Cheng Yao Lin , Yu Chun Kuo

DOI: Vol.19(No.2) 89-100, 2015

The study investigated pre-service teachers’ knowledge and computational skills by using Triangular Arithmagon. Participants included 90 pre-service teachers from two schools in the United States and Taiwan. The Triangular Arithmagons Test (TAT) was used to measure pre-service teachers’ performance in whole number, fractions, and decimals operations (i.e., addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), each of which included level-1 (basic) and level-2 (advanced) tests. MANOVA analysis was performed to compare the performance between teachers from the United States and Taiwan. Results indicated that overall, pre-service teachers in Taiwan outperformed those in the United States, especially on the advanced-level tests. Pre-service teachers in the United States were found to have poor ability of solving complex operation problems. Different curriculum plans and teaching methods may lead to the performance gap between the two countries.

pre-service teacher, triangular arithmagon

Soo Jin Lee , Jae Hong Shin

DOI: Vol.19(No.2) 101-115, 2015

In the present paper, we argue any research concerning human knowledge construction, components, or types needs to clarify its epistemological stance regarding ‘knowledge’ in that such viewpoint might have much influence on the nature of knowledge the researcher sees and the way in which evidence for knowledge development is gathered. Thus, we suggest two alternative research groups who conducted their studies on mathematical knowledge for teaching with an explicit epistemological standpoint. We finalize our discussion by reviewing concrete examples in the previous literature on teacher knowledge of fraction conducted by the two groups.

mathematical knowledge for teaching, MKT, teacher knowledge, constructivism, fraction

Eun Jeong Yun , In Sun Shin

DOI: Vol.19(No.2) 117-139, 2015

For the purpose of determining neurophysiological mechanism of math anxiety, we conducted an EEG measurement for 22 sixth grade elementary students including 11 students with high math anxiety (HMA group), and 11 students with low math anxiety (LMA group). We found that in HMA group, delta wave was significantly generated from the right frontal lobe, and in LMA group, four paths are clearly connected while they perform math tasks (right inferior occipital gyrus ↔ left superior parietal lobule /left middle frontal gyrus ↔ left inferior parietal lobule /left middle frontal gyrus ↔ right inferior parietal lobule /right middle frontal gyrus ↔ right inferior parietal lobule). According to the above results we suggest that math anxiety is related to emotions associated with pain, reduces working memory and has a negative effect on math performance

mathematics anxiety, EEG, delta wave, brain connectivity, working memory

Jeong Suk Pang , Mi Sun Kwon

DOI: Vol.19(No.2) 141-153, 2015

This paper compares and contrasts the perspectives of effective mathematics teaching by 135 elementary school teachers, 132 middle school teachers, and 124 high school teachers using a questionnaire in South Korea. All groups of teachers chose in common the teaching and learning strand as the most important for effective mathematics instruction. However, elementary school teachers placed greater importance on the curriculum and content strand than their counterparts did. Elementary school teachers tended to agree more upon the 48 items related to good mathematics teaching than their counterparts did. The similarities and differences among the groups of teachers are expected to provoke discussion of what constitutes high-quality mathematics instruction and how such perspectives may be situated in the socio-cultural context.

effective mathematics teaching, elementary school teachers, secondary school teacher, teachers` perspective