Seventh graders’ strategies for shading the percentages of geometric shapes

Abstract

This study aims to examine the strategies developed by 7th grade students while shading different percentages of geometric shapes. The study was carried out with 113 7th graders studying at a state middle school in a province of Turkey. The data were gathered using the Shading Percentage Test, which consisted of seven tasks. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics and each task was evaluated separately. Analysis suggested that participants showed the lowest performance in the task in which they were asked to shade 20% of a circle, while they showed the highest performance in the task of shading 50% of a rectangle, which is often included in schools. The results underline the importance of giving students practice in shading unusual percentages of different geometric shapes. Performing similar tasks frequently in learning environments can create an obstacle for students to think differently. The present study also provides evidence that the strategies developed by the students varied depending on the geometric shape and the percentage to be shaded.