Abstract
The present study examined the promotion of association of knowledge by collectively examining relevance of the solutions in the collaborative process in the mathematics class of junior high school. Eighth graders (3 classes; total N=88) solved arithmetic problems about mathematical consideration of events using linear functions in 3 stages: pre-test, during the lesson (3 conditions: collaborative process to examine relevance of the solutions, collaborative process to investigate the validity of the solutions and teacher’s explanations of relevance of the solutions), and post-test. The results indicated that, (a) in both of the two collaborative processes, the students who assumed the linear function change were encouraged to relate and interpret the rate of change and the inclination of the graph according to the event, and, thus, grasp clearly the basis for capturing changes in events by linear functions, and (b) in examining relevance, a change was observed for students who were originally unable to interpret the rate of change or the inclination of the graph and who became able to do it.
