우리 나라 수학교육과정 현황 및 TIMSS 연구결과와의 비교분석

A Curricular Comparison Study with TIMSS

IEA's Third International Mathematics and Science Study(TIMSS) from 1994-1995 has placed Korea as one of the top three countries among 45 countries that participated in the study in mathematics achievement for the 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th grade students. While the test scores were excellent, the study also showed that mathematics education in Korea needed improvements in student attitudes, technology incorporation, and gender difference in achievement. An analysis of the a survey conducted as part of the mathematics curriculum research program showed that very little progress has been made in these areas for the past 5 years. Moreover, the progressively declining attitudes towards mathematics for high school students is a problematic phenomena for educators as we believe that mathematics is becoming even more important in an information technology based society. A comparison between the top three TIMSS scoring countries (Korea, Singapore, and Japan) and low scored country (U.S.) was made In this paper. We also compare some of problematic results from TIMSS to those from EERI Curriculum Study implemented in 2000. The study shows that simply using technology and improving student attitudes do not necessarily guarantee improved performance. Most of educators agree that potential for technology is great for both changing the way students learn and improving the attitudes of students. However, improperly implemented technology can hinder rather than help the educational process. Therefore, as we begin to implement and use more and moore technology, it is critical to develop the proper curriculum, training for teachers and research programs to track the progress and to make the necessary adjustments to provide the best possible education for our students. Another TIMSS result shows for all four grade levels(3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th), Korea shows the highest gender difference among all the participating countries. TIMSS data such as this is valuable to benchmark all types of information to get a better understanding about what is happening for improvements in math curriculum in Korea. More research needs to be done in comparing the performance of Korean mathematics education to understand both the strengths and weaknesses of our curriculum so that improvements can be made.