Examination of the Number Sense Performance of the Fourth Grade Elementary School Students based on Some Variables

Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyse the number sense performance of the fourth grade elementary school students based on the variables of context-based and noncontext-based items, number sense components, gender and student achievement in Turkish and mathematics courses. The study uses correlational survey model which part of descriptive research types. The study was carried out during the spring semester of the school year 2017-2018 on a sample of 199 fourth grade students. The data of the study were gathered through the administration of number sense tests including context-based and noncontext-based items. In the data analysis the descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal Wallis H test and the Spearman Correlation Coefficient were employed. The results of the study showed that the performance of the participants in using number sense was very low. In some problems
it increased based on the characteristics of the items. Their number sense performance did not significantly vary based on gender. It was also found that those students whose achievement in the courses of Turkish and mathematics was lower had the same level of number sense performance as those students whose achievement in the courses of Turkish and mathematics was either higher or medium.