The effect of the dual focus instruction model on students' success in skill-based questions

In this research, it was aimed to teach the 6th grade mathematics "Decimal Notations" subject according to the lesson plan prepared according to the dual-focus instruction model, and to examine the effects of the courses taught with the dual-focus teaching model on students' success in skill-based questions and to examine student opinions. For this purpose, a data collection tool containing 18 multiple-choice questions was created by the researcher by taking expert opinion. The research is a mixed research model based on studies aimed at handling and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data together, and an exploratory sequencer design, one of the mixed methods research designs, was used. The research was conducted in the 2023-2024 academic year with a total of 52 students, 26 of whom were in the experimental group and 26 of whom were in the control group, studying at a public school in Bursa. While creating the experimental and control groups, the mathematics course grades of the two classes were examined and no significant difference was found. Among these two classes, the experimental and control groups were randomly determined. Lessons were taught within the bifocal teaching model in the experimental group and within the current mathematics teaching model in the control group. The research took a total of 20 class hours. The data of the study were collected using the decimal notation achievement test and semi-structured interview form prepared by the researcher. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Considering the results of the research, it shows that the effect of the dual-focus teaching method on the success of the experimental group students in skill-based questions is significant. There is a greater increase in the academic data of the experimental group than the control group. When we look at the qualitative data, although most of the students think that skill-based questions are difficult, they think that they subsequently improve their success by affecting them positively. They also stated that skill-based questions improved their imagination and made their daily lives easier. They stated that the lessons taught with the dual-focus instruction model increased their questioning in practice and that the lessons were more fun, more interesting and memorable.