How the Use of Curriculum Resources Explains Inter-Teacher Differences in Lesson Planning

This study concerned teacher education in mathematics―specifically, curriculum resources (textbooks and other media that teachers use when planning a lesson or delivering classroom instruction). Four levels of curriculum resources (media) were identified, and the concept of “translation” was adopted to describe the process in which a medium at a higher level is replaced by a medium at a lower level. A survey was conducted among 15 trainee teachers in t he 2019 academic year. The purpose of the survey was to examine inter-teacher differences in lesson planning; particularly, the media the teachers used in their translations, the order in which they used the media, and how each medium shaped the translation process. The results revealed that (1) the trainee teachers simulated the actions of the textbook authors or students and that (2) the functions of the media changed after a translation was performed. These findings imply that differences in lesson planning can be explained by differences in the type of media translated, the order in which they are used, and the way the media are used

Analysis of Mathematician's Activities : Implications for Mathematics Teacher Education

本稿の目的は，ある数学者による研究論文を分析することによって，専門家としての数学者の活動の一端を理解し，数学科教師教育への示唆を得ることである。 検討の結果，数学者による活動は，演繹的に論理を詰めていくだけでは無く，仮説としての予想を経験的帰納的にたてて検証していく部分も多いことが指摘された。学問としての数学の研究論文を学部学生に与えることは，その読解に相当の数学的素養を必要とすることから必ずしも適切とは限らない。しかしながら，実際の数学者による研究活動や，研究論文として提出された成果の導出過程を追体験すること，なぜその研究論文がかかれねばならなかったのかという知識構成の必要性の感得など，数学科教師教育に対しても扱い方によっては十分に価値があることがわかった。The purpose of this paper is to have implications for mathematics teacher education through analysis of mathematician's activities by reading an academic paper. The result suggests that a mathematician does not only think deductively but also take an inductive and empirical approach while forming hypotheses. It isn't always appropriate to provide academic mathematics papers for undergraduate students because an essential background is needed to read them. However, to read an academic paper could be enough worth for students in mathematics teacher education because they could follow a mathematician's research process including submitting an academic paper and reflect reasons to write the paper

Process of parenting a child with RB

Background : Retinoblastoma（RB） occurs at a very young age. Since the disease is diagnosed at an early age, the family is responsible for the care of the childʼs disease acceptance. Objective : This study aims to explore the parenting process of children with RB toward disease acceptance. Methods : Parents of eleven children with RB living in Japan were interviewed, and the data were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach of Kinoshita（M-GTA）. Results : There were twenty-one concepts representing the process of parenting a child with RB while guiding him or her toward disease acceptance, and nineteen of them were classified into ten categories based on semantic similarities. The two other concepts showed similar interpretability to categories. These categories and concepts were summarized into two core categories : “Helping the child develop a positive mindset to define the disease as a part of him/herself ” and “Paving the way in advance for the child to live comfortably when his or her living space expands”. Conclusions : In a cyclical framework of parenting, consisting of two core categories described in Results, the parents coordinated these two approaches while maintaining balance by “Avoiding saying anything that does not need to be said” and established their process of parenting a child with RB while guiding him or her toward disease acceptance, according to their household situation. The results suggest the necessity of recognizing that in childhood-onset cancers, such as RB, and diseases involving genetic issues, problems tend to occur not only during the treatment period but also at the time of life events and providing support from a comprehensive perspective

A study on curriculum development for indirect proof: understanding and constructing the process of proof by contradiction

本研究の目的は，間接証明に関するカリキュラムの開発である。その狙いは，十分に理解されていないと考えられる間接証明をよりよく学ぶと共に，学びの過程を通して論理を扱う能力を育むことである。本稿においては，その基礎として，間接証明を学ぶ過程を明らかにすることを目的とした。ただし，間接証明が何かという統一見解は見られないため，今回は背理法に限定して考察した。 目的のため，まず背理法に関する知識を分析し，特に数学史を参照しながら，背理法を構成することが期待される学習を設計した（アプリオリ分析）。高等学校1年生に授業を実施した結果，生徒の実態を十分想定出来ていなかったことから，学習自体は十分に成功しなかった。しかしながら，背理法に関する知識の分析それ自体については，かなりの部分が妥当であることは示された。本時の課題を元に，改善した学習を実施することで，知識の分析の妥当性や限界を明らかにし，カリキュラム開発に繋げることが今後の課題である。The purpose of our study is to develop a curriculum of indirect proof. It aims to increase students’ understanding about indirect proof, and to improve their ability to use logic. Furthermore, we aim to construct a process of indirect proof, as the base of the curriculum. However, as there is no consensus regarding the definition of indirect proof, we only consider proof by contradiction. For this purpose, we designed a lesson in which students will probably be knowing indirect proof and then construct a process of the proof based on their conception (a priori analysis). We conducted the lesson in a 10th grade mathematics class. However, the lesson was not as successful as expected because we overestimated the students’ actual level of cognition. In contrast, most of our analysis of the knowledge is validated. Our future task is to design an improved lesson to deliver to students. We would also need to clarify the validation and limitations of our analysis

Improving Mathematics Lesson and Evaluation through Setting Inquiry Problem-Solving Activities

The purpose of this research is to make a theoretical framework for improving mathematics lesson and evaluation through setting inquiry problem-solving activities effectively in junior high and senior high mathematics lessons. To achieve this, we first carried out a questionnaire survey to capture how students perceive learning mathematics and, based on the results, made a framework incorporated these activities for lesson design and evaluation of student’s learning. Then, sample lesson conducted in a junior and senior high school based on the framework was analyzed to investigate its effectiveness and get some practical suggestions