In this study, we investigate to what extent
mathematical modelling, which has been included extensively in many countries'
curriculum in recent years, is included in middle school textbooks in Turkey
and how the concept of modeling in
textbooks reflects mathematical modeling. By conducting the document review,
model and modeling concepts in all middle school (5, 6, 7, 8) mathematics
textbooks in the 2016-2017 academic year were determined and evaluated, by
means of content analysis method, in terms of the learning area, the class
level, the section that model used, and the type of model used. The results
show that the concept of modeling in middle school mathematics textbooks is
used as a “modeling mathematics" rather than as means of mathematical
modelling. Also, the concept of modelling is used intensively in some topics,
but not mentioned in some topics and class levels at all. The concept of
modelling used in the textbooks was limited only to concrete and visual
structures. Thus, the purpose of modelling
in the textbooks was to model mathematical concepts into the concrete and
visual forms rather than mathematizing the problem. Considering the emphasis on
mathematical modeling in the current mathematics standards, we suggest that
this limited and problematic understanding of modeling should be revised to
reflect purpose of mathematical modelling in order to have better learning
opportunities for both teachers and students.
Journal Section | Research Articles |
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Authors | |
Publication Date | June 30, 2017 |
Acceptance Date | June 29, 2017 |
Published in Issue | Year 2017 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 |