The evaluation of 8th grade teaching materials prepared according to primary education mathematics curriculum

The Evaluation of 8th Grade Teaching Materials Prepared According to Primary Education Mathematics Curriculum As in many countries, there have been attempts to develop educational programs in our country and it was determined to develop the educational programs according to contructivist approach in 2004. Along with this approach, for a successful teaching education, there have been changes in teaching materials which are a reflection of curriculums. The aim of this study is the evaluation of educational design of basic teaching materials (teacher?s guide book, stundet?s book, student?s workbook), prepared according to primary education mathematics curriculum, in the view of teachers and authorities. To reach this aim the scale which was developed for the purpose of ?Evaluation of Science and Mathematics Textbook? was used as a part of Project 2061 contucted by American Association for the Advancement of Science. In this project, there are seven main evaluation criteria directed to educational design of textbooks. These are ; exposing the goals, considering students? ideas, engaging students? attention to the subject, developing mathematical ideas, promoting students? thinking, assessing students? mathematical progress, and enhancing the mathematics learning environment.The case study method was used in this study. Firstly, the scale was applied to 40 mathematics teacher in the province of Trabzon. Later, interviews were conducted with 5 teachers and 3 authorities, chosen randomly among these teachers, in order to exert the suitability of teaching materials to these seven criteria. The findings of the study indicate that; teaching materials partly reflect the seven criteria stated in Project 2061, however the criteria of considering students? ideas and enhancing the mathematics learning environment are weaker than the others. Besides, in the light of this study the fact that there are some deficiencies and errors in the materials came to surface. Lastly, some suggestions were made to textbook writers, teachers and those who would do a similar research for the purpose of correcting these deficiencies and errors, increasing the quality of teaching materials and using them more effectively as a consequence.Key Words: Teaching Mathematics, Teaching Materials, Project 2061