Evaluation of Mathematics Activities Performed in Out-of-School Environments: "Everywhere Math Project"

Abstract

This project aims to develop 7th grade students’ curiosity for learning mathematics and to foster their interests in investigating, inquiring, and learning while having them acknowledge mathematics in outside of school settings. In the project, the effects of participating in mathematics learning activities in out-of-school environments on students' beliefs about and attitudes towards mathematics, their perspectives on mathematical content and their understanding of mathematical knowledge were examined, and the general evaluations of the participants for the project were determined. 15 students participated in the project activities. It is aimed for these students to explore some of the architectural features of Denizli, to discover the geometric structures and to get to know the vegetation here, to spend time in the city's libraries, and to realize the mathematics in these settings. Accordingly, mathematics learning activities were carried out in places such as the library, the courtyard of the Islamic-Ottoman Social complex and the park. Attitude and belief scales towards mathematics were used as pretest and posttest to evaluate the effectiveness of project activities on students. Moreover, students were asked to write reflective journals in order to evaluate their thoughts throughout the process. In addition to these, observation notes were kept by the researchers during the activities. In the light of the quantitative data obtained, it was seen that the project activities promoted positive changes in students' beliefs about and attitudes towards mathematics, their perspectives on mathematical content, and their understanding of mathematical knowledge. Based on these findings and the students' general evaluations of the project, implications for further studies were provided.