The effectiveness of using the visual –spatial approach in teaching mathematics to develop analytical thinking skills and mathematical trends of the primary sixth grade students in Taiz Governorate

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of the visual-spatial approach in teaching mathematics on the development of analytical thinking skills and the trends towards mathematics at the sixth-grade students in Taiz governate. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher prepared a test of the analytical thinking skills consisting of (26) questions, and a measure of the trends towards mathematics consisting of (20) paragraphs after checked for its validity and reliability. The test was administered to a purposive sample of (40) students. It was divided into two groups; the experimental group and the control group. The results of the test and the measure showed statistically significant differences at the level (α =0.05) between the means of students’ scores in the experimental and the control group in the test of the analytical thinking skills, and the measure of the trends in the post-test in favor of the experimental group. Also, the results revealed statistically significant differences at the level (α =0.05) between the means of students’ scores in the pre and post-test in the experimental group in favor of the post-test in the test of the analytical thinking skills, and the measure of the trends towards mathematics. In light of these findings, it is recommended that the visual-spatial approach be necessarily used to teach mathematics for primary school students.