Leena Ngonyofi Kanandjebo

DOI:10.7468/jksmed.2025.28.4.435 Vol.28(No.4) 435-452, 2025

Digital tools such as Dynamic Geometry Environment (DGE) have increasingly become prominent in teaching and learning process of mathematics. However, research on DGE involving in-service teachers’ teacher professional knowledge is underexplored. Existing studies have concentrated on student learning or teacher collaboration. This paper characterizes the professional knowledge that emerges as in-service mathematics teachers engage with tasks in a DGE during an online, facilitated, simulated professional development experience. It also explores the affordances and constraints perceived by the teachers in this setting. Four technologically adept in-service mathematics teachers participated in the study. Data were collected through recordings of the online facilitated webinar sessions, where the teachers explored an authentic task involving a jack truss photograph in GeoGebra. An iterative inductive content analysis guided by the Sfard communication framework and categorization of teachers' professional knowledge was conducted. The findings indicate that content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge emerged. The DGE afforded manipulation, verification of justifications, time-saving explorations, and collaborative engagement. However, the teachers perceived that the DGE might automate problem-solving and reduce opportunities for independent reasoning compared to traditional methods. The study highlights the need for authentic, open-ended tasks in DGEs to guide areas for professional development. Future research should investigate the design of tasks that promote engagement and the development of professional knowledge.

Professional knowledge, Technology integration, GeoGebra, Geometry tasks, DGE

Mangoo Park , Jeomhee Ryu , Dahyeon Hong , Jaehoon Shim

DOI:10.7468/jksmed.2025.28.4.453 Vol.28(No.4) 453-483, 2025

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of “good mathematics journals” by analyzing how elementary students express and reflect on mathematical concepts through their journal writing. A total of 210 journals (141 manipulative-based and 69 curriculum-based) were collected and analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. The analysis revealed distinct representational and reflective features by journal type and grade level: manipulative-based journals primarily employed operational and visual representations, whereas curriculum-based journals showed more frequent verbal-symbolic conversions and deeper, context-oriented reflection. In addition, upper-grade students demonstrated more advanced coordination among language, symbols, and visual representations than lower-grade students. These findings suggest that mathematics journaling provides a cognitive space in which students reconstruct their mathematical understanding through representational transformations and reflective reasoning. This study argues that a “good mathematics journal” is characterized by flexible use of multiple representations and multilayered reflection on mathematics, the models employed, and the contexts in which mathematical ideas operate.

mathematics journals, representation, reflection

Lily Roth

DOI:10.7468/jksmed.2025.28.4.485 Vol.28(No.4) 485-511, 2025

Effectively engaging students is a necessary skill for mathematics educators. To engage students, this article proposes using game-based mathematical modeling (GBMM). The GBMM task, Freerice, was implemented with 28 undergraduate students in a Quantitative Reasoning course. The task uses an online trivia game to model the number of gameplay hours needed to feed a community. Analysis of 8 group posters revealed two common mathematical modeling approaches, while data from 30 task reflections revealed struggles in systematizing (60%), mathematizing (16.67%) and validating (10%). Despite some challenges, students reported high interest (73.4%), enjoyment (70.1%), and engagement (70.1%), and developed an awareness of social issues (80%). This article advocates for the inclusion of GBMM in mathematics classrooms, as such task can meaningfully engage students in mathematics while developing their socio-critical awareness.

mathematical modeling, game-based learning, socio-critical modeling, student engagement

Kyong Mi Choi

DOI:10.7468/jksmed.2025.28.4.513 Vol.28(No.4) 513-515, 2025