Investigation of the Development of van Hiele Levels of Geometric Thinking in a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) Environment

Abstract

This study investigated the use of a well-designed computer-supported collaborative learning environment, namely Virtual Math Teams (VMT), to develop middle school students’ geometric thinking. It also looked into students’ VMT discourse to better understand factors leading to higher van Hiele levels of geometric thinking. The participants of the study were selected from middle school students who were at the visual geometric thinking level. For treatment, students were presented with a set of activities on quadrilaterals, which were developed based on van Hiele’s phases of learning geometry, within the VMT environment. The data were collected by using the van Hiele Geometry Test. The VMT chat logs were qualitatively analyzed using the three-core collaborative problem-solving competencies used in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. The results showed that the participants significantly developed their van Hiele Geometry Test scores after the intervention. Qualitative results pointed out that collaborative competencies could be essential in developing students’ geometric thinking levels within the VMT environment. Considering that Turkish students score lower than the international average in geometry and the lowest in collaborative problem solving area in international assessments, it becomes even more important to integrate CSCL environments into Turkish curricula.This study investigated the use of a well-designed computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment, namely Virtual Math Teams (VMT), to develop middle school students’ geometric thinking. It also looked into students’ VMT discourse to better understand factors leading to higher van Hiele levels of geometric thinking. The participants of the study were selected from middle school students who were at the visual geometric thinking level. For treatment, students were presented with a set of activities on quadrilaterals, which were developed based on van Hiele’s phases of learning geometry, within the VMT environment. The data were collected using the van Hiele Geometry Test. The VMT chat logs were qualitatively analyzed using the three-core collaborative problem-solving competencies used in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. The results showed that the participants significantly developed their van Hiele Geometry Test scores after the intervention. Qualitative results pointed out that collaborative competencies could be essential in developing students’ geometric thinking levels within the VMT environment. Considering that in international assessments Turkish students score lower than the international average in geometry and the lowest in the collaborative problem-solving area, it becomes even more important to integrate CSCL environments into Turkish curricula.