Investigation of the questions in 8th grade mathematics textbook in terms of mathematical literacy

Periodical
International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education
Volume
17
Year
2022
Issue number
2
Relates to study/studies
PISA 2018

Investigation of the questions in 8th grade mathematics textbook in terms of mathematical literacy

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the distribution of the questions in an 8th grade mathematics textbook in terms of the categories (mathematical content, mathematical literacy contexts, mathematical processes, PISA mathematics proficiency scale levels, and item types) within the PISA mathematics literacy framework. Investigationof the questions in the book reveals that the content category with the highest number of questions is "quantity" and the content category with the least number of questions is "uncertainty and data." It is seen that the context with the most questions is "scientific context" and the context with the least number of questions is "societal context." It is seen that the most preferred process category is "employing mathematical concepts, facts, procedures and reasoning", while the least preferred process category is "Formulating situations mathematically." According to PISA mathematics proficiency levels, it is seen that the fifth and sixth level questions are not included, and the fourth level questions are very scarce. It was determined that the second level questions were the most preferred type in the book. This situation is in parallel with the mathematics proficiency level (level 2) of our country stated in the PISA 2018 exam evaluation report. When the distribution of the questions by the PISA mathematics scale levels on the basis of item types is examined, it is seen that there are a large number of open-ended questions. The distribution of the PISA mathematics proficiency scale high-level questions, which are rare in the book, shows that the most preferred item type in asking these questions is the "open-ended" item type. In the writing of mathematics books, it is recommended to pay attention to the balanced distribution of questions on the basis of mathematical literacy contexts, mathematical processes and content categories, and to include more high-level questions.