Mathematics Education In Korea - Vol. 2: Contemporary Trends In Researches In Korea

Volume 2: Contemporary Trends in Researches in Korea

Jinho Kim, Inki Han, Mangoo Park, Joongkwoen Lee

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9789814525732
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Science General
• Index: Biological Sciences

This volume shows how the history and practices of mathematics education in Korea (from Volume 7) have been influenced by Japan, America and other countries, developing into the unique Korean style of mathematics education.

Research content and practices currently being conducted are also covered, as well as topics like teacher education, special mathematics education, research trends and some perspectives towards the future of mathematics education in Korea.

Contents:

• Mathematics Teacher Education:
  • Elementary Teacher Education Programs with A Mathematics Concentration
  • The Pipeline to Becoming An Elementary Teacher and Opportunies to Learn Mathematics for Teaching in Korea
  • Student Teaching in Mathematics Education at the Secondary Level in Korea
  • Master Teacher's Role in Professional Development and the Mentor Teacher System
• Special Mathematics Education:
  • Gifted Education in South Korea
  • Qualifications of Teachers in Specialized Secondary STEM Schools in Korea
  • Mathematics Camp for Mathematical Olympiad
  • Use of Technology in Secondary Mathematics Education in Korea
• Development of Mathematics Education:
  • Development of Mathematics Education in Korea: The Role of the Korean Society of Mathematical Education
  • Curriculum Reform and Research Trends in Early Childhood Mathematics Education in Korea
• Glimpse of Korean Mathematics Education:
  • Educating for the Future: An Outsider's View of South Korea Mathematics Education
  • The Common Core Mathematics Standards and Implications for the South Korean Curriculum

Readership: Graduate students and researchers in mathematics education; professionals such as mathematics teachers and lecturers in Asia.
Key Features:

• Unique approach of generalized dynamics, rooted in the most powerful Kähler geometry, combining Lagrangian, Hamiltonian and quantum systems
• Unique visual framework of commutative diagrams and n-categories
• Plenty of computational algorithms in Mathematica, Matlab, C#, C/C++ and Fortran 90

Part 1 Mathematics Teacher Education

CHAPTER 1

ELEMENTARY TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITH A MATHEMATICS CONCENTRATION

JeongSuk Pang

Department of Elementary Education (Mathematics Education),
Korea National University of Education
Gangnae-myeon, Cheongwon-gun, Chungbuk 363-791, South Korea
E-mail: [email protected]

After the release of international comparative studies on student achievement, there has been increased interest in the competencies of teachers across countries. Given that teachers’ competencies are mainly developed through teacher education programs, many researchers have paid attention to how pre-service teachers are professionally prepared in these programs and what kinds of knowledge, skills, and competencies they are expected to equip at the end of teacher education program. In responding to this call, this chapter introduces elementary teacher education programs with a mathematics concentration in Korea. The chapter first begins with the general description of elementary teacher education programs, followed by an overview of those with a mathematics concentration. It then describes the process of teacher recruitment along with the sample items used in the recent National Teacher Employment Test. This chapter closes with a discussion of the challenges facing elementary teacher education programs.

1 Introduction

To teach elementary students in Korea, one must be certified as an elementary school teacher which requires the completion of specific coursework set by one of 13 universities offering elementary teacher education programs. Among them, 10 national universities, which are geographically spread out across the country (one or two per province), are specifically designed to prepare elementary teachers (Grades 1-6); one national university offers education for teachers for all grade-levels (Grades K-12). The other two comprehensive universities serve for general colleges students enrolled in programs across various disciplines (e.g., humanities, social sciences, engineering, and other professional schools), along with an elementary teacher education program in its college of education. Compared to the 10 national universities which serve to prepare only elementary teachers, the other three universities serve a relatively small number of students concentrating in elementary education.

This chapter provides an overview of elementary teacher education programs with a concentration in mathematics. It first describes elementary teacher education programs in general, mainly focusing on common curricula across the universities. It then gives an overview of courses required for pre-service elementary teachers who choose mathematics as their concentration. It then provides some characteristics of teacher recruitment and employment, along with the sample items used in the recent National Teacher Employment Test. This chapter closes with a discussion of the issues and challenges specific to elementary teacher education programs.

2 Elementary Teacher Education Programs in General

2.1 Overview

The coursework requirements of elementary teacher education programs consist of general studies, pedagogical preparation, subject matter preparation, and fieldwork experience. First, the purpose of general studies is to broadly educate pre-service teachers and to develop a commonly held foundation of knowledge for them in humanities, foreign languages, social sciences, natural sciences, and arts during their first-year program. Second, pedagogical preparation offers students broad perspectives on theories of learning, curricula, and general methods or strategies that could be used in classrooms (e.g., educational psychology, classroom management, and educational philosophy). Third, subject matter preparation offers learning opportunities for pre-service teachers about how to teach each subject matter effectively. This includes moral education, Korean language education, social studies education, mathematics education, science education, physical education, music education, fine art education, practical arts education, English education, computer education, and integrated subject education. Lastly, the fieldwork experience offers teaching opportunities for pre-service teachers in elementary classrooms.

