곽지영 Kwak Jiyoung , 김민경 Kim Min Kyeong

DOI:10.7468/jksmec.2025.28.4.149 JANT Vol.28(No.4) 149-165, 2025

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This study aims to examine students’ understanding of shapes and the change of geometry in the ‘square’ class using dynamic geometric software for 4th grade students. To this end, 26 students of 4th grade were conducted using GeoGebra among dynamic geometric software, and analyzed the results of examinations and students’ activities. The results of the study showed that the level of understanding and geometric learning levels were maintained or improved. GeoGebra had a significant impact on the understanding of the concept, understanding of the properties, the ability to draw and promoted the improvement of students’ geometry and helped to reach the continuous level. Based on the results of the analysis, the implications for the use of dynamic geometric software were derived from the mathematical area.

강윤지 Kang Yunji

DOI:10.7468/jksmec.2025.28.4.167 JANT Vol.28(No.4) 167-183, 2025

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This study analyzed sixth-grade elementary school students' understanding of polygon area. It focused on two aspects: the relational structural perception students used to construct a learning sequence for polygons, and the main features of their verbal and visual concept representations. The results showed that students exhibited a tendency to organize the learning sequence in diverse ways based on their own perception of relational structure, such as transformations or inclusion relationships between shapes, and logical criteria. Furthermore, while they had a relatively good understanding of the area formulas, they showed difficulties in verbally explaining the essential attributes of each polygon. Their visual representations demonstrated high accuracy in conforming to mathematical definitions, but they lacked diversity and tended to rely on prototypical textbook forms. These findings suggest that elementary school students' concept images of polygons can be limited by specific visual representations. This highlights the importance of providing not only diverse transformation activities but also active representational activities that traverse various modes of representation to foster flexible and in-depth conceptual understanding.

장혜원 Chang Hyewon

DOI:10.7468/jksmec.2025.28.4.185 JANT Vol.28(No.4) 185-200, 2025

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The importance of mathematical modeling as a mathematical competence is widely recognized in mathematics education. However, research and practice focusing on mathematical modeling for early elementary grades remain relatively insufficient. Fermi problems, which aim at estimating of large quantities, exhibit characteristics of modeling tasks, involve processes similar to the modeling cycle, and do not require specific prior knowledge. For these reasons, they are considered well suited for introducing mathematical modeling to younger elementary students. This study, therefore, aims to identify the problem-solving strategies employed by third-grade elementary students when presented with Fermi problems, and to analyze the effects of teacher intervention and group activities on these strategies. The results revealed that the third graders initially relied mainly on the density measures strategy, but after instruction, their strategies diversified and appeared in the order of density measures > grid distribution > external sources > exhaustive counting > reduction/proportion. The influence of group work was also observed. Based on these findings, this study discusses the potential of utilizing Fermi problems for mathematical modeling instruction in early elementary grades and explores related didactical implications.

이지은 Lee Ji-eun , Enderby Amber , 김상미 Kim Sangmee

DOI:10.7468/jksmec.2025.28.4.201 JANT Vol.28(No.4) 201-221, 2025

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This study probed preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) beliefs about school mathematics curriculum. The participants were U.S. PSTs who completed a two-part questionnaire assessing their agreement with statements about productive and unproductive beliefs, along with their justifications for the levels of agreement they reported. We analyzed the PSTs’ responses using a combination of descriptive statistics based on Likert scale data and inductive content analysis of written rationales. Most PSTs agreed or strongly agreed with productive belief statements and tended to disagree with the unproductive ones. However, the study revealed notable tensions, particularly in PSTs’ understanding of standards and learning progressions, as well as in their perceptions of pacing guides and open-source curricula. This research highlights the essential skills that preservice teachers need to develop in order to effectively interpret, evaluate, and utilize curriculum materials. These insights can help teacher preparation programs focus on these necessary skills as they prepare future teachers to face the challenges of diverse classrooms.