Effect of the VAN Hiele Instructional Model on Students’ Achievement in Geometry

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the Van Hiele instructional model on students’ achievement in Circle Geometry at Daffiama Senior High School in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District of the Upper West Region in Ghana. The purposive and simple random sampling techniques were employed to select a sample of 75 participants for the study. The sample involved two groups: the experimental group and the control group. While teaching based on the Van Hiele model was carried out in the experimental group, teaching with the traditional method was carried out in the control group. The study employed a quasi-experimental research design. The instruments used for data collection were tests, interviews, and classroom observation. Findings from the data analysis suggested that participants were at the prerecognition level before the intervention, improved from the prerecognition level to level 2 after the intervention as the model facilitated learning. It was recommended that teachers determine the geometric thinking levels of students before instruction; the Van Hiele learning and instructional model is adopted in curriculum design and applied in the teaching of geometry and other areas of mathematics.

Geometric Thinking of Future Teachers for Primary Education—An Exploratory Study in Slovakia

Various studies show that the level of knowledge achieved by pupils is influenced by the level of knowledge of their teachers. In this article, we focus on geometric thinking and the solutions for geometric tasks through a study of future teachers of primary education. The research sample consisted of 59 master’s students from the Teacher Training for Primary Education (TTPE) program. To determine the level of geometric thinking of TTPE students, the van Hiele geometric test was used. Two geometric multi-item tasks were proposed and the students’ solutions to these tasks were quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated. The main goal was to analyze students’ misconceptions while solving tasks and to compare and reveal the connections between their solutions and their achieved level of geometric thinking. A statistical implicative analysis was used for a deeper analysis, namely the statistical software C.H.I.C. The research findings show that more than 40% of TTPE students in the research sample did not reach the required level of geometric thinking. The achieved level of the geometric thinking of students is also influenced by the type of high school education. We observed problems with understanding the concept of the triangle and square in TTPE students. The connections between the solutions of two geometric tasks and the achieved level of geometric thinking were also revealed.

Assessing van Hiele’s geometric thinking levels among elementary pre-service mathematics teachers

Teachers’ geometric thinking is crucial to teaching efficacy in geometry since teacher knowledge or thinking serves as a basis for the quality of instruction provided for students’ learning. Teachers’ thinking about geometry has attracted much attention among mathematics education researchers. This study therefore aimed at assessing elementary pre-service teachers’ geometric thinking within the first three levels of van Hiele’s model. The study was guided by three objectives. The objectives were to (1) assess the distribution of van Hiele’s geometric thinking among the study participants, (2) determine if the participating pre-service teachers’ geometric thinking is significant for teaching geometry, and (3) find out if any difference in geometric thinking of the pre-service teachers existed with regard to gender. The study used the descriptive survey design. The study participants were prospective mathematics teachers drawn from four Colleges of Education in the Bono Region and Ashanti Region of Ghana. The Colleges were randomly selected for the study. The study participants comprised 217 pre-service teachers. The van Hiele’s test instrument was adapted and pilot tested to assess the internal consistency of the items in the various levels. The calculated reliability coefficient of the instrument ranged from 0.71 to 0.74. The instrument was administered to the study participants on the scheduled date. Data generated from the participants were analysed based on the study objectives. Findings from the analyses show that pre-service teachers have limited geometric thinking within the first three levels. However, their geometric thinking of the levels assessed was found to be significant which could have some impact on teaching geometry. Findings also reveal gender differences in pre-service mathematics geometric thinking. It is recommended that conscious effort must be made by mathematics teacher educators in the Colleges of Education to deepen the pre-service mathematics teachers’ geometric thinking.

BERPIKIR GEOMETRI LEVEL VISUALISASI SISWA SEKOLAH MENENGAH PERTAMA MELALUI TOPIK SEGIEMPAT MENURUT TEORI VAN HIELE

This research aims to describe the level of geometric thinking and geometric thinking processes of Junior High School students according to van Hiele's level of thinking on the topic of quadrilaterals. The qualitative approach is the research method used in this study through a case study method by testing the Van Hiele Geometry Test (VHGT) which was adapted from Usiskin's CDASSG and conducting interviews about the thinking process in the form of identifying, defining, and classifying which was adapted from the interview guide of Burger and Shaughnessy (1986). The subjects of this study were 297 grade VII and VIII students from two schools located in the Lembang sub-district. The results of the VHGT test showed that there were 81 students counting level 0 (visualization). The results showed that the students of class VII and VIII level 0 were as follows: 1) students were able to recognize the types of quadrangle but still affected by the prototype, 2) students were not able to classify quadrilaterals, and 3) overall description of the geometric thinking process level 0 in the form of identifying, defining, and classifying aspects according to van Hiele's thinking characteristics in general.

