The school should not only emphasize intellectual side of learner, but also apply to reconstruct his knowledge in the changeable environment properly and cultivate the ability to use his knowledge. Such ability is the learner’s thinking ability, Dew...
The school should not only emphasize intellectual side of learner, but also apply to reconstruct his knowledge in the changeable environment properly and cultivate the ability to use his knowledge. Such ability is the learner’s thinking ability, Dewey(1916) said that “what can the school do or what the school needs to do for learners is to cultivate their thinking ability” then, we should cultivate the learner’s thinking abilities through the education. Also according to his philosophy, the knowledge is coming from the interacting experiment between the human and the environment, and the most effective method controlling such kinds of experiment is self-reflective thinking. Therefore via the school education, we should cultivate the learner’s thinking abilities, so as the schooling-method, the leaner’s reflective thinking is important, and the school and teacher should make the appropriate environment(Roh Jin-ho, 1993).
This research is focused on the reflective thinking of the mathematical studying. And I leaded the two of participants, who are female students attending the second grade of the academic high school, to conduct reflective thinking activities by applying the reconstructed class diagnostic techniques to be suitable for the mathematical studying. In this process, I conducted the qualitative case studies to observe and analysis the changes relative to the participants’ mathematical studying. For such purpose of the research, I set the research issues as bellowed.
1) Through reflective thinking, how do a participant understand herself relating with mathematical studying?
2) What kind of effect is affected to the participants by reflective thinking?
(1) Does the reflective thinking affect to the participants’ attitude during the math class?
(2) Is there any change of mathematics record by reflective thinking?
This research was conducted during the second term in 2008. And the reflective thinking activities were conducted from the middle of September to December after preliminary discussion in August, by three stages. I conducted the self-control training test in this precess, and provided the reconstructed class diagnostic techniques for the mathematic class to the participants. Six kinds of techniques were presented; learning style preferred by learners, recording effective time of studying, checking study plan for examination, question profiles by a content area, thinking again about an examination, studying diary. They were given by suitable time for the each technique. The first stage is focusing on understanding themselves and I conducted self-control training test, learning style preferred by learners, recording effective time of studying, and personal conversation. During the second stage, I mostly leaded the participants to record a studying diary and to think again about an examination, then talked with them. During the third stage until the end of term, I finished recording a studying diary and thinking again about an examination, then talked with them. I collected data of reflective thinking from the participants through a qualitative data collecting method such as observations on the participants during the whole process of the research, conversations(including a preliminary conversation, three of impression notes, and personal or group conversation), and documentations(documentations of class diagnostic techniques, personal transcript, incorrect collection note), and got personal results for each participant.
Each participant had a different personal tendency, so the participants got a different result. However their common results are as followings. The first, a participant, who evaluated herself and the situation of studying mathematics, experienced looking inside of herself objectively through reflective thinking experiences with self-control training test and class diagnostic techniques, and finally can evaluate herself more positively. The second, there were a little gap of reflective thinking applied a class diagnostic techniques, but it had a positive effect on the learning attitude including participants’ positive and sincerity attitude taking a classes and entering the research, the efforts to improve studying habits and method, active communication with a researcher, and experiences of reflection. And also it resulted in improvement in self-control training ability, controlling learning situations. The third, unfortunately I couldn’t get a positive result of mathematics from the participant, who conducted the reflective thinking with a class diagnostic techniques.
Reflective thinking is discussed a lot among adult learners and teachers, and this thinking skill is very necessary for a learner in order to understand the self objectively and have help for improvement of learning attitude and a better grade. So we should apply this for whole subject. And also we need another field applied research in order to promote the reflective thinking except a class diagnostic techniques. And we need to consider a quantitative subsequent research with a class diagnostic techniques and targeting all student in a class, and factors providing good environment for reflective thinking and factors disturbing the reflective thinking or bringing failure.