The Development of 7th Grade Students’ Algebraic Thinking Through Task-assisted Instruction

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how the algebraic thinking skills of seventh-grade students develop with the task-assisted teaching approach. The study was conducted in a seventh-grade class at a public school in Istanbul. The tasks were designed to support the basic components of students’ algebraic thinking processes - pattern recognition, writing algebraic expressions, constructing and solving equations. During the implementation, the students in the class were divided into groups of three and four, and a teacher candidate in each group was responsible for implementing the tasks. Teacher candidates were informed about the instructions provided by the researcher, the implementation principles, and possible student errors before each task. The entire implementation process was recorded with the consent of the students. This paper focused on the pattern recognition component of algebraic thinking. Video analysis and students' responses showed that their algebraic thinking processes improved in the pattern recognition component, and furthermore, the pattern recognition component evaluation through qualitative analysis showed that there was an improvement in the students' algebraic thinking skills compared to their previous performance. The results indicate that task-assisted instruction could be an effective method for improving students' algebraic thinking skills and supporting their algebra learning.