• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.10 no.1 s.25
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• pp.33-47
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• 2006

Finding good ways to support the further development of mathematically gifted students is a challenge for all mathematics educators. Simply moving able students on more rapidly to the next level of traditional mathematical instruction seems to be a limited approach, while providing supplementary enrichment material or specialized mathematical software requires us to ensure that doing so is truly worthwhile for the students. This paper presents an approach that the author has used with students of diverse capabilities in both technologically advanced and developing nations investigating mathematical ideas using a spreadsheet.

• School Mathematics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.459-479
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• 2013

The Purpose of this study was to explore the methods of generalization and errors pattern generated by mathematically gifted students and non-gifted students in elementary school. In this research, 6 problems corresponding to the x+a, ax, ax+c, $ax^2$, $ax^2+c$, $a^x$ patterns were given to 156 students. Conclusions obtained through this study are as follows. First, both group were the best in symbolically generalizing ax pattern, whereas the number of students who generalized $a^x$ pattern symbolically was the least. Second, mathematically gifted students in elementary school were able to algebraically generalize more than 79% of in x+a, ax, ax+c, $ax^2$, $ax^2+c$, $a^x$ patterns. However, non-gifted students succeeded in algebraically generalizing more than 79% only in x+a, ax patterns. Third, students in both groups failed in finding commonness in phased numbers, so they solved problems arithmetically depending on to what extent it was increased when they failed in reaching generalization of formula. Fourth, as for the type of error that students make mistake, technical error was the highest with 10.9% among mathematically gifted students in elementary school, also technical error was the highest as 17.1% among non-gifted students. Fifth, as for the frequency of error against the types of all patterns, mathematically gifted students in elementary school marked 17.3% and non-gifted students were 31.2%, which means that a majority of mathematically gifted students in elementary school are able to do symbolic generalization to a certain degree, but many non-gifted students did not comprehend questions on patterns and failed in symbolic generalization.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.523-539
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• 2013

The object of this study is to compare and analyze mathematically gifted and non-gifted elementary students in the family system and career attitude maturity, understand the characteristics of the former, and provide assistance for career education for both groups. The subjects include 145 mathematically gifted elementary students (73 fifth graders, 72 sixth graders) and 167 non-gifted students (78 fifth graders, 89 sixth graders) in G educational agencies. Materials for the experiment include amended family system test and career attitude maturity test. While t-test was conducted to solve the first research question, Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to solve the other one. The research findings were as follows: First, mathematically gifted elementary students, compared to non-gifted students, turned out to have higher rates of the family system and career attitude maturity rate and showed statistically meaningful positive relationship. Second, the lower components of the family system and career attitude maturity, there seems to be no relationship between family-flexibility and finality. However, among other components, there was a level of significance at 5% which shows statistically meaningful positive relationship. In summary, this found that the family system is able to have an effect on the career attitude maturity for both mathematically gifted elementary students and non-gifted students. Hence, it need to be considered the components of family system when the teacher guides mathematically gifted elementary students and non-gifted students associated with their career.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.131-148
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• 2016

Mathematical formal justification may be seen as a bridge towards the proof. By requiring the mathematically gifted students to prove the generalized patterned task rather than the implementation of deductive justification, may present challenges for the students. So the research questions are as follow: (1) What are the difficulties the mathematically gifted elementary students may encounter when formal justification were to be shifted into a generalized form from the given patterned challenges? (2) How should the teacher guide the mathematically gifted elementary students' process of transition to formal justification? The conclusions are as follow: (1) In order to implement a formal justification, the recognition of and attitude to justifying took an imperative role. (2) The students will be able to recall previously learned deductive experiment and the procedural steps of that experiment, if the mathematically gifted students possess adequate amount of attitude previously mentioned as the 'mathematical attitude to justify'. In addition, we developed the process of questioning to guide the elementary gifted students to formal justification.

• Journal of Elementary Mathematics Education in Korea
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.937-957
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to discover the features of symbol sense. This study tries to sum up the meaning and elements of symbol sense and the measures to improve them through documents. Also based on this, it analyzes the learning conditions about symbol sense for 6th grade mathematically able students and suggests the method that activates symbol sense in the math of elementary schools. Considering various studies on symbol sense, symbol sense means the exact knowledge and essential understanding in a comprehensive way. Symbol sense is an intuition about symbols that grasps the meaning of symbols, understands the situation of question, and realizes the usefulness of symbols in resolving a process. Considering all other scholars' opinions, this study sums up 5 elements of the symbol sense. (The recognition of needs to introduce symbol, ability to read the meaning of symbols, choice of suitable symbols according to the context, pattern guess through visualization, recognize the role of symbols in other context) This study draws the following conclusions after applying the symbol questionnaires targeting 6th grade mathematically able students : First, although they are math talents, there are some differences in terms of the symbol sense level. Second, 5 elements of the symbol sense are not completely separated. They are rather closely related in terms of mainly the symbol understanding, thereby several elements are combined.

