Contributions of GeoGebra to the Spatial Visualisation Skills of Secondary School Students and Teachers' Opinions


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Sarpkaya Aktaş G., Erdoğan F.

Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, vol.20, no.2, pp.299-324, 2024 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine teachers' views on the use of GeoGebra software in the development of students' spatial visualization skills in the subject of "View of Objects from Different Directions" at the seventh grade level. The research was designed using simultaneous triangulation design, one of the mixed research techniques. The study group was selected by purposeful sampling method. The study group consisted of 5 secondary school mathematics teachers who actively used GeoGebra software in their classes during the 2021-2022 academic year in the İskenderun district of Hatay province, and 26 students from the schools where these teachers work, including 13 students in the experimental group who learned with GeoGebra and 13 students in the control group who did not. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview form and a spatial visualization test and analyzed by content analysis and independent samples t-test. As a result of the interviews with the teachers, it is seen that the GeoGebra application has advantages such as providing students with three-dimensional thinking skills, making students interested and attentive to the lesson, and supporting their active participation in the lesson, but it also has disadvantages such as not being suitable for every acquisition, a lack of technological facilities, and insufficient course time. It was concluded that for the development of spatial visualization skills, teachers conducted necessary activities and studies in the classroom and mostly used GeoGebra application. In the spatial visualization test, a significant difference was found between the test scores of the students in the experimental and control groups, and it was also figured out that this difference was in favor of the experimental group.