Explanatory Mathematical Writing Skills of Fourth-Grade Elementary Students

Abstract

The use of writing activities in mathematics education is effective in many areas, such as the development of process skills, the promotion of meaningful learning, and the generation of new ideas. However, writing is often not associated with mathematics lessons. Research shows that practices aimed at developing students’ mathematical writing skills remain limited. In this context, this study aims to shed light on instructional interventions by revealing the current state of elementary school students’ mathematical writing processes. In this study, which adopted a descriptive survey model, a data collection tool consisting of six questions was developed to evaluate students’ explanatory mathematical writing skills. The questions prepared to assess mathematical writing performance were created in line with criteria such as conceptual understanding, reasoning, use of mathematical language, appropriateness to the student level, clarity, the quality of the problem situation, and assessment–evaluation principles, and they were evaluated in terms of compliance with these criteria. A rubric developed by the researchers was used to evaluate the students’ writing tasks. A separate scoring rubric was prepared for each question, and the responses were scored as 0, 1, or 2 points according to explanation and accuracy. The study group of the research consisted of 95 fourth-grade elementary school students studying at two different schools in the central district of Burdur Province during the 2021–2022 academic year. The analysis results clearly reveal not only the correct knowledge and conceptual understandings of the students but also their knowledge gaps and misconceptions. It is considered that this study will provide a basis for the development of instructional practices aimed at enabling elementary students’ written mathematical thinking.

Keywords

• Explanatory/informative writing
• Fourth grade primary school
• Mathematical scenarios
• Mathematical writing

İlkokul Dördüncü Sınıf Öğrencilerinin Açıklayıcı Matematiksel Yazma Becerileri

Abstract

Matematik eğitiminde yazma etkinliklerinin kullanılması, süreç becerilerinin geliştirilmesi, anlamlı öğrenmelerin sağlanması ve yeni fikirlerin üretilmesi gibi birçok konuda etkilidir. Ancak yazmak çoğu zaman matematik dersi ile bağdaştırılmamaktadır. Yapılan araştırmalar, öğrencilerin matematiksel yazma becerilerinin geliştirilmesine yönelik uygulamaların sınırlı kaldığını göstermektedir. Bu bağlamda mevcut araştırma, ilkokul öğrencilerinin matematiksel yazma süreçlerine dair mevcut durumu ortaya koyarak, öğretimsel müdahalelere ışık tutmayı amaçlamaktadır. Betimsel tarama modelinin benimsendiği bu çalışmada, öğrencilerin açıklayıcı matematiksel yazma becerilerini değerlendirmeye yönelik altı sorudan oluşan bir veri toplama aracı geliştirilmiştir. Matematiksel yazma performansını değerlendirmek amacıyla hazırlanan sorular; kavramsal anlama, akıl yürütme, matematiksel dil kullanımı, öğrenci seviyesine uygunluk, açıklık, problem durumu niteliği ve ölçme-değerlendirme ilkeleri gibi ölçütler doğrultusunda oluşturulmuştur. Bu sorular daha sonra belirtilen ölçütlere uygunluk açısından değerlendirilmiştir. Öğrencilerin yazma çalışmalarını değerlendirmek için araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen dereceli puanlama anahtarından yararlanılmıştır. Her soru için ayrı puanlama anahtarı hazırlanmış olup yanıtlar açıklama ve doğruluğa göre 0, 1 ya da 2 puan üzerinden değerlendirilmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu 2021-2022 eğitim-öğretim yılında Burdur İli merkez ilçesinde öğrenim görmekte olan iki farklı okuldan 95 ilkokul dördüncü sınıf öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Analiz sonuçları, öğrencilerin sahip oldukları doğru bilgileri ve kavramsal anlayışlarını yansıttığı gibi; bilgi eksikliklerini ve kavram yanılgılarını da açıkça ortaya koymaktadır. Bu çalışmanın, ilkokul öğrencilerinin yazılı matematiksel düşüncelerini ortaya koymalarına yönelik öğretimsel uygulamaların geliştirilmesine zemin oluşturacağı düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

• Açıklayıcı/bilgilendirici yazma
• İlkokul dördüncü sınıf
• Matematiksel senaryolar
• Matematiksel yazma

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