• School Mathematics
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.175-187
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to develop and utilize various kinds of mathematics teaching materials for gifted class in elementary school by utilizing polyominoes and a what-if-not strategy. Blokus is used to let students understand the characteristics of polyominoes, and omok is utilized to let them grasp interior point. Thus, the activities that utilized the new materials, blokus and omok, are developed to teach Pick's theorem. Besides, recreation activities were additionally prepared to provide education in an easy, intriguing and creative manner. The findings of the study is as follows: First, each of the materials was utilized in a different manner when the students engaged in basic and enrichment learning. Second, the mathematically gifted students were able to discover Pick's theorem in the course of utilizing the materials that contained recreational elements. Third, the students were taught to foster their problem-solving skills about area, girth and interior point by making use of the materials that were designed to be linked to each other. Fourth, existing programs were just designed to attain particular objects, to be conducted at a fixed time and to cater to particular graders. Fifth, when the students made problems by making use of the what if (not) strategy and the materials, they responded in diverse ways and were able to apply them.

• School Mathematics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.161-180
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to analyse how a mathematically gifted student constructs a nested signification model of three signs, while he abstracts the solution of a given NIM game. The findings of a qualitative case study have led to conclusions as follows. In general, we know that most of mathematically gifted students(within top 0.01%) in the elementary school might be excellent in constructing representamen and interpretant But it depends on the cases. While a student, one of best, is making the meaning of object in general level of abstraction, he also has a difficulty in rising from general level to formal level. When he made the interpretant in general level with researcher's advice, he was able to rise formal level and constructed a nested signification model of three signs. We suggested 3 considerations to teach the mathematically gifted students in elementary school level.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.355-365
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to provide mathematical knowledge for supporting the didactical knowledge on circular measure and radian in the high school curriculum. We show that circular measure related to arcs can be mathematically justified as an angular measure and radian is a well defined concept to be able to reconcile the values of trigonometric functions and ones of circular functions, which are real variable functions. Radian has two-fold intrinsic attributes of angular measure and arc measure on the unit circle, in particular, the latter property plays a very important role in simplifying the trigonometric derivatives. To improve students's low academic achievement in trigonometry section, the useful advantage and the background over the introduction of radian should be preferentially taught and recognized to students. We suggest some teaching plans to practice in the class of elementary and middle school for enhancing teachers' and students' understanding of radian.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.46 no.1 s.116
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• pp.69-79
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• 2007

Students experience many problem solving activities in school mathematics. These activities have focused on finding the solution whose existence was known, and then again conjecture about existence of solution or posing of problems has been neglected. It needs to put more emphasis on conjecture and problem posing activities in school mathematics. To do this, a model and examples of designing mathematical activities centered on conjecture and problem posing are needed. In this article, we introduce some examples of designing such activities (from the pythagorean theorem, the determination condition of triangle, and existing solved-problems in textbook) and examine suggestions for mathematics education. Our examples can be used as instructional materials for mathematically able students at middle school.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.107-134
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of two teaching methods of word problems, one based on mathematical modeling learning(ML) and the other on traditional learning(TL). Additionally, the influence of mathematical modeling learning in word problem solving behavior, application ability of real world experiences in word problem solving and the beliefs of word problem solving will be examined. The results of this study were as follows: First, as to word problem solving behavior, there was a significant difference between the two groups. This mean that the ML was effective for word problem solving behavior. Second, all of the students in the ML group and the TL group had a strong tendency to exclude real world knowledge and sense-making when solving word problems during the pre-test. but A significant difference appeared between the two groups during post-test. classroom culture improvement efforts. Third, mathematical modeling learning(ML) was effective for improvement of traditional beliefs about word problems. Fourth, mathematical modeling learning(ML) exerted more influence on mathematically strong and average students and a positive effect to mathematically weak students. High and average-level students tended to benefit from mathematical modeling learning(ML) more than their low-level peers. This difference was caused by less involvement from low-level students in group assignments and whole-class discussions. While using the mathematical modeling learning method, elementary students were able to build various models about problem situations, justify, and elaborate models by discussions and comparisons from each other. This proves that elementary students could participate in mathematical modeling activities via word problems, it results form the use of more authentic tasks, small group activities and whole-class discussions, exclusion of teacher's direct intervention, and classroom culture improvement efforts. The conclusions drawn from the results obtained in this study are as follows: First, mathematical modeling learning(ML) can become an effective method, guiding word problem solving behavior from the direct translation approach(DTA) based on numbers and key words without understanding about problem situations to the meaningful based approach(MBA) building rich models for problem situations. Second, mathematical modeling learning(ML) will contribute attitudes considering real world situations in solving word problems. Mathematical modeling activities for word problems can help elementary students to understand relations between word problems and the real world. It will be also help them to develop the ability to look at the real world mathematically. Third, mathematical modeling learning(ML) will contribute to the development of positive beliefs for mathematics and word problem solving. Word problem teaching focused on just mathematical operations can't develop proper beliefs for mathematics and word problem solving. Mathematical modeling learning(ML) for word problems provide elementary students the opportunity to understand the real world mathematically, and it increases students' modeling abilities. Futhermore, it is a very useful method of reforming the current problems of word problem teaching and learning. Therefore, word problems in school mathematics should be replaced by more authentic ones and modeling activities should be introduced early in elementary school eduction, which would help change the perceptions about word problem teaching.