INVESTIGATION OF STUDENTS’ ALGEBRAIC THINKING: A TEACHING EXPERIMENT WITH 7TH GRADERS

Date

2024-9-02

Author

Gün, Feyzanur

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The aim of the study is to examine the development of 7th-grade algebraic thinking of students during algebra instruction, employing a teaching experiment model that spanned two months. Data were collected from six 7th-grade students during the spring semester of 2023-2024. The Chelsea Diagnostic Algebra Test was administered at the beginning and end of the teaching experiment to assess algebraic thinking levels of students. The teaching experiment, consisting of 8 sessions, was designed with a focus on various components of algebraic thinking. During the sessions, the students worked in groups on worksheets covering topics such as properties of the number system, the meaning of the equal sign, relational thinking, variables as unknowns and varying quantities, quantitative reasoning, repetitive patterns, growing patterns, and multiple representations. Data were collected through worksheets, guiding questions, and video recordings to examine algebraic thinking of students. Qualitative findings indicated that students were able to generalize properties of the number system, analyze and find general rules of repetitive and growing patterns, perform quantitative reasoning, grasp different meanings of variables, comprehend the meaning of the equal sign in algebra, and utilize multiple representations. Quantitative findings showed a significant increase in algebraic thinking levels of students after the teaching experiment. Thus, it was concluded that the algebra teaching experiment had a positive impact on the development of algebraic thinking of students.

Subject Keywords

Algebra, Algebraic Thinking, Teaching Experiment, Middle School Students

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/111462

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis