The effectiveness of the realistic mathematics education approach in eliminating 5th grade students' misconceptions about perimeter and area

This study aims to determine the misconceptions that 5th grade students carry from primary school regarding perimeter and area, and subsequently, to examine the effectiveness of the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach in eliminating these misconceptions. Given that the researcher is also a teacher, the RME process was structured based on action research methodology. The research was conducted with 17 fifth-grade students at a public school located in a district in northeastern Turkey during the 2022-2023 academic year. Data collection tools included the Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge Test on Perimeter and Area, semi-structured interview forms, and lesson diaries. Content analysis and descriptive analysis methods were employed to analyze the data. The research consists of three phases. Initially, in the pre-implementation phase, the Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge Test on Perimeter and Area and semi-structured interviews were administered to identify the misconceptions students brought from primary school. In the second phase, five lessons were planned and executed using the RME approach. During this process, students were asked to keep lesson diaries at the end of each lesson. Finally, in the post-implementation phase, the Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge Test on Perimeter and Area and semi-structured interviews were re-administered to examine changes in students' misconceptions. The findings of the study revealed that students had misconceptions and knowledge gaps concerning perimeter and area. Post-implementation, it was observed that the majority of the students possessed clearer and more consistent information about perimeter and area. There was a reduction in the variety of misconceptions and the number of students holding these misconceptions, although not all misconceptions were completely eradicated. After the GME application, it was determined that misconceptions such as confusing the concepts of area and edge, thinking that the perimeter length is a unit of measurement, the perception that the perimeter grows as the area grows and the area grows as the perimeter grows, the idea that the concepts of area and perimeter are the same concepts, and the idea that only shapes whose edge length can be measured have perimeter and area were significantly reduced Based on this study, students' deficiencies and misconceptions about the concepts of perimeter and area should be recognized and these deficiencies and misconceptions should be eliminated before the beginning of middle school geometry. For this purpose, GME and similar constructivist educational approaches can be used.