathematics performance from three group's children of new immigrants, high-risk, general family. Therefore, the results provide one of the ways to review the new immigrant's education policy of after-school learning assistance in Taiwan.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.887-921
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• 2009

Pythagorean theorem is one of mathematical contents which is widely used during human culture have developed. There are many historial records related to Pythagorean theorem made by Babylonian, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian. The theorem has the important meaning for mathematics education in secondary school education. Along with the importance of the proof itself, diverse proof methods and ideas included in their methods are also important since the methods improve students' ability to think mathematics. Hence, in this paper, we classify and analyze 390 proof methods published in the book "All that Pythagorean theorem" and other materials. Based on the results we derive educational meaning in mathematics with respect to main idea of the proof, the preliminaries of the study, and study skills used for proof.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.723-743
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• 2015

In this research, The objective of the present study was to develop a preliminary diagnostic worksheet for use in consultations for learning mathematics. In order to achieve this, the worksheet was constructed with questions designed to assess the students. Through standardization, diagnostic worksheets for primary school students in grades 5 and 6 and secondary school students in grades 7 and 8 were produced. The diagnostic worksheet was divided into three sections, consisting of the psychology of learning mathematics in section 1, the methodology in learning mathematics in section 2, and personal preferences in learning mathematics in section 3. The psychology of learning mathematics was composed of questions on factors such as, "confidence in math learning ability," "math anxiety," and "attitude in learning mathematics." Moreover, factors in methodology in learning mathematics were "self-management in learning mathematics" and "math learning strategies." Those for personal preferences in learning mathematics asked about "motivation" and "preferences" with questions about "math learning habits" and "management methods for learning math." This diagnostic worksheet can be used as basic material in consulting students on learning mathematics.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.19-39
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• 2017

Taking samples of data and using samples to make inferences about unknown populations are at the core of statistical investigations. So, an understanding of the nature of sample as statistical thinking is involved in the area of statistical literacy, since the process of a statistical investigation can turn out to be totally useless if we don't appreciate the part sampling plays. However, the conception of sampling is a scheme of interrelated ideas entailing many statistical notions such as repeatability, representativeness, randomness, variability, and distribution. This complexity makes many people, teachers as well as students, reason about statistical inference relying on their incorrect intuitions without understanding sample comprehensively. Some research investigated how the concept of a sample is understood by not only students but also teachers or preservice teachers, but we want to identify preservice secondary mathematics teachers' understanding of sample as the statistical literacy by a qualitative analysis. We designed four items which asked preservice teachers to write their understanding for sampling tasks including representativeness and variability. Then, we categorized the similar responses and compared these categories with Watson's statistical literacy hierarchy. As a result, many preservice teachers turned out to be lie in the low level of statistical literacy as they ignore contexts and critical thinking, expecially about sampling variability rather than sample representativeness. Moreover, the experience of taking statistics courses in university did not seem to make a contribution to development of their statistical literacy. These findings should be considered when design preservice teacher education program to promote statistics education.

• School Mathematics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.161-176
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• 2006

Some adequate programs for mathematising are necessary to pre-service mathematics teachers, if they can guide their prospective students in secondary school to make a mathematising. They should be used to mathematising. In this paper, mathematising teaching units for the inquiry into number partition models with constant differences are designed for this purpose. They guide a series of process to make nooumenon for organizing phainomenon which is organized already through number partition model. Especially the new nooumenon and the process of obtaining it are discussed. But it is restricted when the numbers for partitioning are natural numbers, and elements and their differences are integers. Through these teaching units, pre-service mathematics teachers can experience and practice secondary mathematising, as they go through the procedures which are similar with those of mathematicians making theorems.

• School Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.331-353
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to investigate expertise of mathematic teachers in development of designing assessment items, derived from development of assessing tools, which is a part of assessing competence of mathematic teachers. Analysis was made upon the difference between Pre-service and In-service teachers in terms of self-perception on assessment items. The assessing references of self-perception on developing in designing assessment items consist of followings: one's Beliefs and Self-Rating in designing assessment items. This investigation on self-perception was carried out by both pre-service teachers who are currently enrolled students in college and in-service teachers who are currently incumbent in secondary schools. This analysis based on 310 teachers' answers on self-perception of designing assessment items, both in- and preservice.

• School Mathematics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.957-973
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• 2013

This study analyzed Secondary Mathematically Gifted' mathematical thinking processes demonstrated from the activities. They configured regular triangle tessellations in the Non-Euclidean hyperbolic disk model. The students constructed the figure and transformation to construct the tessellation in the poincare disk. gsp file which is the dynamic geometric environmen, The students were to explore the characteristics of the hyperbolic segments, construct an equilateral triangle and inversion. In this process, a variety of strategic thinking process appeared and they recognized to the Non-Euclidean geometric system.