How is the Curriculum (Courseware) Effective in Increasing Students’ Level of Understanding of Three-Dimensional Concepts Using APOS Theory?

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of the GeoGebra environment on increasing the students’ understanding of three-dimensional concepts () based on APOS theory. The present study is quasi-experimental and includes two experimental and control groups. Pre-test and post-test are applied in both of the groups. The statistical population consists of 324 female students of the 12th-year mathematics and physics in the Tehran 15th district in 2020. The sample includes a class of 30 individuals and another class of 31, which have been homogeneously divided from the beginning of the year, and one of the classes is randomly selected as the experimental group and the other as the control group. According to the lesson plan of working with GeoGebra courseware, the three-dimensional space concepts are taught for 60 minutes and in 3 sessions in the experimental group. However, according to the lesson plan, the student’s problems are reviewed and resolved in the control group in these 3 sessions. First, a researcher-made test with 16 questions (4 questions from each level) is prepared, and CVR is used to check the validity of the questions. Then, a test with 4 selected questions is used to identify students' problems, and the reliability is obtained using Cronbach’s alpha method, and the percentage of students’ correct answers at each level was identified by the APOS method. Data analysis was performed using SPSS24 software at two descriptive and inferential statistics levels. According to the results, which showed an increase in students' level of understanding at all levels of APOS theory and a decrease in zero level (no answer sheets), it can be concluded that education using GeoGebra courseware can improve students’ level of understanding.