Research Information System
Thesis Type: Doctorate
Institution Of The Thesis: Gazi University, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Turkey
Approval Date: 2020
Thesis Language: Turkish
Student: FATMA NUR AKTAŞ
Supervisor: Ziya Argün
Abstract:
According to the principle of equal opportunity in education, designing educational environments taking into account the needs and differences of each individual is one of the objectives of the education system. Mathematics, is one of the areas where special education opportunities should be provided for individuals with visual impairments. On the other hand, the limited number of studies examining the learning processes insights and the role of concrete materials in students' thinking on algebraic concepts of individuals with visual impairments restricts the effectiveness of individualized education programs and support training tools to be designed for individuals with visual impairments. The lack of a roofing program in the design of educational activities for students with visual impairments indicates that there is a need for a study to guide teachers. In this study, it is aimed to examine the algebraic thinking processes of students with visual impairments related to the concepts of relation, function and types of representation of basic algebraic concepts in the context of learning trajectories. To achieve this aim, the research was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, it is examined the needs, matters, issues, problems and preferences of the visually impaired individuals in terms of applications generally in education and particularly in mathematics education (especially in the basic algebraic concepts). Thus in the second stage, learning trajectories of two innate students with visual impairments at 9th and 10th grades were revealed through the teaching sessions which designed according to the hypothetical learning trajectories obtained from the concepts such as set, line, line segment, number line, coordinate system, variable, function and correspondence between the elements of the two sets, graph representation of the concepts. The first stage of the study, which was designed as a case study, 7 visually impaired participants were determined through the way snowball and maximum diversity sampling; the two participants for the teaching experiment were determined by purposeful and sampling criterions. For the needs analysis, the data obtained through the interviews with each participant in two sessions and videotaped were analyzed by content analysis method. In the second stage which consists of teaching sessions, the clinical interviews which were recorded with a camera fulfilled in order to provide data for the hypothetical learning trajectory. Pilot interviews were conducted for the six activities designed to be implemented in the teaching sessions, these activities were organized according to these interviews and then, a teaching experiment was carried out with the participants. Learning trajectories were examined through on-going analyses after each teaching session, therefore, the activity was organized for the next teaching session and additional teaching sessions were designed for the required learning outcomes. On-going analyses performed throughout teaching sessions on the teaching objectives, teaching activities and supportive educational tools, student thinkings, comprehendings and understandings played a role in the retrospective analysis disclosing the learning trajectories of the students with visual impairments.
In these analysises, the major needs, matters and problems were identified for individuals with visual impairments such as difficulty in taking notes, lack of written material, differences in the use of mathematical language in Latin and Braille alphabet, and lack of concrete material. Within the framework of the concept of function in the specific area of algebra sub-learning domain, lack of information and misconceptions about basic algebraic concepts such as variable, unknown, algebraic and graph representation types, equality and coordinate system emerged. When the learning trajectories of the visually impaired students about the concepts such as set, mapping and relationship, line and line segment, number line, coordinate system and graph, variable and algebraic representation were examined; (i) the participants' preliminary knowledge, (ii) the supportive educational tools, and (iii) differences in ordering of learning outcomes according to the use of mathematical symbols and representations were determined. As a result, it is thought that these learning trajectories are guiding in designing individualized education programs enriched with support training tools for individuals with visual impairments.
Key Words : Student with visual impairments, algebraic thinking, basic algebra concepts, graph represation, hypothetical learning trajectory, teaching experiment