Process of organizing learning activity using metaphorical thinking and development of mathematical representation ability of secondary school students
Abstract:
The purposes of this research were 1) to compare the mathematical representation ability of students before and after being taught through organizing mathematics learning activities using metaphorical thinking, 2) to compare the mathematical representation ability of the students after these activities with a criterion of 70% of the full score, and 3) to study the development of the mathematical representation ability of the students during learning activities using metaphorical thinking. The representative sample group consisted of 36 students in seventh grade at an extra-large school in Roi Et Province in second semester of the academic year 2021, with a total of 36 students who spent 18 classes over a period of 6 weeks. The experimental tool was organizing mathematical learning activities using metaphorical thinking. The data collection instruments included a pre-test and post-test of the students' mathematical representation ability, a mathematical representation characteristics assessment form, and an interview. The data was analyzed by arithmetic mean, standard deviation, percentage, t-test, and content analysis. The results of the research revealed that: 1) The mathematical representation ability of the students after being taught through organizing mathematics learning activities using metaphorical thinking was higher than at the pre-learning stage at the .05 level of significance both overall and when classified by the two sub-components. 2) The mathematical representation ability of the students after engaging in organizing mathematics learning activities using metaphorical thinking was higher than the criterion of 70% of the full score at the .05 level of significance both overall and when classified by the two sub-components. 3) The mathematical representation ability of the students learning through organizing mathematics learning activities using metaphorical thinking had been improved in a positive way both overall and when classified according to the two sub-components.