The effect of using 3D printers in teaching fourth grade fractions unit on students' academic achievement

In the research, it was aimed to determine the effect of 3D printers on the academic success of the students in the teaching of the fractions unit in the 4th grade mathematics lesson and to reveal the opinions of the students about these printers. For this purpose, the research was carried out with 38 students studying in the fourth grade of a public primary school in Afyonkarahisar in the first semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. There are 19 students each in the randomly determined experimental and control groups. Embedded mixed research design, which combines quantitative and qualitative research designs, was used in the research. In order to determine the effect of three-dimensional printers on the academic achievement of students in teaching fractions unit, pretest-posttest design with unequalized control group was used in the quantitative part of the research. In the qualitative part of the study, open-ended questions in the structured interview form applied only to the experimental group were asked about the effect of the research on the participants, the opinions of the participants about 3D printers, the use of 3D printers in the mathematics lesson and the effect of the 3D printers on the mathematics lesson. In addition, the experimental group students were asked to keep a diary throughout the application process. While the subjects in the experimental group were taught using lesson plans suitable for the 5E learning cycle model supported by activities prepared with the help of three-dimensional printers, the students in the control group were explained according to the current program suitable for the 5E learning cycle model. As data collection tools in the research; Fractions Unit Academic Achievement Test (KÜABT), Student Diary Form, and Structured Interview Form applied only to students in the experimental group were used in order to observe the activities that the students in the experimental group did together for four weeks and to evaluate the whole process from start to finish. The quantitative data obtained from the research were analyzed with the statistical program, and the non-parametric ANCOVA test was used because the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental and control groups did not show normal distribution together. It was observed that there was a significant difference between the KÜABT pretest scores corrected according to the KÜABT pretest scores of the experimental group in which the activities in which 3D printers were used in accordance with the 5E learning cycle model in the 4th grade mathematics course within the framework of the normal curriculum and the control group in which the 5E learning cycle model was taught within the framework of the normal curriculum. In addition, qualitative data analysis program was used for the analysis of qualitative data in this study. The diaries kept by the experimental group students throughout the process were subjected to descriptive analysis. Only the content analysis of the structured interview data with nine students from the experimental group was made. As a result of the analyzes, it was determined that they enjoyed and had fun in the lessons in which 3D printers were used, and they learned the subject more easily. In addition, the students stated that they understood the unit topics better, that the activities carried out developed their imaginations, that they learned to cooperate and that the lessons were not boring.