Teaching mathematics in museums as an out-of-school learning resource

The general purpose of this research is to determine the effect of museums as an out-of-school learning resource on the mathematics achievement, motivation and creativity of 5th grade students in mathematics course. The research was conducted with 5th grade students studying in a secondary school in Battalgazi district centre of Malatya in the 2022-2023 academic year. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 44 students, 22 in the experimental group and 22 in the control group. The study was designed according to a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest control group. Qualitative data such as the opinions of the students in the experimental group about the process and student maths diaries were also used to support the quantitative data. The implementation process of the research lasted for 7 weeks in total; 5 weeks of experimental application, two weeks of pre-test and post-tests. In this process, while the current curriculum was applied in the control group, in the experimental group, museum-based lesson plans prepared by the researcher for the determined mathematics subjects and acquisitions were applied in museums, one of the out-of-school learning environments. In the study, "Mathematics Motivation Scale (MMS) and "How Creative Are You?" scales and Mathematics Academic Achievement Test (MABT) developed by the researcher were used to collect quantitative data and student mathematics diaries and student information form were used to collect qualitative data used in their interpretation. The student mathematics diaries, which were applied to determine the students' views on the experimental application process, consisted of a total of five open-ended items. These data collection tools were applied to the students in the experimental and control groups as pre-test and post-test. In the analysis of the data obtained, descriptive statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 22.0 package programme. According to the findings obtained in the study, it was determined that there was a significant difference between the mathematics course academic achievement of the students in the experimental and control groups in favour of the experimental group. In addition, it was determined that museum-based mathematics teaching significantly increased the mathematics motivation of the experimental group students, but did not make a significant difference in their creativity. In addition, it was determined that the experimental group students had positive views towards museum-based mathematics teaching. In the study, it was evaluated that museum support as an out-of-school learning resource did not have an effect on creativity, although it increased academic achievement and motivation in mathematics lesson. Keywords: Out-of-school learning, Teaching in museum, Teaching mathematics in museum, Teaching in virtual museum.