An investigation of effetiveness of technology supported quadratic surfaces teaching on spatial and critical thinking abilities of undergraduate students in mathematics teaching

It is known that within the scope of 21st century skills, the basic skills that individuals should have are using information and communication technologies effectively and having critical and reasoning skills. One of the most important purposes of the education we receive in our schools is to enable the individual to develop his thinking ability. Critical thinking and spatial thinking skills are among the most important in teaching mathematics. Our study aims to examine the effect of technology-supported teaching on the critical thinking and spatial thinking skills of mathematics teaching students, as technology has developed rapidly in recent years and become a part of our educational life. In our study, a mixed method in which quantitative and qualitative research was used together was chosen. Spatial Visualization Test and Critical Thinking Disposition Scale were used to collect quantitative data; Quadratic Surfaces Real Life Problems Activity was used to collect qualitative data. While the subject was taught to the experimental group using Geogebra dynamic software, the traditional teaching method was used to the control group. While it was seen that using Geogebra after the application was more effective in positively changing the critical thinking tendency of the experimental group students, no significant difference was observed according to the spatial visualization test results. When the qualitative data were examined, it was observed that the students in the experimental group were much more successful in their critical thinking skills in solving the questions, especially in the inference explanation and evaluation steps. Although the students in the control group stated that they had problems in the step of recognizing the shape and recognizing the features of spatial visualization skills, it was observed that they had problems in the step of moving in the mind and drawing the shape, while it can be said that such questions were experienced less in the experimental group. It can be said that by using both the algebraic and geometric features of the Geogebra dynamic software in practice, the student develops their spatial visualization and critical thinking skills by allowing them to visualize the three-dimensional shape, test their knowledge, and make judgments