The effect of using virtual manipulatives in teaching of multiplication and division of integers on academic achievement at 7th grade students and students views

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of using virtual manipulatives on multiplication and division operations of integers on the academic achievement of 7th grade students and to determine students' views on the use of virtual manipulatives in mathematics lessons. The research was carried out with a total of 30 students enrolled in two different branches in the 7th grade of a public secondary school located in the central district of Kastamonu province in the 2022-2023 academic year. The selection of the study group in the research was carried out by group matching method, although there were branches where the groups were close to each other in terms of academic success at school. The equivalence of the groups was determined with the "Readiness Test" prepared for the addition of whole numbers applied to both groups before the research. The application made by the researcher was planned for 2 weeks and to cover 10 lesson hours. In this study, while teaching the lesson with the support of virtual manipulatives prepared for each outcome of the 7th grade 'Multiplication and division in integers' topic for two weeks in the experimental group; In the control group, teacher-centered lessons were taught depending on the existing program. After the researcher gave training on the subject and learning outcomes in the experimental and control groups, the quantitative data of the research were obtained by applying the Success Evaluation Test prepared by the researcher. As a result of the analysis of the quantitative data, a significant difference was found in favor of the experimental group in the multiplication of integers. The data of the qualitative dimension of the research were obtained only by having the experimental group students fill out the interview form and taking the opinions of the students about virtual manipulatives and their thoughts about the application process. The data obtained from the experimental group students with the semi-structured interview form were made meaningful by classification with the help of content analysis. As a result of the analysis of the qualitative data, it was seen that the majority of the students had positive opinions about virtual manipulative.