Sociomathematical Norms and the Teacher’s Mathematical Belief: A Case Study from a Korean In-Service Elementary Teacher

Seon Mi Kang; Min Kyeong Kim

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2016.1308a

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Seon Mi Kang ¹, Min Kyeong Kim ¹ ^*

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¹ Ewha Womans University^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
The purpose of the present study is to analyze how the sociomathematical norm, or the process of promoting the understanding of mathematical concepts and principles through the interaction between teacher and students, is established in relation to the teacher’s mathematical beliefs in a fourth-grade mathematics class.

Material and methods:
13 sessions of Teacher K’s elementary mathematics class for a period of one year were observed and monitored by recording, and the students’ lesson activities sheets were collected after each class. Both the students and K were interviewed. The sociomathematical norm was modified and complemented, and coded into five components.

Results:
Teacher K highlighted both the view of ‘Mathematics as formal,’ which argues that mathematics requires logical thinking, and the view of ‘Mathematics as procedural,’ which claims that a mathematics problem allows for multiple solutions.

Conclusions:
A teacher’s mathematical belief is reflected in his or her decision making at every moment of a math class, and greatly influences teaching and learning, specifically, the instructions, objectives, content and methods involved in their classroom environment.

Keywords

elementary mathematics classroom
mathematical belief
mathematics classroom culture
sociomathematical norms

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2016, Volume 12, Issue 10, 2733-2751

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1308a

Publication date: 25 Jul 2016

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How to cite this article

APA

Kang, S. M., & Kim, M. K. (2016). Sociomathematical Norms and the Teacher’s Mathematical Belief: A Case Study from a Korean In-Service Elementary Teacher. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(10), 2733-2751. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1308a

Vancouver

Kang SM, Kim MK. Sociomathematical Norms and the Teacher’s Mathematical Belief: A Case Study from a Korean In-Service Elementary Teacher. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2016;12(10):2733-51. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1308a

AMA

Kang SM, Kim MK. Sociomathematical Norms and the Teacher’s Mathematical Belief: A Case Study from a Korean In-Service Elementary Teacher. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2016;12(10), 2733-2751. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1308a

Chicago

Kang, Seon Mi, and Min Kyeong Kim. "Sociomathematical Norms and the Teacher’s Mathematical Belief: A Case Study from a Korean In-Service Elementary Teacher". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2016 12 no. 10 (2016): 2733-2751. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1308a

Harvard

Kang, S. M., and Kim, M. K. (2016). Sociomathematical Norms and the Teacher’s Mathematical Belief: A Case Study from a Korean In-Service Elementary Teacher. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 12(10), pp. 2733-2751. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1308a

MLA

Kang, Seon Mi et al. "Sociomathematical Norms and the Teacher’s Mathematical Belief: A Case Study from a Korean In-Service Elementary Teacher". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 12, no. 10, 2016, pp. 2733-2751. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2016.1308a