How to teach the Pythagorean theorem: An analysis of lesson plans

This research was conducted among mathematics graduates who participated in a pedagogical formation certificate program. Participants were asked to prepare a lesson plan intended for use in teaching the Pythagorean theorem as part of a ninth grade mathematics course. Eighteen out of 43 participants included a proof of the Pythagorean theorem as a component of their lesson plan. These proofs were classified in three categories: visual proofs (two participants), algebraic proofs (nine participants), and proofs by using triangular similarities (seven participants). In addition, the solved examples, homework, and evaluation questions included in the lesson plans were classified according to TIMSS cognitive levels. Of the 233 questions prepared by 43 participants, 37% of the questions were at the knowledge level, 60% were at the application level, and the remaining 3% were at the reasoning level

Martin Buber’in eleştirel bakış açısından hareketle öğretmene ilişkin oluşturulan metaforların analizi

This study is aimed to evaluate metaphors that are developed about “teacher” by taking into consideration Buber’s “critical perspective on teachers”. As in Buber’s critique there are three predetermined metaphors in this study: the teacher-centered, “sculptor”; student-centered, “gardener”; and the synthesis of the two “mentor”. The data were collected from 117 pre-service teachers with a data collection tool, developed by the researchers and contains an open ended metaphor question. In terms of the rules of the qualitative analysis techniques, namely descriptive analysis, the data were analyzed. According to the findings, obtained from the participants, the educational approach, which is likened to a sculptor by Buber and places the teacher at the center, reached to the highest frequency. The gardener metaphor and the mentor metaphor related with student-centered and teacher-student-centered were followed the sculptor respectively. These results indicated that the majority of pre-service teachers have traditional approach in education

CHALLENGES OF BEING A SECONDARY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHER

This study was conducted to reveal the challenges experienced by mathematics teachers working in secondary schools. The study is a descriptive case study which was carried out in accordance with a qualitative understanding. The participants of the study consisted of 145 secondary school mathematics teachers. The participants reported the challenges they experienced by writing on a form developed by the researchers. The data obtained were analysed through the content analysis method, by considering the professional experiences of the participants. The findings of the study indicated that the challenges experienced by the participating mathematics teachers were based on four basic sources including learner, teaching process, parents, and curriculum. Learner-related challenges included students’ negative attitude towards mathematics, lack of prior knowledge, unwillingness to learn, lack of study habits and misconceptions. In terms of the challenges related to the teaching process, the participants stated that they experienced difficulties in the following areas: teaching according to student level, teaching abstract concepts, the pressure of high-stake tests, teaching with more effort compared to other courses, and limited technological infrastructure. Parent-based challenges, on the other hand, included parents’ prejudice against mathematics and unrealistic expectations from their children. As for the curriculum-related challenges, the mathematics teachers faced difficulties because of an excessive number of topics in the curriculum, abstract concepts, constantly changing curriculums and curriculum’s being above the student level.  Article visualizations

Predicting Academic Performance: A Systematic Literature Review

The ability to predict student performance in a course or program creates opportunities to improve educational outcomes. With effective performance prediction approaches, instructors can allocate resources and instruction more accurately. Research in this area seeks to identify features that can be used to make predictions, to identify algorithms that can improve predictions, and to quantify aspects of student performance. Moreover, research in predicting student performance seeks to determine interrelated features and to identify the underlying reasons why certain features work better than others. This working group report presents a systematic literature review of work in the area of predicting student performance. Our analysis shows a clearly increasing amount of research in this area, as well as an increasing variety of techniques used. At the same time, the review uncovered a number of issues with research quality that drives a need for the community to provide more detailed reporting of methods and results and to increase efforts to validate and replicate work.Peer reviewe

Bir labirentte çıkış aramak mı? Yoksa yeni ufuklara yelken açmak mı? On ikinci sınıf öğrencilerinden matematik öğrenmek ile ilgili metaforlar

