• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.19-39
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• 2022

This paper aims to examine how the public perception of mathematics changed in England in the 19th century. As rapid industrial and social developments took place in the 19th century, the educational environment underwent great changes, and the value and public perception of mathematics also changed. Mathematics took a new position in the terrain of educational reform in the late 19th century. In this study, I analyzed the actual condition of mathematics education in elementary and secondary schools, popular educational institutions, and universities in England in the first half, middle, and second half of the 19th century, and compared what values and usefulness of mathematics education were justified in each institution. I also examined how satirical magazine Punch satirized the public understanding or view on mathematics at each period. It is to be hoped that this study will have significant implications for raising the public's positive perception of mathematics in modern society.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.171-199
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• 2022

In this study, we review contents to supplement the descriptions of the history of mathematics in the 2015 mathematics textbooks and teacher guides for the elementary school level and offer our opinion on them. For this purpose, we conducted a literature review on 24 types of 2015 mathematics textbooks and teacher guides for the elementary school level. The results of this study are as follows: A total of 10 topics were found whose contents were supplemented with descriptions. They were the "Arithmetic of the Ancient Egyptians," the "A'h-mosè Papyrus in Mathematics Textbooks of the Ancient Egyptians," "The Old Akkadian Square Band in Mesopotamia," "The Relationship of the Old Babylonians in Mesopotamia with the Angle," "The Pi of the Ancient Egyptians and the Old Babylonians," "The Square Roots 2 of the Ancient Egyptians and the Old Babylonians," "The Relationship of the Islamites with the Decimal Fraction," "Two Arguments for the Roots of the Golden Ratio," "The Relationship of Archimedes with the Exhaustion Method," and "The Design of Flats." Then, their specific supplements were suggested. It is expected that this will overcome the perspective of the history of the Axial Age and acknowledge and accept the perspective evidencing the transfer of mathematical culture from Ancient Egypt and Old Babylonia to Ancient Greece and Hellenism, and then through Central Asia to Europe.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.291-313
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• 2018

This study aims to analyze Pardies' ${\ll}$Elements of geometry${\gg}$. This book is very interesting from the perspectives of mathematical history as well as of mathematical education. Because it was used for teaching Kangxi emperor geometry in the Qing Dynasty in China instead of Euclid's which was considered as too difficult to study geometry. It is expected that this book suggests historical and educational implications because it appeared in the context of instruction of geometry in the seventeenth century of mathematical history. This study includes the analyses on the contents of Pardies' ${\ll}$Elements of geometry${\gg}$, the author's advice for geometry learning, several geometrical features, and some features from the view of elementary school mathematics, of which the latter two contain the comparisons with other authors' as well as school mathematics. Moreover, some didactical implications were induced based on the results of the study.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.311-320
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• 2015

In 1613 the official-scholar LI Zhi-zao (李之藻) of the Ming Dynasty, in collaboration with the Italian Jesuit Matteo RICCI (利瑪竇), compiled the treatise Tongwen Suanzhi (同文算指). This is the first book which transmitted into China in a systematic and comprehensive way the art of written calculation that had been in common practice in Europe since the sixteenth century. This paper tries to see what pedagogical lessons can be gleaned from the book, in particular on the basic operations in arithmetic and related applications in various types of problems which form the content of modern day mathematics in elementary school education.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.153-164
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• 2021

A functional equation is an equation which is satisfied by a function. Some elementary functional equations can be manipulated with elementary algebraic operations and functional composition only. However to solve such functional equations, somewhat critical and creative thinking ability is required, so that it is educationally worth while teaching functional equations. In this paper, we look at the origin of functional equations, and their characteristics and educational meaning and effects. We carefully suggest the use of the functional equations as a material for school mathematics education.

• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.281-302
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to offer a history of golden ratio, the criterion raised by Markowsky, and misconceptions about golden ratio. Markowsky(1992) insists that the golden ratio does not appear in the great pyramid of Khufu. On the contrary, we claim that there exists the golden ration on it. Elementary and middle school text books, and domestic history books deal with the great pyramid of Khuff and the Parthenon by examples of the golden ratio. Text books make many incorrect statements about golden ratio; so in teaching and learning the golden ratio, we recommend the design-composition of dynamic symmetry, for example, industrial design, aerodynamic, architecture design, and screen design. Finally we discuss the axial age how to affect the school mathematics with respect to the subject of Thales and the golden ratio.

• Journal for History of Mathematics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.57-72
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• 2007

Recently, dissection puzzles such as pentominoes have been used in mathematics education. But they are not actively applicable as a tool of problem solving or introducing mathematical concepts since researches about the historical background and developments of mathematical applications of such puzzles have not been effectively accomplished. In this article, in order to use pentominoes in mathematical teaming effectively, we first investigate geometric problems related to dissection puzzles and the historic background of development of pentominoes. And then we collect and classify data related to pentomino activities which can be applicable to mathematics classes based on the 7th elementary school national curriculum. Finally, we suggest several basic materials and directions to develop more systematic learning materials about pentominoes.

• Journal of the Korean School Mathematics Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.183-197
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• 2012

Geometry having long history of mathematics have important role for thinking power and creativity progress in middle school. The regular polygon included in plane geometry was mainly taught convex regular polygon in elementary school and middle school. In this study, we investigated the denotation's extension of regular polygon by mathematical basic knowledge included in school curriculum. For this research, first, school mathematical knowledge about regular polygon was analyzed. And then, basic direction of research was established for inquiry. Second, based on this analysis inductive inquiry activity was performed with research using geometry software(Cabri Geometry II). Through this study the development of enriched learning material and showing the direction of geometry research is expected.

• School Mathematics
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.389-410
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• 2010

In this paper we examined the mutural relation of quadrilateral for the purpose to know the reason why we taught the mutural relation of quadrilateral in elementary school. We looked through the several materials, for example, national curriculum, textbooks, guide books for teachers in 1st, 2nd, 3rd curriculums. Finally we found that the mutural relation of quadrilateral was deeply involved in the concept of sets, or the concept of inclusion.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.225-237
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• 2019

The picture of the mathematics curriculum should carry the complex role of relieving the difficulties of mathematics while conveying the core of the mathematics contents well. This study examined the precedence of picture and text harmony and the importance of emotional expression. The discussion of children's picture books became an important reference in this process. The understanding of the child's psychology and cognitive characteristics in the long history of picture books and the insight into the relationship between text and pictures will be important guidelines for elementary school textbooks. Based on these previous studies, this study found some impressive examples of Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and American textbooks on the two complementary relationships between paintings and texts and emotional expressions of paintings. If necessary, we compared these textbooks with Korean textbooks. Through this analysis, this study draws some implications for Korean textbook drawing and textbook production process. That is, the process of reading the picture and interpreting its meaning should be treated as part of the study of mathematics. The mathematical concepts to be dealt with or the sentence description of the problem should be concurrent with the design of the picture. The monotonous expressions and dialogues of characters in textbooks should be avoided, and the personality and emotions of characters should be more abundant and freely expressive.