A comparison of Mira phase -based instruction, textbook instruction, and no instruction on the Van Hiele levels of fifth-grade students
Abstract
This research was conducted to compare the effectiveness of Mira phase-based instruction, traditional textbook instruction, and no instruction on the van Hiele Levels of fifth grade students. Participants included in this quasi-experimental study were 52 students from three fifth grade classes in a rural elementary school in northern Middle Tennessee during the spring of 2004. A pencil and paper test at the fifth grade level was developed to determine each student's Expanded van Hiele Level. These levels included prerecognition, visualization, analysis, and informal deduction and the transition levels between them. Students were given a pretest, 10 days of instruction, and a posttest to determine the change in their Expanded van Hiele Level. The data was analyzed statistically within each treatment and for each pair of treatments. The results of this study indicated a significant increase in Expanded van Hiele Levels for fifth grade students receiving Mira phase-based instruction and traditional textbook instruction. No significant change was found in the students who received no instruction in geometry. The results also indicated no statistically significant difference between Expanded van Hiele Levels for fifth grade students receiving Mira phase-based instruction and those receiving traditional textbook instruction. Statistically significant differences were found between Expanded van Hiele Levels for fifth grade students receiving Mira phase-based instruction and those receiving no instruction in geometry, and also between Expanded van Hiele Levels for fifth grade students receiving traditional textbook instruction and those receiving no instruction in geometry. Recommendations were made that inclusion of instruction at several van Hiele levels in each lesson would be beneficial to more students.
Subject Area
Mathematics education|Elementary education
Recommended Citation
Nancy Frimel Matthews,
"A comparison of Mira phase -based instruction, textbook instruction, and no instruction on the Van Hiele levels of fifth-grade students"
(2004).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3141938.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3141938