Bu çalışmada on ikinci sınıf öğrencilerinin matematik öğrenmek üzerine oluşturdukları metaforlar betimsel olarak araştırılmıştır. Araştırmada kullanılan anket Denizli il merkezinde bulunan iki Anadolu Lisesi ile iki meslek lisesinde on ikinci sınıf öğrencisi olan 317 kız, 352 erkek, toplam 669 öğrenci üzerinde uygulanmış ve aşağıdaki soruların cevapları aranmıştır. Öğrenciler matematik öğrenmeyi ne tür metaforlarla ifade etmektedirler? Öğrencilerin kullandıkları metaforlar ortak özellikleri bakımından hangi kavramsal kategoriler altında toplanabilir? Kavramsal kategoriler ile öğrencilerin öğrenim gördükleri lise türleri arasında bir ilişki var mıdır? Kavramsal kategoriler ile öğrencilerin cinsiyetleri arasında bir ilişki var mıdır? Elde edilen verilerin nitel ve nicel metotlar kullanılarak yapılan metafor analizleri sonucunda; öğrencilerin matematik öğrenmeyi; bilinmeyeni keşfetmek, yeni bir beceri kazanmak, bilmece çözmek, bir oyunun kurallarını öğrenerek oynamak, bir araç kullanmak, matematik öğrenmenin zorluğu, matematik öğrenmekten keyif almak ve eziyet çekmek gibi kavramsal kategoriler altında gruplandırılan 76 farklı metafor kullanarak tanımladıkları görülmüştür. Bunun dışında, yapılan Pearson Ki kare testi ile kız öğrencilerin erkek öğrencilere göre, Anadolu liselerinde okuyan öğrencilerin ise meslek liselerinde okuyan öğrencilere göre matematikten keyif almakla ilgili daha çok metafor ürettikleri görülmüştür. Erkek öğrenciler ve meslek lisesi öğrencileri ise matematik öğrenmenin zorluğu ve eziyet çekmek kavramsal kategorilerinde kız öğrencilere ve Anadolu lisesi öğrencilerine göre daha fazla metafor üretmişlerdir

Algorithmic puzzles

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Searching for the exit in a maze? Or setting sail for new Horizons? Metaphors by twelfth grade students for learning mathematics

This study examines and classifies the metaphors that twelfth grade students formulated to describe the concept of "learning mathematics". The sample of the study consists of 669 twelfth grade students (317 female, 352 male) of two Anatolian and two vocational high schools located in the city center of Denizli. The following questions guided this study: What metaphors do students use to describe the concept of "learning mathematics"? What conceptual categories can be derived from these metaphorical images? How these conceptual categories differ by high school type? How these conceptual categories differ by students' gender? The data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. According to the results, 76 valid metaphors and eight main conceptual categories were identified. These main conceptual categories are: discovering an unknown, learning a new skill, solving a puzzle, learning the rules and playing a game, using a tool, difficulties of learning mathematics, pleasure of learning mathematics, having a hardship. According to Pearson chi square calculations Anatolian high school students and girls produced more metaphors about enjoying mathematics than vocational high school students and boys. Also, vocational high school students and boys produced more metaphors about difficulties of learning mathematics and having a hardship than Anatolian high school students and girls. ©2013 Educational Consultancy and Research Center

How to teach the Pythagorean theorem: An analysis of lesson plans

This research was conducted among mathematics graduates who participated in a pedagogical formation certificate program. Participants were asked to prepare a lesson plan intended for use in teaching the Pythagorean theorem as part of a ninth grade mathematics course. Eighteen out of 43 participants included a proof of the Pythagorean theorem as a component of their lesson plan. These proofs were classified in three categories: visual proofs (two participants), algebraic proofs (nine participants), and proofs by using triangular similarities (seven participants). In addition, the solved examples, homework, and evaluation questions included in the lesson plans were classified according to TIMSS cognitive levels. Of the 233 questions prepared by 43 participants, 37% of the questions were at the knowledge level, 60% were at the application level, and the remaining 3% were at the reasoning level