EVALUATION OF THE GIFTED STUDENTS’ DIGITAL STORY DESIGNS ON THE HISTORY OF GEOMETRY AND THEIR OPINIONS REGARDING THE PROCESS

Abstract

Throughout history, storytelling has been used to share life experiences, values, cultural heritage, knowledge and wisdom. The history of mathematics may be used in mathematics lessons for many purposes such as giving students a distinct point of view, providing motivation and approaching the solutions of problems from a universal perspective. In this study, gifted students prepared digital stories about the scientists who left their mark in the history of geometry. Qualitative research methods were utilized in the study and a case study approach was used. The study group of the research is studying at the Science and Art Center in the province of Niğde. The study was conducted with 12 gifted students, six of whom were girls and six of whom were boys, studying in the special talent development program at the Science and Art Center. The study group was formed by purposive sampling method. Students’ views on the digital storytelling processes were obtained through an opinion form and semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to analyze the data and the findings were presented. When the study was completed, the students stated that they enjoyed the digital storytelling study, that they initially thought the digital storytelling application was challenging, but at the end of the activity they found it quite comfortable and easy, and that they learnt new knowledge about the lives of the scientists in the history of geometry with the digital stories they prepared.