Abstract:

According to the published report of International Mathematics Teaching Commission (ICM-14, the purpose of the mathematical modelling is to get the students to understand the mathematical concepts better, to teach solving the distinct problems and formulating them, to contribute them to have them recognise their critical and creative properties and develop a positive manner against Mathematics (Blum, 2002). NCTM (2000) emphasizes that the students in the classes should be given opportunities to use various modelling. Because, using mathematical modelling develops the students’ critical thinking, imagination and generalization capabilities (NCTM, 2000; Goldin, 2002). Since the solutions of set problems require modelling, it is assessed as an important training tool especially for the students in primary school level to make them gain and develop their modelling capabilities. Deriving from this view, the purpose of this study is to investigate in which level the primary school students use their mathematical modelling capabilities in the process of solving set problems, and how much they become narrow to the solution by modelling while solving a problem. This study has been performed with 21 students who are being trained in 6th class of a secondary school in the city center in North region of Turkey in 2012-2013 academic year. In the research, 4 open ended questions were used. The frequencies regarding the solutions of students and modelling capabilities and percentages were given as a table. The result of the study indicates that the students usually make the modelling correct in the process of solving problems which require modelling in sets, and however they do not have the required mathematical information and capability of for the solution of the problem. It is seen that the students also use the similar modelling as their teachers use while teaching the sets subject in the lesson, and they do the model drawings from memory. Therefore, students compose the required models for the solving of a problem absolutely unconsciously and as they take example by their teachers, from memory.

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