The evaluation of the problem solving skills on integers of the 7th grade students

The aim of this research is to evaluate the problem solving skills of 7th grade students on integers in the teaching process designed with realistic mathematics education activities. In addition students attitudes towards problem solving skills were examined. In the process of teaching integers, the classroom environment was observed with camera records, and the behaviors of students to perform activities were evaluated. Also, during the application process of the activities, semi-structured interview form was applied to the students after each activity and the students were tried to learn their ideas about the activity. The model of the research is designed as a mixed method since it is both semi-experimental and longitudinal research. In the research, embedded inside from mixed method researches was used. The study was carried out with 40 seventh grade students in a public secondary school, including a 20-person experiment and a 20-person control group. The current teaching method in the elementary mathematics curriculum for the control group was used for the experimental group of the research and the current teaching method for the control group. The application lasted 6 weeks. In order to determine the equivalence of the groups by the researcher, an achievement test on the subject of integers was developed. At the beginning of the application, achievement test was applied to both groups and it was determined that the groups were similar (p=.82). The Problem Solving Skill Test developed by the researcher was used to determine the problem solving skills of the participants. Mathematics problem solving attitude scale, graded scoring key and observation form were used. In addition, the opinions of the students in the experimental group about the RME approach were obtained with the Semi-Structured Interview Form developed by the researcher. In the research, t-test for related and unrelated samples, wilcoxon signed ranks test, two-factor ANOVA for mixed measurements and descriptive analysis for qualitative data were used. As a result of the research, it is concluded that the students who learn the integers with RME have higher problem solving skills and attitudes towards problem solving compared to the students learning with the current method. It was concluded that teaching based on RME also had a positive effect on permenency. However, it was determined that the opinions of the participants towards the RME approach were positive. In addition, it was observed that the courage of the participants towards problem solving increased positively. In line with the results of the study, it can be said that it may be beneficial to develop and apply RME-supported teaching in accordance with the grade level and subject in mathematics lessons.