Investigating the effects of mathematics problems prepared in the context of sustainability on academic achievement, attitudes and awareness of sustainability

Abstract

The concept of sustainability, which is important both in the national and international arena, constitutes the contextual perspective of this research. This study aims to investigate the effect of mathematical problems prepared from this point of view on academic achievement, academic attitude and awareness of sustainability. For this purpose, three sub-problems were determined. This study used exploratory sequential design, which is one of the mixed research methods. The study used an easily accessible sampling. 32 students studying in the second semester of the 7th grade were included in the study. The implementation of the study, which lasted 14 weeks, included the discussion, solving and interpretation of mathematical problems prepared in the context of sustainability. In the study, quantitative data were collected using the Academic Achievement Test (AAC) and the Scale on Attitude Toward Mathematics (SATM). Qualitative data of the study were collected using diagnostic forms, individual evaluation forms and individual interview forms. Parametric tests were used in the quantitative analysis, and a t-test was used for dependent groups. In the process of analyzing qualitative data, descriptive and content analysis was used. Findings show that there is a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test academic achievement results and a significant increase in SATM. The qualitative findings support the quantitative findings. They also show the effects of mathematical problems prepared in the context of sustainability on sustainability awareness, the themes of interest, sensitivity and consciousness, and related sub-themes with pre- and post-application frequency values.