Upon the acceptance of admission to the university, pre-service teachers choose one subject matter for their concentration. Beyond the common courses detailed above, pre-service elementary teachers are required to take their concentration courses during their junior and senior years. Given that the required credit hours in concentration courses range between 20 and 22 out of the total credit hours requirement for the completion of teacher education program of between 140 and 147, about 85% of the coursework is quite the same regardless of the concentration within the university.

2.2 Mathematics Courses in the General Studies

During the four-year elementary teacher education program, regardless of the concentration, all pre-service elementary teachers are expected to take mathematics courses (2-3 credit hours) as a part of their general studies requirement. The scope of mathematics covered by these courses varies, but all of them provide a mathematical foundation for pre-service elementary teachers. Table 1-1 summarizes mathematics courses, as a general studies requirement, offered by six elementary teacher education programs.

As shown in Table 1-1, three universities (i.e., B, C, and E) require pre-service teachers to take one mathematics course as a core course for their general studies requirement, whereas the other three universities (i.e., A, D, and F) do not set up a mathematics course as a core course. Upon close examination of elective courses (see * in Table 1-1); however, without exception, even these universities require pre-service teachers to take at least one mathematics course. For instance, pre-service teachers in the institution A are required to take the course World of Mathematics by the regulation, and pre-service teachers in the institution D must take either the course Mathematics in Everyday Life or Cultural History of Mathematics. Moreover, most institutions offer additional courses (see italics in Table 1-1) as electives. For instance, pre-service teachers in the institution B must choose one course from either of the two mathematics or four science courses. Similarly, pre-service teachers at institution D must choose one course from either of three mathematics or three science courses.

Table 1-1. Mathematics Courses in the General Studies

Some institutions do not limit the choice from either mathematics or science course but provide a variety of options from which pre-service teachers can choose. For instance, institution C offers 26 extra courses, two of them specifically mathematics courses: Everyday Life and Mathematics and Paper-folding Mathematics. Similarly, institution D also offers three extra mathematics courses, Teaching Mathematics for Low Achievers, Mathematical Manipulative Materials and Playing with Mathematics, and Teaching Mathematics for Gifted Children.

To summarize, the nature of mathematics courses, as a part of the general studies requirement, varies by institution, but such courses play a significant role in providing an initial opportunity for pre-service elementary teachers to acquire a mathematics foundation⁴. In other words, while taking mathematics courses as either a core or an elective course, pre-service teachers are expected to develop basic mathematical literacy.

2.3 Mathematics Education Courses in the Subject Matter Requirement

In the second-year of their education, all pre-service elementary teachers, regardless of their concentration, are required to take two core courses about teaching elementary mathematics, for a total of five credit hours. Table 1-2 summarizes mathematics education courses offered by the six elementary teacher education programs.

Even though the titles of the courses vary across institutions, the nature of these courses is quite similar. The first course of two credit hours introduces theories of teaching elementary mathematics, including the purpose, history, philosophy, and psychology of mathematics education, and the instructional principles of teaching elementary mathematics, as well as problem-solving and reasoning^5,17. In teaching these courses, instructors employ various instructional formats such as pre-service teachers’ presentation, workshops, or cooperative activities, but most instructors use a lecture-oriented style to cover the many theories and topics within a limited time^12,25.

The second course of three credit hours covers practical issues related to teaching elementary mathematics^2,23. For instance, this course deals with teaching methods and materials tailored to the specific content-domain of mathematics (e.g., number and operations, measurement, and geometry). Most institutions assign a single three-credit-hour course but the institution F, as seen in Table 1-2, divides it into three specific content-domain courses with a total of five credit hours. Because of the nature of this course, a variety of instructional formats are employed. A common approach is to make a connection between the university coursework and elementary mathematics instruction. For instance, an instructor may ask pre-service teachers to analyze elementary mathematics textbooks, to plan a lesson, and to teach mathematics in an elementary school classroom during their student teaching¹⁹. By discussing a video-taped lesson, pre-service teachers have an opportunity to explore in what ways the various instructional theories they learned in their first course could be applicable in teaching mathematics in their classrooms^15,20.

Because pre-service elementary teachers are required to take at least two courses for each subject matter (both theory and practice) as well as several courses to develop their skills in music, fine arts, and physical education, the fulfillment of the subject matter requirement is quite demanding for them.

Table 1-2. Mathematics Education Courses in the Subject-Matter Requirement

Institution	Core Courses (Credit Hours)
A	Theory for Teaching Elementary School Mathematics (2) Practice for Teaching Elementary School Mathematics (3)
B	Elementary Mathematics Education (2) Study of...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series on Mathematics Education
• Title
• Copyright
• Overview
• Contents
• Part 1 Mathematics Teacher Education
• Part 2 Special Mathematics Education
• Part 3 Development of Mathematics Education
• Part 4 Glimpse of Korean Mathematics Education