The Most Common Conceptual Errors in Primary School Geometry

Background/purpose. It is an urgent necessity to identify geometric conceptual errors among students at different levels. These errors cannot be ignored, as they hinder the learning of related concepts. Teachers need to be aware of these errors, which are often embedded in students' cognitive structures, so that they can work on eliminating them and providing mathematically accurate alternative concepts. Some fruitful efforts have been made in exposing misconceptions in geometry; however, more research is required in this area, especially in Jordan, where the researcher works as a faculty member in the field of mathematics education at the Arab Open University. To the researcher's knowledge, no studies have been conducted on identifying conceptual errors in geometry or methods to address them among students in Jordan.

The Purposes of the Current Study are as follows: 1. To identify the most common conceptual errors in geometry among sixth-grade students. 2. To explore mathematics teachers' perceptions of students' conceptual errors in geometry. 3. To propose strategies for eliminating conceptual errors in geometry.

Materials/methods. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to achieve the study's objectives. The researcher administered the Geometric Test (GT) to identify common conceptual errors in geometry among sixth-grade students and designed the Face-to-Face Interview Protocol (FFIP) to explore mathematics teachers' perceptions of students' conceptual errors in geometry.

Results. The results of this study show that all students exhibited a variety of misconceptions in geometry. All conceptual errors targeted by the Geometric Test (GT) were present in varying proportions among sixth-grade students. In most cases, the teachers interviewed demonstrated a high level of awareness regarding the conceptual errors commonly made by students at this level. The researcher presented a set of suggestions for addressing conceptual errors in geometry, based on both the literature and the viewpoints of sixth-grade mathematics teachers.

Conclusion. Misconceptions in geometry are common among sixth-grade students. They exhibit several misunderstandings related to plotting points, right and straight angles, complementary angles, translation, reflection, quadrilaterals, polygons, and the distinction between a chord and a diameter. Undoubtedly, these conceptual errors negatively affect students’ achievement and performance in geometry. Teachers need to be aware of these misunderstandings and identify them by presenting contradictory information that supports the process of conceptual change during geometry lessons.

Keywords: Geometry, misconceptions, geometric conceptual errors

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