Assessment of Constructivist Learning Environment: An Example of Creative Drama in Mathematics Education

Author(s):

Zeynep Sonay Ay(submitting)Oylum Akkuş İspir

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

03. Curriculum Innovation

Format:

Paper

Session Information

03 SES 07 JS, Curriculum & Mathematics Education: Creative Learning

Paper Session
Joint Session with NW 24

Time:

2013-09-11

17:15-18:45

Room:

D-405

Chair:

Birgit Pepin

Discussant:

Nienke M. Nieveen

Contribution

Although creative drama is a new method in education, its effectiveness in promoting success and motivation in classes has been well established by many studies (Ekinözü and Şengül, 2007; Duatepe and Ubuz, 2004; Duatepe and Akkuş, 2006; Akkus & Özdemir, 2006). Creative drama is the process of enacting a topic as a group deriving from the lives/experiences of the participants and by using drama techniques (Adiguzel, 2006). Creative drama in education can be regarded as a method based on experience that enables learners to learn actively, through discussing with in-group and outside-of-the group interactions, exploring and collaborating.

In constructivist approach, the individual constructs, forms, and acquires knowledge in an active interaction process with his/her environment. In drama activities, too, environments in which individuals can construct and develop knowledge by means of their lives and experience are formed (Duatepe and Ubuz, 2004). In this respect, use of creative drama in mathematics education provides the appropriate environment for students to experience mathematics, and thus, it saves students from being passive listeners. In the internalization of the abstract formulas and concepts in mathematics, the role of active learning, where students can acquire knowledge by seeing and feeling, by drawing connections with their lives, is highly important. Due to dramatic elements and plays in the creative drama method, prejudice and anxiety against mathematics can be cleared away. The aim of the History of Mathematics course is to include the human aspect into topics of mathematics, to make the subject about human beings by relating it to people and their needs. It also aims to enable students to feel that mathematics is not a dream but real (Swetz, 1994). Students learn the 5000 year-long history of mathematics by experiencing and feeling it through given dramatic situations in the enactment stage, which is one of the stages of creative drama. Swetz (1995), who contends that this is beneficial for students, argues that when students have a varied and different experience about the scientific, cultural, and historical development of mathematics, they can understand the role of mathematics in the development of modern culture and to explore the relationship between mathematics and other disciplines. In this respect, it has been thought that a history of mathematics course where creative drama is used is a good example for a constructivist approach.

There are many courses about oedagogic knowledge in universities that can be examples to a constructivist approach in teacher training. Thus, it is important for the quality of teacher training to evaluate constructivist learning environments, to question to what extent these environments are constructivist, and dissipate shortages if necessary (Arkun and Askar, 2010).

The aim of this study is to determine pre-service teachers’ views on and assessment of the history of mathematics course conducted through creative drama, which is a constructivist approach. To this end, answers to the following research questions were looked for.

How do pre-service teachers see the history of mathematics course with creative drama from a constructivist approach?

What are the general views of pre-service teachers on the history of mathematics course with creative drama?

Method

In this study a case study design was utilized. The subjects of the study consists of 22 volunteer sophomores studying at the elementary mathematics teacher education division at a public university in Ankara. In gathering data, quantitative and qualitative approaches were used. Qualitative data were gathered by semi-structured interviews. In gathering the quantitative data, on the other hand, a constructivist learning environment assessment form was used. This scale was developed by Arkun and Askar (2010). The scale is a seven-point Likert type which consists of 6 sub-dimensions. These sub-dimensions are; student centered (SC), thought provoking (TP), collaborative (CO), life relevant (LR), concurrent learning and assessing (CLA), and different viewpoints (DVP).

Expected Outcomes

Maximum point a pre-service teacher can get from the constructivist learning environment assessment scale is 196. According to the magnitude of the total point got from the scale, it is possible to say that the approach applied in class environment is constructivist. Point average of pre-service teachers in this scale is 167,77. It can be said that this is a high point, and that history of mathematic course with creative drama is a good example for a constructivist approach. When one looks at the point averages pre-service teachers got in the sub-dimensions, they are as follows: in student centered sub-dimension MSC=23.6 (out of 28), SDSC=2.73; in thought provoking sub-dimension MTP=41.9 (out of 49), SDTP=4.04; in collobarative sub-dimension MCO=24.7(out of 28), SDC0=4.1; in life relevant sub-dimension MLR=24.4(out of 28), SDLR=2.8; concurrent learning and assessing sub-dimension MCLA=22.3(out of 28), SDCLA=2.64; and in different view points sub-dimension MDVP=30.7(out of 35), SDDVP=3.67. According to these results, it can be suggested that their mean scores in all sub-dimensions are rather high. Findings obtained from the interviews with pre-service teachers also show parallels with these results. They indicated that they enjoyed history of mathematics with creative drama very much, and that creative drama has many contributions to their professions as they learned many things by experiencing and performing them.

References

Adıgüzel, H. Ö. (2006). Yaratıcı Drama Kavramı, Bilesenleri ve Asamaları. Yaratıcı Drama Dergisi, 1 (1). Akkus, O.& Özdemir, P. (2006). Yaratıcı Drama ile Matematik ve Fen Alanındaki Bilim İnsanlarının Yasam Öykülerine ve Bilime Katkılarına Yeni Bir Bakıs. Yaratıcı Drama Dergisi , 1 (1), 59 - 74. Arkün, S. & Aşkar, P. (2010). Yapılandırmacı öğrenme ortamlarını değerlendirme ölçeğinin geliştirilmesi. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 39, 32-43. Duatepe, A. & Ubuz, B. (2004). Drama based Instruction and Geometry. "The 10th International Congress on Mathematics Education (http://www.icme-10.dk/index.html)" Ekinözü, S., & Sengül, S. (2007). Permütasyon ve Olasılık Konusunun Öğretiminde Canlandırma Kullanılmasının Öğrenci Basarısına ve Hatırlama Düzeyine Etkisi. Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi , 15 (1), 251-258. Swetz, F. J. (1994). Learning Activities from the History of Mathematics. Portland: Weston Walch Publisher. Swetz, F. J. (1995). Using Problems From History of Mathematics in Classroom Instruction. Edited by Frank Swetz, Learn from the Masters! (s. 25 - 38). USA: Using Problems From History of Mathematics in Classroom. LePublished by the MAA, Classroom Resource Materials Series.

Author Information

Zeynep Sonay Ay (submitting)

Hacettepe University, Turkey

Oylum Akkuş İspir