Using Tangram as a Manipulative Tool for Transition between 2D and 3D Perception in Geometry

Creating a mental image of our spatial environment is a key process for further abstract geometric thinking. Building a mental representation can be understood as a part of the process of visualisation. From the wide concept of visualisation, in this article, we will focus on the part where the mental representation of spatial relations, mental objects and mental constructions are created, and their manifestations as a 3D physical object and its plane representations arise. Our main goal is to follow the transition between 2D and 3D representations of physical objects and also to observe how and when such a transition happens in students’ thinking. For that purpose, we also use Tangram, because manipulation with the Tangram pieces in space and filling out planar figures by them indicates the transition between 3D and 2D. Our research, using an action research methodology, was conducted on the students of three 5th grade primary school classes as a part of a larger long-term project. We pointed out a relationship between spatial abilities and the perception of 2D–3D relationships in students’ mind.

Incorporating a Metacognitive Learning Model to Improve Geometric Thinking in High-School Students

Thinking development processes among high-school students is an important and significant issue that has been widely investigated (Leviathan, 2012; Ball, 1996; De Risi, 2015). A few studies discuss the development of mathematical thinking as this field contains additional difficulties to the traditional factors, teachers, students, and parents, and is one of the most important areas taught in school, according to De Risi (2015). Due to the importance of this subject, the challenge facing researchers, mathematicians, and educators is how to improve students’ abilities and achievements in mathematics. In recent years, researchers have found that in order to improve students’ achievements and abilities in mathematics, one can use self-direction. Self-direction is a strategy by which the learner acquires the ability to cope with learning from several aspects and contributes to inking development. In this study, we showed that self-directed learning with an emphasis on metacognition would improve students’ understanding of the subject in question. Using the metacognitive guidance model, the students acquire and develop learning skills that contribute to developing their geometric thinking. In this study, there is the added value of using a learning model based on metacognitive guidance and its significant contribution to combining multiple subjects into one problem.

Categories of intuitive reasoning and GeoGebra 3D: an experience with Brazilian students

This work presents the result of the application of a didactic sequence designed to understand the concept of the Cavalieri’s Principle, supported by the GeoGebra application in its version for mobile phones - 3D Calculator. For this study, the Theory of Categories of Intuitive Reasoning, by Efraim Fischbein, was used as a conceptual basis. The objective of this work was to elaborate and develop a didactic sequence aiming to subsidize the learning of the Cavalieri’s Principle from GeoGebra, as a way to help the student in the construction of geometric reasoning, through visualization, perception and intuition. The methodology of this work is qualitative research, exploratory type, being carried out from a didactic sequence developed in two meetings remotely, due to the scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic. The target audience of this research is a group of students aged 15-17 years from a public school in Fortaleza - CE, Brazil. In summary, it is pointed out that the intuitive reasoning categories mobilized from the use of GeoGebra have great potential to stimulate the evolution of the student's geometric thinking, through the development of perception, intuition and geometric visualization.

Developing reasoning within a geometric learning progression: Implications for curriculum development and classroom practices

Promoting reasoning is the goal of mathematics education. While reasoning behaviours can be observed, how to characterise them and nurture their growth remains ambiguous. In this article, we report our effort in drafting a learning progression and geometric thinking model and using them to investigate Australian students’ geometric reasoning abilities. The data were taken from a large-scale study into the development of mathematical reasoning. Rasch analysis resulted in eight thinking zones being charted. Using a mixed method, we analysed 446 Year 7 to 10 students’ responses on a task that requires them to enlarge a logo, state its coordinates and calculate the enlarged area. In-depth, fine-grained analysis of students’ explanations revealed the range of skills and techniques students used to reason about the situation. The findings suggest that higher level reasoning was characterised by evidence of increased visualisation skills and proficient use of mixed mediums to communicate intent. The implications of the findings for curriculum and classroom practice are discussed.