African Educational Research Journal - Volume 9 - Issue 1 - Full Length Research Paper - Effect of Realistic Mathematics Education on Student Achievement in 8th Grade Geometric Objects Teaching

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen

The study evaluates whether Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) produces a meaningful difference in students’ academic success compared with a traditional approach in teaching geometrical objects to 8th graders. The research involves 47 students split into experimental and control groups, administered with a 25-question pre-test, followed by the same test after eight weeks as a retention test. Semi-structured interviews collect students’ views, and results are analyzed with t-tests and mixed-measure ANOVA at the 0.05 level.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

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Abstract

Introduction

The problem

The sub-problems

African Educational Research Journal Vol. 9(1), pp. 20-31, January 2021 DOI: 10. 30918/AERJ.91.20.205 ISSN: 2354-2160 Full Length Research Paper The effect of realistic mathematics education on student achievement in 8th grades geometric objects teaching Hasan Huseyin Aksu* and Sadettin Okan Colak Giresun University, Turkey. Accepted 30 December, 2020 | ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to answer if there is a reasonable difference on academical success of students who get education with traditional and RME approach question on “Teaching geometrical objects to 8th grade students” subject. Study group consists of 47 students which contains 21 experimental and 16 control group from “Ordu Anadolu İmam Hatip High School Project School” in Altinordu, Ordu. Experimental and control group have same academical success level, as the school which this study has runned is a school which accepts students with an exam only. After the experimental and control groups were created, a 25 question pre-test was performed to understand the level of knowledge of the group regarding geometrical objects. The same test was performed on the same groups 8 weeks later as retention test. To determine opinions of the students in experimental group regarding RME and related learning activities, semi-structured interviews are conducted. The data obtained from the pretest, posttest and retention tests were analyzed with t-test for independent samples and t-test for dependent samples and variance analysis for mixed measurements with 0.05 significance level. According to the results, it is seen that learning activities prepared according to RME approach are much more effective than learning activities prepared according to the traditional approach on students’ academic success.
Keywords: Geometrical objects, academical success, realistic mathematichs education, middle school students, eighth grade. | | --- | | E-mail: [hasan.huseyin.aksu@giresun.edu.tr](hasan.huseyin.aksu@giresun.edu.tr).
** This study was inspired by the second author's master's thesis conducted under the supervision of the first author. | INTRODUCTION Although mathematics is a part of our daily life, a precise definition of the word mathematics cannot be made (Ersoy, 2013) . It should not be forgotten that although mathematics is the general name of the sciences that examine the properties of quantities based on numbers and measures such as algebra, arithmetic, geometry, there is also mathematics that is not based on numbers and measures. In addition, mathematics is a science that examines not only the properties of quantities but also the properties of systems (Alkan and Altun, 1998) . According to the curriculum of the Ministry of National Education (MNE), mathematics is the science of patterns. In other words, math is a science that studies number, size, shape, space and the relationships among them. However, it is a universal language based on mathematics, symbols and figures. Maths includes processing information, making predictions, generating information and solving problems using this language (MEB, 2009) . Mathematics is a very wide system that is thought to bea different science from other sciences, it is abstract, can be expressed as the science of number, and is found in all areas of life; and it is thought that everyone can always work with appropriate methods (Ersoy, 2013) . It is observed that people living in Turkey generally have low problem-solving skills, and their success in mathematical operations is higher than the behaviors that require reasoning. The reason for this can be that teaching methods and strategies that are in accordance with the structure of mathematics are not used in teaching mathematics in Turkey (Baykul , 2003) . The monotony, abstraction, and memorization-based structure of the methods used in mathematics teaching make it difficult to understand the place and logical structure of mathematics in daily life. In a

FAQs

What is the main research question of the study?

The research asks whether realistic mathematics education affects student achievement in 8th-grade teaching of geometric objects.

How are students’ learning outcomes measured in the study?

Students complete a 25-question pre-test, and the same test is repeated eight weeks later as a retention test. Students’ opinions are also collected through semi-structured interviews in the experimental group.

What statistical methods are used to analyze the data?

Independent and dependent-sample t-tests are used, along with variance analysis for mixed measurements, using a 0.05 significance level.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen