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Geometric Thinking Behaviours of Undergraduates on-Entry and at-Exit of Online Geometry Course

Received: 18 September 2022    Accepted: 4 October 2022    Published: 17 October 2022
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Abstract

The development of students’ geometry thinking through digital platforms remains quite debatable in pedagogical literature. This descriptive study examined the entry and exit geometric thinking behaviours of students who took an undergraduate Geometry course via vclass Moodle platform for the first time. The 14-week course was designed and delivered using Gagne’s nine events of instructions. Data were collected from a cohort of 280 first year students pursuing degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education at the University of Education, Winneba. The van Hiele’s Geometric thinking test was used to assess entry and exit behaviours of participants. Data were first analysed descriptively and displayed in proportions and charts. Paired samples t-test was carried out to test for significant differences between entry and exit geometric thinking behaviours of participants. On-entry, the result shows that close to three-quarters of the students operated at the lowest level of geometric thinking i.e. visualization. Only about 20% and 6% exhibited analysis and abstraction skills respectively while no participant demonstrated the highest thinking skills of geometric deduction and rigor. At-exit, the proportions of students increased markedly and differed substantially from entry across geometric thinking levels. The difference in students’ geometric thinking behaviours between entry and exit were statistically significant. The study concludes that delivering undergraduate geometry course via the vclass Moodle platform significantly improves undergraduates’ geometric thinking skills despite some observed constraints. It is recommended that lecturers design their undergraduate geometry course on vclass in line with Gagne’s nine events of instructions to bridge existing thinking gaps.

Published in Science Journal of Education (Volume 10, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjedu.20221005.12
Page(s) 155-163
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

van Hiele’s, Geometric Thinking, UEW Online Moodle: Vclass

References
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[12] Bulut, N & Bulut, M. (2012). Development of pre-service elementary mathematics teachers’ geometric thinking levels through an undergraduate geometry course. Social and Behavioral Sciences 46, 760 – 763.
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[17] Akayuure, P. (2021). Use of Vclass in Mathematics education: The UEW Experience. In Passey, D., Leady, D. & Williams (editors). Digital transformation of education and learning-past, present and future, IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology series, volume 642, Springer publishing.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Peter Akayuure, Richard Asumadu Oppong, Dorcas Attuabea Addo, Denis Osei Yeboah. (2022). Geometric Thinking Behaviours of Undergraduates on-Entry and at-Exit of Online Geometry Course. Science Journal of Education, 10(5), 155-163. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20221005.12

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    ACS Style

    Peter Akayuure; Richard Asumadu Oppong; Dorcas Attuabea Addo; Denis Osei Yeboah. Geometric Thinking Behaviours of Undergraduates on-Entry and at-Exit of Online Geometry Course. Sci. J. Educ. 2022, 10(5), 155-163. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20221005.12

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    AMA Style

    Peter Akayuure, Richard Asumadu Oppong, Dorcas Attuabea Addo, Denis Osei Yeboah. Geometric Thinking Behaviours of Undergraduates on-Entry and at-Exit of Online Geometry Course. Sci J Educ. 2022;10(5):155-163. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20221005.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjedu.20221005.12,
      author = {Peter Akayuure and Richard Asumadu Oppong and Dorcas Attuabea Addo and Denis Osei Yeboah},
      title = {Geometric Thinking Behaviours of Undergraduates on-Entry and at-Exit of Online Geometry Course},
      journal = {Science Journal of Education},
      volume = {10},
      number = {5},
      pages = {155-163},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjedu.20221005.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20221005.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjedu.20221005.12},
      abstract = {The development of students’ geometry thinking through digital platforms remains quite debatable in pedagogical literature. This descriptive study examined the entry and exit geometric thinking behaviours of students who took an undergraduate Geometry course via vclass Moodle platform for the first time. The 14-week course was designed and delivered using Gagne’s nine events of instructions. Data were collected from a cohort of 280 first year students pursuing degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education at the University of Education, Winneba. The van Hiele’s Geometric thinking test was used to assess entry and exit behaviours of participants. Data were first analysed descriptively and displayed in proportions and charts. Paired samples t-test was carried out to test for significant differences between entry and exit geometric thinking behaviours of participants. On-entry, the result shows that close to three-quarters of the students operated at the lowest level of geometric thinking i.e. visualization. Only about 20% and 6% exhibited analysis and abstraction skills respectively while no participant demonstrated the highest thinking skills of geometric deduction and rigor. At-exit, the proportions of students increased markedly and differed substantially from entry across geometric thinking levels. The difference in students’ geometric thinking behaviours between entry and exit were statistically significant. The study concludes that delivering undergraduate geometry course via the vclass Moodle platform significantly improves undergraduates’ geometric thinking skills despite some observed constraints. It is recommended that lecturers design their undergraduate geometry course on vclass in line with Gagne’s nine events of instructions to bridge existing thinking gaps.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AU  - Peter Akayuure
    AU  - Richard Asumadu Oppong
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20221005.12
    AB  - The development of students’ geometry thinking through digital platforms remains quite debatable in pedagogical literature. This descriptive study examined the entry and exit geometric thinking behaviours of students who took an undergraduate Geometry course via vclass Moodle platform for the first time. The 14-week course was designed and delivered using Gagne’s nine events of instructions. Data were collected from a cohort of 280 first year students pursuing degree of Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education at the University of Education, Winneba. The van Hiele’s Geometric thinking test was used to assess entry and exit behaviours of participants. Data were first analysed descriptively and displayed in proportions and charts. Paired samples t-test was carried out to test for significant differences between entry and exit geometric thinking behaviours of participants. On-entry, the result shows that close to three-quarters of the students operated at the lowest level of geometric thinking i.e. visualization. Only about 20% and 6% exhibited analysis and abstraction skills respectively while no participant demonstrated the highest thinking skills of geometric deduction and rigor. At-exit, the proportions of students increased markedly and differed substantially from entry across geometric thinking levels. The difference in students’ geometric thinking behaviours between entry and exit were statistically significant. The study concludes that delivering undergraduate geometry course via the vclass Moodle platform significantly improves undergraduates’ geometric thinking skills despite some observed constraints. It is recommended that lecturers design their undergraduate geometry course on vclass in line with Gagne’s nine events of instructions to bridge existing thinking gaps.
    VL  - 10
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Author Information
  • Department of Mathematics Education, Faculty of Science Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

  • Department of Mathematics Education, Faculty of Science Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

  • Department of Mathematics Education, Faculty of Science Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

  • Department of Mathematics Education, Faculty of Science Education, University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

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