Analysis of Turkish Middle School Mathematics Textbooks in Terms of Opportunities to Learn “Area Measurement”

Abstract

This study aims to examine the 5th- and 6th-grade mathematics textbooks approved by the Turkish Ministry of National Education for the 2021–2022 academic year in terms of the opportunities to learn provided in the sub-learning domain of “Area Measurement.” A document analysis was performed as a part of this study. Consistent with the aim of the study, educational content (instructions, worked examples, exercises, activities, and unit evaluation) related to the area measurement sub-learning domain in five different 5th- and 6th-grade mathematics textbooks were examined in terms of the learning opportunities they offered. Dedoose, a web-based program, was used in the data collection phase of the study. The data analysis revealed that in the examined textbooks, the tasks on the topic of area measurement have an emphasis on procedural knowledge. It was determined that the activities and worked examples in the examined textbooks on the said topic had only one outcome and one solution method. In terms of contextual features, textbook tasks on the topic of area measurement were found to be mostly intra-mathematical. In light of the findings, certain recommendations were made.

Keywords: Area Measurement, Math Textbooks Opportunities to Learn