THE EFFECT OF LENGTH MEASUREMENTS DIGITAL GAMIFICATION ON VAN HIELE LEVELS OF GEOMETRIC THINKING

Geometry is one of the basic branches of mathematics that has developed over the years according to the need for objects measurements around us.Van Hiele theory is one of the essential theories in teaching geometry which may help to design instructional materials to improve students' mathematics performance.This model describes five levels of geometric thinking, such that it is impossible to bypass or skip a level and move to the next while learning a geometrical content.It comprises five levels: visualization, analysis, informal order/abstraction, deduction, and rigor.The aim of this study is to examine the effect of digital gamification that deal with the length concept on the geometric levels of thinking according to Van Hiele, among 5 th graders.This study is an experimental one and was edited by basically quantitative method.A total of 55 fifth graders participated in the current study.Data was collected by two questionnaires; one questionnaire was before an intervention program (15 lessons) based on digital gamification in measuring length and the second questionnaire was after the intervention.Kuder-Richardson 20 (KR-20) was employed to estimate internal consistency of the questionnaires, rKR20 = 0.566.The main finding of this study was that digital gamification contributes significantly to the development of the Van Hiele thinking levels which deal with the length concept.There was significant progress from low-thinking level before the intervention to a higher level after the intervention; the percentage of students who reached the third Van Hiele level improved, 31% to 55% pre and post the intervention program respectively.Moreover, the visualization thinking level was affected significantly by the intervention in all skills except the logical one; in the analysis thinking level the intervention affected the applied skill prominently.And in ordering level the effect of the intervention on the visual skills was negligible.Based on this study it is recommended to integrate digital gamification in teaching length measurement among students, particularly fifth grade students.