The effect of teaching percents and interest issues based on realistic mathematics education on the grade 7th students' achievement and the attitudes

In this study were investigated the effects of teaching percents and interest issues based on realistic mathematics education on the students 'achievement and the attitudes of grade 7th and the students' opinions related to RME assisted instruction. The study was conducted with total of 43 students from grades 7/A and 7/B of a secondary school located in town Baskil, province Elazig, during the 2014-2015 academic year. This research is a semi- experimental group where the pattern with a pre-test and post- test control group was used. Grade 7/A was determined as the experimental group, and grade 7/B as the control group. The lesson was taught by RME-based teaching method in the experiment group, whereas in the control group, it was taught by a teaching method determined in the current program. An achievement test consisted of 30 questions has been prepared by the researchers in order to measure the students' achievement by taking the opinions of experts (three faculty members and two mathematics teachers) who were related to the subject matter of percents and interests. The achievement test was applied to 150 students throughout the province Elazig and the data obtained were analyzed and it was tested whether there was any significant difference between the independent groups t test and the top and bottom 27% groups or not. As the result of the reliability analysis conducted for the final situation of the test consisted of 20 questions, the value of Kuder-Richardson-20 (KR-20) was found to be 762. The achievement test prepared with 20 questions has been applied as the pre-test and post-test on the experimental and control groups before and after the application, and three months after the application, it was administered as a retention test. In addition, the attitude test was applied to both groups, as preliminary test and also as the final test. In addition, opinions for was also applied to the students of the experimental group. In the analysis of the data, it was cared whether there was any significant difference between the pre-test and post-tests of the students in the experimental and the control group in terms of achievement and attitude scores. As the result of the research, it was concluded that the RME-based teaching method applied on the experimental group, increased more the success of students in mathematics, compared to the current program's teaching method, applied to the control group. It was found out that the RME-based teaching had a positive effect on the persistence of learning. In addition, it was also seen that the students had positive opinions on the RME method, that students have been learning by helping each other and having fun, and that this method enabled students to develop positive attitudes towards mathematics. Keywords: Realistic Mathematics Education, success in Maths, Mathematics Education and Teaching, Attitude Toward Mathematics, Percents and Interest.