The Effect of Teaching a Developed Unit Based on Realistic Mathematics in Improving Reflective Thinking Among Seventh Grade Students

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of teaching a developed unit based on Realistic Mathematics (RM) in enhancing reflective thinking among 7th-grade students. Methodology: The study consisted of 64 students from Umm Al-Jamal Secondary School for Boys, who were selected using an intentional sampling method. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group, with 32 students in each group. The experimental group was taught the developed unit using Realistic Mathematics, while the control group was taught using the usual method. To achieve the study's objectives, a reflective thinking test was prepared, which included the following skills: reflection and observation, detection of fallacies, reaching correct conclusions, giving convincing explanations, and developing proposed solutions. The test's validity and reliability were investigated. Results: The results showed that there are statistically significant differences at the level of significance (α = 0.05) between the arithmetic means of the scores of the students in the experimental and control groups, in favor of the experimental group in all the skills of reflective thinking, as well as in the test as a whole. This indicates the effectiveness of using the developed unit. Conclusion:
In light of these results, it is recommended that teachers use the Realistic Mathematics approach in teaching various mathematical concepts.

Keywords: Realistic Mathematics Approach, Reflective Thinking, Seventh Basic Grade.